Thomas A. Schmitz is Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Bonn, and is one of the founding members of the Centre for the Classical Tradition. He has previously held positions at Paris, Harvard, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt. He is the author of over 40 books and articles including "Bildung und Macht: Zur sozialen und politischen Funktion der zweiten Sophistik in der griechischen Welt der Kaiserzeit" (1997) and "Moderne Literaturtheorie und antike Texte: Eine Einfuhrung" (2002).