Gregory Nagy PhD ’66 is the Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard, where he has been on the faculty since 1975. Born in Budapest, Hungary, Nagy was educated at Indiana University and at Harvard, where he earned his PhD in classical philology and linguistics. He is currently the curator of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature and has previously served as chair of the Department of Classics at Harvard and as president of the American Philological Association. Nagy also served as the Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies from 2000 to 2021. A renowned authority in the field of Homeric and related Greek studies, he has lectured widely in North America and Europe on a wide range of topics and has earned numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. His special research interests include archaic Greek literature and oral traditions. His ongoing goal is to integrate his research with collaborative as well as intergenerational mentorships and public engagement initiatives, especially in the context of his Harvard College and Harvard DCE courses on the ancient Greek hero (with almost 10,000 alumni), and his HarvardX MOOC, which has enrolled over 181,000 learners since its launch in 2013. His recent monographs include The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours (HUP 2013) and Masterpieces of Metonymy: From Ancient Greek Times to Now (HUP, fall 2015).
Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature; Senior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows; Honorary Associate and Former Master of Currier House