Prof Han Baltussen
School of Humanities
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Han Baltussen (FAHA) is Emeritus Professor of Classics and Ancient Thought at Addelaide University and holder of an ARC-DP grant on the theme of self-consolation and self-care in antiquity. He is the former W.W. Hughes Professor of Classics — one of the two founding chairs of the university of Adelaide (1874). He received the B.A., M.A. at the Classics Department (1988) and his Ph.D. in Ancient Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy of Utrecht University (1993). Before coming to the University of Adelaide he held several postdoctoral positions, including at Centre for Hellenic Studies (Washington DC 1996-7), Utrecht University, and Kings College London (Philosophy Dept.), where he was a tutor in ancient philosophy and chief assistant editor to the Ancient Commentators on Aristotle Translation Project. He also held prestigious fellowships at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study (2006), and Edinburgh's Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH 2024).
Professor Baltussen's research interests fall within the intellectual history of the ancient mediterranean and its influence [for details see below under the Research Tab]. In 2023 he joined the 'Loeb family' by publishing a new text and translation of Eunapius' "Lives of Philosophers and Sophists" (Harvard University Press). His latest book, a volume co-edited with Marguerite Johnson (Newcastle) entitled 'A Cultural History of Love in Antiquity' for Bloomsbury appeared in January 2025.
Professor Baltussen has served in various roles of leadership, and currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the journals 'Studies in Late Antiquity' and 'Aristotelica', the book series 'Rutgers Studies in the Humanities' (Routledge) and the ERC Project "Fragments of Aristotle" (University of Padua, Italy).
My research interests cover a range of topics in intellectual history and the history of ideas from antiquity to the early modern age, focusing on three themes: origin, transmission, and evolution of ideas. My work has successfully connected the world of Greece and Rome with our own time, in both public talks and scholarly projects on topical subjects such as grief (see The Conversation and "The Power of the Humanities"), censorship, Stoicism. I have collaborated with colleagues on subversion and censorship (with P.J. Davis), the transmission of philosophy from the Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity (with DT Runia and J Mansfeld), and Stoicism in the Enlightenment (with Lisa Hill). I regularly give public talks and lectures to highlight the ongoing importance of human concerns so similar across time. I was co-editor of the journal Antichthon, published by Cambridge University Press 2015-2021. My current book projects concern ancient consolations, a commentary on Theophrastus' fragments in doxography. The most recent publications are a new text and translation of Eunapius. Lives of Philosophers and Sophists for the well-known Loeb Classical Library series (vol. 134 Harvard Press, combined with Graeme Miles' Philostratus. Lives of Sophists, June 2023) and Pain Narratives in Greco-Roman Writings (jointly edited with J.R. Clarke and D. King, EJ Brill, July 2023).
Excellence in Research Australia (ERA): My research outputs go mostly towards Field of Research (FoR) 2203 Philosophy, some towards 2202, History and Philosophy of Specific Fields & 2005 Literary Studies. In the 2015 and 2018 ERA results, Philosophy at Adelaide received a score of 5 out of 5.



