Glenn Most
Charisma, Charis, Chairō, Charizō. Remarks on a Greek Etymology
The modern term ‘charisma’ was popularized by Max Weber and is used above all in political thought, sociology, and psychology. Its origins are in ancient Greek; excavating and examining them can cast some illuminating light on continuities and differences between the ancient world and the modern ones.
Glenn Most was until 2020 Professor of Greek Philology at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, and remains a regular Visiting Professor on the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, and an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Most also serves as member of the Advisory Board of the Einstein Forum. He has published books on Classics, on ancient philosophy, on the history and methodology of Classical studies, on comparative literature, cultural studies, and the history of religion, on literary theory and on the history of art, and has published numerous articles, reviews, and translations in these fields as well as in modern philosophy and literature. He is currently working on various projects involving both ancient Greek philology and the comparison of philological practices in different periods and cultures throughout the world.