Neil Hopkinson () was an English Hellenist. Educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, he served as a fellow and director of studies in

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

from 1983 until his death in 2021. He has been described as "one of the most influential commentators of his generation". Hopkinson was an expert on

Ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, ar ...

of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. After a commentary on the ''Hymn to Demeter'' by

Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...

(1984) established his scholarly reputation, he went on to publish widely in his field. His publications include a critical edition of the ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' (, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hex ...

'' of

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis (, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He i ...

(1994) and commentaries on

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' (2000) and on selected works of

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

(2008).

Life and career

Neil Hopkinson was born on 13 March 1957 in Elland, a town south of

Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

. He was educated at Hipperholme Grammar School and in 1976 began studying

, where he was both an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

student. From 1982 to 1983, he worked at the same college as a research fellow. In 1983, Hopkinson was appointed fellow and director of studies in Classics at

. He held these positions for the rest of his life. Modelling his fellowship on that of the former Trinity classicist A. S. F. Gow, he was noted for the social gatherings he organised for students of the college, such as an annual reading holiday to his home county of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

and events known as "desserts", where only dessert was served. On 5 January 2021, Hopkinson died after briefly suffering from

myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, a ...

Work

Hopkinson was an expert on

of the

and under

. His first major publication was an edition of the ''Hymn to Demeter'' by the Alexandrian poet

(1984), which was still considered the standard work on this text at the time of his death. His publications also included a critical edition of the ''

'' of

(1994), commentaries on Book 13 of

's ''

'' (2000), and on selected works of

(2008). His work on classical literature placed him among the leading

Hellenists In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in History of Greece, Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra, Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed ...

of his generation. The classicist Richard L. Hunter said that Hopkinson's knowledge of the classical languages was "unsurpassed"; by contrast, the Latinist Philip Hardie termed his commentary on the ''Hymn to Demeter'' as "a masterpiece of deep and judicious scholarship". A 2021 obituary published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' quoted a fellow classicist describing him as "one of the most influential commentators of his generation".

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * Quintus Smyrnaeus. ''Posthomerica''. ed. and trans. by Neil Hopkinson. Loeb edition, Harvard University Press 2018.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkinson, Neil 1957 births 2021 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United Kingdom People from Elland Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge English classical scholars People educated at Hipperholme Grammar School