Published 2013
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 - ongoing | Walter W. Hughes Professor of Classics | University of Adelaide |
| 2010 - 2011 | Associate Professor | University of Adelaide |
| 2005 - 2010 | Senior Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| 2002 - 2005 | Lecturer | University of Adelaide |
| 2001 - 2001 | Adjunct lecturer Greek philosophy | University College London |
| 1997 - 2002 | Research Associate and temporary lecturer & tutor | King's College London |
| 1997 - 2002 | Chief Assistant Editor Ancient Commentators Project (0.8) | King's College London |
| 1996 - 1997 | Postdoctoral research fellow | Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies |
| 1993 - 1996 | Postdoctoral research associate (Stoa Project) | Utrecht University |
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Fellowship | Dorothy Tarrant Fellowship | Institute of Classical Studies, London | United Kingdom | £5,000 |
| 2017 | Fellowship | Visiting Professor Institute for Advanced Study | Institute for Advanced Studies, UWA | Australia | $3,000 |
| 2014 | Scholarship | Spinoza Fellow Leiden University | Leiden University (LUCAS) | Netherlands | - |
| 2010 | Fellowship | Fellowship Royal Flemish Academy Brussels | Royal Academy Brussels | Belgium | - |
| 2010 | Research Award | Faculty Research Award | University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2009 | Fellowship | Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities | Australian Academy of the Humanities | Australia | - |
| 2006 | Fellowship | Member, School of Historical Studies (IAS Princeton) | Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ | United States | $20,000 |
| 1996 | Scholarship | Junior Fellow | Centre for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University | United States | 40,000 |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| Dutch; Flemish | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| French | Can read, write and understand spoken |
| German | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Italian | Can read |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 - 1993 | Utrecht University | Netherlands | PhD |
| 1983 - 1986 | Utrecht University | Netherlands | MA |
| 1978 - 1983 | Utrecht University | Netherlands | BA |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Baltussen, H. (2024). David Konstan (1940–2024). Emotions: History, Culture, Society, 8(2), 319-321. |
| 2019 | Baltussen, J. N. (2019). Theophrastus’ De sensibus in Diels’ the A-fragments: Revisiting the Testimonia and their Value.. Rhizomata. Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science, 7(2), 120-145. WoS1 |
| 2018 | Baltussen, J. N. (2018). A Curious Sidelight on the Reception of ps.Cicero's Consolatio (1583): Bodleian MS. Rawl. 985 D. Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance; travaux et documents, LXXX(3), 485-506. |
| 2018 | Baltussen, J. (2018). Peripatetic Epistemology After Aristotle. Theorising Knowledge from Theophrastus to Aristocles. Lexicon Philosophicum. International Journal for the History of Texts and Ideas, 6(Special Issue on Hellenistic Theories of Knowledge), 53-77. |
| 2017 | Baltussen, J. N. (2017). Slim pickings and Russian Dolls? Presocratic fragments in peripatetic sources after Aristotle. Journal for Juristic Papyrology, (Suppl. 30), 73-90. |
| 2016 | Baltussen, J. N. (2016). Review of H. Bottler, Pseudo-Plutarch und Stobaios: Eine synoptische Untersuchung (Göttingen 2014). Anzeiger für die Altertumswissenschaft. |
| 2015 | Baltussen, J. N. (2015). McCoy, M.B. Wounded Heroes. Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013. xviii, 228 pp. Pr. £50.00 (hb). ISBN 9780199672783. Mnemosyne, 68(6), 1049-1051. |
| 2014 | Baltussen, J. N. (2014). A 'Homeric' hymn to Stalin: performing safe criticism in ancient Greek?. Classical Receptions Journal, 7(2), 223-241. Scopus2 |
| 2013 | Baltussen, H. (2013). Theophrastus of Eresus. Commentary, vol 6.1, Sources on Ethics. CLASSICAL REVIEW, 63(1), 66-68. |
| 2012 | Baltussen, H. (2012). Richard D. Mohr and Barbara M. Sattler, editors. One Book, The Whole Universe: Plato's Timaeus Today. Las Vegas-Zurich-Athens: Parmenides Publishing, 2010. Pp. viii + 406. Paper, $87.00.. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 50(1), 132-133. |
| 2009 | Baltussen, J. (2009). Simplicius and the Subversion of Authority. Antiquorum Philosophia, 3, 121-136. |
| 2009 | Baltussen, J. (2009). A Grief Observed: Cicero on Remembering Tullia. Mortality, 14(4), 355-369. Scopus21 |
