Release Date: January 23, 2007

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Richard Phillips, a classics professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, will speak at Monmouth College on Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Morgan Room in Poling Hall.

Entitled “Criminal Elements in the Magician’s Clientele,” Phillips’ talk reconsiders the context of the 10 invisibility spells in the Greek Magical Papyri.

“Although all of these texts propose to make the user invisible, most have relatively little to say about the contexts in which they are to be used,” said Phillips. “Morton Smith, referring to Jesus’ magical escapes and his ability to achieve invisibility, asserts that ‘the interest of the papyri in such matters suggests there was a criminal element in the magician’s clientele.’”

Phillips, who holds degrees from the University of Illinois in history and classics, will further discuss Smith’s assertion in a talk that focuses on his main area of research. His second book, “Magic in the Roman World: A Latin Reader,” is currently in progress.

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