Richard P. Martin

Before becoming Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor at Stanford in 2000, Professor Martin taught Classics for eighteen years at Princeton University. His research centers on interpreting Greek poetry in the light of performance traditions and social practices. His primary interests are in Homeric epic, Greek comedy, mythology, and ancient religion. His research is further informed by comparative evidence ranging from fieldwork on oral traditions in contemporary Crete to studies in medieval Irish literature.

Among his major publications are Healing, Sacrifice, and Battle: Amechania and Related Concepts in Early Greek Poetry (1983; The Language of Heroes: Speech and Performance in the Iliad (1989); and Mythologizing Performance (2020).  He has also published books for general audiences (Classical Mythology: The Basics, 2016; 2nd. edition 2022; Myths of the Ancient Greeks, 2003; Bulfinch's Mythology, edit. 1991) and a number of articles on Greek, Latin, and Irish literature.