Dr Paul Martin
BA (Hons), MPhil, PhD
Expertise
I am a specialist on humour both in the ancient world and beyond. I work on humour as a social and political phenomenon, combining theoretical approaches from fields such as literary theory and cognitive sciences.
Current positions
Contact
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Biography
From various approaches, I am interested in: iambic poetry, Greek and Roman comedy, satyr drama, Roman satire, Lucian of Samosata, and the Philogelos.
I completed a PhD at the university of Exeter in 2017. I also recently co-edited a special issue of the Humor journal.
Research interests
My research focuses on humour in Greek literature and culture. In particular, I am currently working on a book on Greek conceptions of parody, which is based on my PhD thesis submitted in 2017 at the University of Exeter. I am also writing a commentary on fragments of Greek New Comedy, which is part of the KomFrag project based at the University of Freiburg. Additionally, I have worked on Lucian of Samosata and food culture in fifth- and fourth-century Greece and Sicily. More widely, my interests include Hellenistic literature and Athenian history and culture.
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2026Funny Matters: Humour Theory and Comic Fragments
Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies
Splitting Greek Comedy's Sides
Classical Review
Humor, emotion, and interpretive communities in the controversy over Jerry Springer: The Opera
Humor
Introduction to the special issue: humour and religion, ‘you must be joking?!’
Humor
Food fights: martial ardour and masculinity in the symposium
Constructing Gender in the Comic Mode