Hans Dieter Betz

Influence seen through primary research, publications, and his students, extends across several continents and into several fields of scholarship beyond his immediate discipline. One of the pioneers in last century's rediscovery of the multicultural character of the Roman Empire and in exploring the implications of that context for understanding the new sect of Judaism that would become Christianity. Expertise in Greco-Roman rhetoric (first book was on Lucian of Samosata), opened a new chapter in the formal and comparative analysis of early Christian (and Jewish) rhetoric. Looking beyond the high culture, introduced details of Greco-Roman popular religiosity: witness for example unparalleled collection of Greek Magical Papyri in Translation and his edition of the so-called Mithras Liturgy. In the New Testament he produced indispensable studies of the letters of Paul, the Gospels, and the Sermon on the Mount. Editorial labors on encyclopedias as well as collections and translations made his own and others' scholarship accessible to a wide audience. During his status as emeritus (since 2000) he concentrated on the letters of Paul, esp. Philippians  on which he published a volume of Studies in 2015. He also focuses his research on the philosopher Plutarch of Chaironeia and his works on the central Greek temple at Delphi. In addition he updates his knowledge on the history of Graeco-Roman religious philosophy from the so-called Presocratics to Neoplatonism by reading new literature on these subjects. Communicating with colleagues and former students by correspondence and scholarly conferences is another form of work he greatly enjoys even at the age of 85.