| 2009 | Baltussen, J. (2009). Personal grief and public mourning in Plutarch’s consolation to his wife. American Journal of Philology, 130(1), 67-98. Scopus33 WoS24 |
| 2009 | Baltussen, J. (2009). Pseudo-Aristoteles (Pseudo-Alexander), Supplementa Problematorum. Classical Review, 59(1), 75-77. |
| 2007 | Baltussen, J. (2007). From polemic to exegesis: The ancient philosophical commentary. Poetics Today, 28(2), 247-281. Scopus31 WoS16 |
| 2006 | Baltussen, J. (2006). The Greek Praise of Poverty: Origins of Ancient Cynicism; William D. Desmond. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 11(04), 1. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, J. (2006). Aristote. De la generation et la corruption by Marwan Rashed. (Review). Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2006.11.03, 1-4. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, H. (2006). The philosophy of the commentators 200-600 AD. A sourcebook.. JOURNAL OF HELLENIC STUDIES, 126, 216. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, H. (2006). Theophrastus of Eresus:: On sweat, on dizziness <i>and</i> on fatigue.. CLASSICAL REVIEW, 56(2), 311-313. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, J. (2006). An empedoclean 'hearing aid'? Fragment b99 revisited. Methexis, 19(1), 7-20. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, J. (2006). Addenda Eudemea. Leeds International Classical Studies, 5(1), 1-28. |
| 2006 | Baltussen, J. (2006). Review of Theophrastus of Eresus: On sweat, on dizziness and on fatigue. / Fortenbaugh W.W., Sharples R.W., Sollenberger M.G. (Philosophia Antiqua 93, Text, Translation, Commentary; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2003). Classical Review, 56(2), 311-313. |
| 2005 | Baltussen, J. (2005). The Presocratics in the doxographical tradition. Sources, controversies, and current research. Studia Humaniora Tartuensia, 6(6), 1-26. |
| 2004 | Baltussen, J. (2004). In the Grip of Disease. Studies in the Greek Imagination G.E.R. Lloyd. Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Print Edition), 1. |
| 2002 | Baltussen, J. (2002). Matricide revisited: dramatic and rhetorical allusion in Tacticus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. Antichthon, 36, 30-40. |
| 2001 | Baltussen, J. N. (2001). D. Zeyl, Plato, Timaeus (introd. and transl. Hacket 1999). Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 10(35). |
| 2001 | Baltussen, J. (2001). Traditions of Platonism. Essays in Honour of John Dillon. J. J. Cleary. Classical Review, 51(1), 69-71. |
| 2001 | Baltussen, J. (2001). Plato's Timaeus, Donald J. Zeyl (trans.). Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Print Edition), 10(35), 1. |
| 2000 | Baltussen, J. N. (2000). Review of T.K. Johansen, Aristotle on the Sense Organs (Cambridge 1998). Journal of Early Science and Medicine, 5,1(108), 103-104. |
| 2000 | Baltussen, J. N. (2000). Review of R.W. Sharples, Theophrastus. Sources for his Life, Writings, Influence, commentary vol. 3.1 Sources on Physics (Leiden, EJ Brill, 1998). Journal of Hellenic Studies, 120, 169-170. |
| 2000 | Baltussen, H. (2000). Plato in the placita (aËtius bk. iv): A dielsian blind spot. Philologus, 144(2), 227-238. Scopus11 |
| 1999 | Baltussen, J. N. (1999). Review of W. Burkert, L. Gemelli, E. Matelli, L. Orelli (eds) Fragmentsammlungen philosophischer Texte der Antike. (Aporemata. Bd 3, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998). Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 99.9.23. |
| 1998 | Baltussen, J. N. (1998). The Purpose of Theophrastus’ De sensibus Reconsidered. Apeiron: a Journal for Ancient Philosophy, 167-200. |
| 1993 | Baltussen, J. N. (1993). Review of ‘Theophrastus. De causis plantarum’, (Loeb 474, 475)'. Mnemosyne: a journal of classical studies, IV(46), 107-109. |
| 1989 | Baltussen, J. N., & Harder, A. (1989). ‘Eudaimon to Sarapion (private letter nr. 3852)’. The Oxyrrhynchus Papyri, LVI, 100-102. |
| 1989 | Baltussen, J. N., & Harder, A. (1989). ‘Eudaimon to Sarapion (private letter nr. 3852)'. Unknown Journal, LVI, 100-102. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Authors: Baltussen JN, Share, M, Atkinson, M, Mueller, I.. Title: Simplicius, Commentary on Aristotle's Physics 1.5-9 (translated from Ancient Greek with annotations). Extent: 1.5. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Baltussen, H., & Marks, K. (2015). Learning lessons from Antiquity about Coping with Grief. Australia Academy of the Humanities. |
| 2012 | Baltussen, J. N. (2012). Coping with Bereavement and Grief: Lessons from History. The Conversation. |
