Sophia Xenophontos

Sophia Xenophontos
FHEA, MAE
Occupation(s)Classicist, author
Academic background
Alma materMagdalen College, University of Oxford
Academic work
DisciplineClassicist
Sub-disciplineAncient Greek literature, Byzantine literature
InstitutionsAristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Glasgow
Main interestsPlutarch, Galen; reception of ancient Greek literature and thought in Byzantium; Aristotelian commentaries; emotions, practical ethics and psychotherapy in antiquity and the medieval period; textual criticism and translation[1][2]
Notable worksEthical Education in Plutarch: Moralising Agents and Contexts (2016)

Sophia Xenophontos FHEA, MAE [3] is a Greek-Cypriot classicist and Senior Researcher at the Academy of Athens (Research Centre for Greek and Latin Literature),[4] and formerly an associate professor of Greek at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.[5] She is also affiliate scholar with the University of Glasgow,[6] where she was previously lecturer in Classics and principal investigator and director of the Byzantine Aristotle project[7][8] funded by the AHRC.[9] Xenophontos is an external collaborator for the Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca et Byzantina project (under the auspices of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities) and the founder and editor-in-chief of the book series ‘Theorising the Greek and Roman Classics’ (Routledge, UK).[10]

She specializes in the Greek literature of the 1st-2nd century AD, with particular focus on Plutarch. She has made significant contributions to the field, with her novel approaches to Plutarch's Lives and Moralia, which have been acclaimed by several reviewers. Xenophontos has expanded her scholarly pursuits to include the physician Galen of Pergamum, investigating the interplay between his psychological/moral writings and medical theory and practice. She has received recognition, including a Wellcome Trust University Award.[11] Its main output is the monograph ‘Medicine and Practical Ethics in Galen’ published in 2024 by Cambridge University Press, which was highly praised.[a] Her research on Galen has had an impact beyond academia, featuring in the German Der Spiegel, thus also contributing to popular understandings of ancient psychotherapy and emotions.

Active in the Aristotelian commentary tradition and the study of Byzantine philosophical works, Xenophontos has published critical editions and translations,[13][14] focusing mainly on Theodore Metochites and George Pachymeres in whom she is considered a leading authority.

  1. ^ "Sophia Xenophontos - Georgios Pachymeres. Commentary on Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics. Critical". YouTube.
  2. ^ "Sophia Xenophontos - on Morals or Concerning Education. Theodore Metochites". YouTube.
  3. ^ "Academy of Europe: Xenophontos Sophia". www.ae-info.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  4. ^ "Ακαδημία Αθηνών". academyofathens.gr. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  5. ^ "Sophia A. Xenophontos | School of Philology". www.lit.auth.gr. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  6. ^ "University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan - Our staff - Dr Sophia Xenofontos". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  7. ^ "About – BYZANTINE ARISTOTLE". Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  8. ^ "Who we are – BYZANTINE ARISTOTLE". Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  9. ^ "Sofia Xenofontos". UK Research and Innovation.
  10. ^ "Theorising the Greek and Roman Classics - Book Series - Routledge & CRC Press". www.routledge.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  11. ^ "The physician of the soul: medicine and practical ethics in Galen". Wellcome. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  12. ^ Xenophontos, Sophia (2024). Medicine and Practical Ethics in Galen. doi:10.1017/9781009247795. ISBN 978-1-009-24779-5. S2CID 266260629.
  13. ^ "Sophia Xenophontos | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Academia.edu". auth.academia.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  14. ^ "University of Glasgow - Schools - School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan - Our staff - Dr Sophia Xenofontos". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-12.


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