Mithras, Magic and Appropriations in Roman Religion. An Interview with Richard L. Gordon

Abstract

Richard L. Gordon (b. 1943) is a distinguished scholar of ancient religion and magic, with a particular focus on the Roman world. Over the course of a scholarly career spanning more than half a century, his work has left a lasting mark on the study of the Roman cult of Mithras, the sociology of Roman religion, and, especially, the historiography and study of magic in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Gordon’s intellectual trajectory is distinctive, indeed exceptional, in the extent to which it successfully bridged the British academic tradition and the German world of Altertumswissenschaft, while French tra­ditions of the history of religions and epigraphy also played an important role in shaping his scholarly career. The detailed life-interview presented below explores Gordon’s personal and professional career, and reflects on the major historiographic and methodological transformations that have shaped the study of Roman religion, Mithraic studies, and research on ancient magic over the past half-century.