| - | Baltussen, H. (n.d.). Theophrastus of Eresus. Oxford University Press. DOI |
| PROJECT | GRANTING BODY | YEAR | AMOUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network Fellow: monograph on self-consolation in antiquity | The Catholic University of Leuven | 2024 | $15,000 |
| Visiting Fellowship for monograph on self-consolation in antiquity | Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh | 2024 | in-kind |
| Dorothy Tarrant Fellow 2020 (postponed to 2023 due to covid) | Institute of Classical Studies, London | 2023 | $10,000 |
| Short-term fellowship | Institute for Advanced Studies (UWA) | 2017 | $3,000 |
| Paper international Conference | Center for the History of Emotions (AI) | 2015 | $3,000 |
| "Stoic Liberalism and the Enlightenment" (with Lisa Hill) | Australian Research Council (DP) | 2014-16 | $300,000 |
| "The Dynamics of Censorship in Antiquity" (with Peter J. Davis) | Australian Research Council (DP) | 2011-13 | $249,000 |
| Short-term fellowship | Leiden University (Spinoza Fellow) | 2014 | $3,000 |
| Invited paper international Conference | Center for the History of Emotions (AI) | 2014 | $3,000 |
| "Hitching a Ride on iPods" (podcasting to enhance student engagement) | DVC(A) eLearning grant | 2013 | $13,000 |
| Overseas conference papers, archival research in UK libraries | Various Faculty Travel Grants | 2005-13 | $18,000 |
| Invited paper international Conference | Center for the History of Emotions (AI) | 2012 | $3,000 |
| "Ancient consolation and psychotherapy" | Australian Research Council (DP) | 2007-09 | $69,000 |
| Simplicius' Methodology | Faculty Small Research Grant | 2003 | $3,500 |
| International conference London | Multiple sources (UK based) | 2002 | £10,220 |
| Junior Fellowship | Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington D.C. | 1996-97 | $40,000 |
| Travel grant short study leave, Fondation Hardt (Geneva, Switzerland) | Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) | 1996 | €2,000 |
| PhD scholarship | Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) | 1993-96 | $68,000 |
Courses I may teach into:
- CLAS 1003 Introduction to Greek and Roman History [annually]
- CLAS 2101 Latin for Beginners [lecturer]
- CLAS 2032 Classical Mythology [lecturer & tutor]
- CLAS 2038OL Latin and Greek for Scientists (summer Jan., online only) [lecturer]
- CLAS 3026 Journeys to the Underworld from Homer to Hollywood [2024]
- CLAS 3030 Capstone course [annually, semester 2]
- CLAS 4001-4 Honours (common and special courses; thesis) [annually]
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Separations, Grief, and Consolation in the Later Works of Thomas More | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Mitchell Robert Thompson |
| 2022 | Principal Supervisor | Visualising Human Anatomy and Physiology in Medical Literature (10th - 17th c.) | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Miss Mary Elizabeth Harpas |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Legitimacy and Authoritarianism in the Late Roman Republic | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Nicholas Keefe George |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Legitimacy and Authoritarianism in the Late Roman Republic | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Nicholas Keefe George |
| 2022 | Principal Supervisor | Visualising Human Anatomy and Physiology in Medical Literature (10th - 17th c.) | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Miss Mary Elizabeth Harpas |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Separations, Grief, and Consolation in the Later Works of Thomas More | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Mitchell Robert Thompson |
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 - 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Greek Physicians Under Rome: Immigration and Integration | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Miss Chelsea May Louise Schwartz |
| 2021 - 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Medicine and Magic: The dynamics of science and faith in drug development in antiquity. | Master of Philosophy | Master | Part Time | Mr Greg Macpherson |
| 2020 - 2021 | Co-Supervisor | ‘A lightness that is both new and a return’: Nekyia and katabasis in twenty-first century receptions of the Iliad | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Mr Patrick James Moritz |
| 2020 - 2024 | Co-Supervisor | Taking Liberties: (Mis)translating Sexual Violence in Ovid’s Metamorphoses | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Miss Gemma Caitlin Neall |
| 2019 - 2021 | Principal Supervisor | The Ascent to the Hidden One: The Reception of the Egyptian One God in Neoplatonism and the Greek Magical Papyri | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Ms Tiana Blazevic |
| 2019 - 2021 | Principal Supervisor | Visualising Human Anatomy and Physiology in Medical Literature (10th - 17th c.) | Doctor of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Miss Mary Elizabeth Harpas |
| 2019 - 2021 | Principal Supervisor | Veiled Criticism in Seneca’s Epistulae Morales | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Mr Tamas Karoly Preston |
| 2014 - 2017 | Co-Supervisor | Dental Crown Morphology Variations Associated with Congenital Syphilis and their Importance in Paleopathological Diagnosis | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Dr Stella Ioannou |
| 2013 - 2016 | Co-Supervisor | Faunus and the Fauns in Latin Literature of the Republic and Early Empire | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Ms Tammy DI-Giusto |
| 2012 - 2014 | Principal Supervisor | Venus Restrained: The Regulation of Rome's Women in the Second Punic War. | Master of Philosophy | Master | Full Time | Lewis Mark Webb |
| 2011 - 2017 | Co-Supervisor | A Dynamic Equilibrium: Doctors and Patients in Seventeenth Century England | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Part Time | Mrs Elizabeth Connolly |
| 2005 - 2008 | Co-Supervisor | Understanding and Dealing with Evil and Suffering: A Fourth Century A.D Pagan Perspective | Master of Arts | Master | Part Time | Ms Susanne Harvey Wallis |
| Date | Role | Committee | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 - 2022 | Member | Professorial Committee for Fellowship Program | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2018 - 2018 | Member | ERA REC Humanities and Creative Arts | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2014 - 2019 | Member | Research Committee School of Humanities | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2014 - 2016 | - | Member Executive Council | Australian Academy of the Humanities | Australia |
| 2011 - 2020 | Advisory Board Member | Barr Smith B. Cowan Scholarship Committee | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2009 - 2014 | - | Member Faculty Research Committee | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2004 - 2008 | - | Chair Faculty Library Committee | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| Date | Role | Membership | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 - ongoing | Member | Australian Historical Association | Australia |
| 2003 - ongoing | Board Member | Australasian Society of Classical Studies | Australia |
| 1998 - ongoing | Member | Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies (UK) | United Kingdom |
| 1997 - ongoing | Member | Society for Classical Studies (US) | United States |
| Date | Institution | Department | Organisation Type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 - ongoing | Padua University | Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World | Scientific research | Italy |
| 2020 - 2020 | TEQSA | College | Scientific research | Australia |
| Date | Role | Editorial Board Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 - ongoing | Board Member | Aristotelica | University of Padua | Italy |
| 2017 - ongoing | Member | Rutgers University Studies in the Classical Humanities | Rutgers University | United States |
| 2016 - ongoing | Board Member | Studies in Late Antiquity | - | United States |
| Date | Office Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 - 2020 | Head of Classics Section, Australian Academy | Australian Academy of the Humanities | Australia |
| 2015 - ongoing | Editor Antichthon: journal of ancient world studies | Australasian Society for Classical Studies | Australia |
| 2014 - 2016 | Council Member, Australian Academy | Australian Academy of the Humanities | Australia |
| 2013 - 2017 | Program Coordinator BA(Advanced) | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2009 - 2013 | Head of Department | University of Adelaide | Australia |
| 2003 - ongoing | Adelaide Representative Executive Board | Australasian Society for Classical Studies | Australia |
| Date | Title | Type | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 - ongoing | Flemish Science Foundation | Grant Assessment | Flanders Science Foundation (FWO) | Belgium |
| 2015 - 2021 | Editor of Antichthon (Greek materials) | Editorial | University of Adelaide | - |
| 2014 - ongoing | Reviewer fellowship applications | Grant Assessment | Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton | United States |