Myths, History, and Art

Sir Basil Markesinis has held tenured senior posts at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, University of London, Leiden (in the Netherlands) and the Law School of the University of Texas at Austin where he is now Emeritus Professor of Comparative Methodology. He has also held for a number of years part-time Chairs at the Universities of Paris I (Sorbonne), Paris II (Assas), Munich (Germany), Ghent (Belgium), Siena, Genova, and Rome (Italy), the Michigan Law School (at Ann-Arbour) for two years and the Cornell Law School for four years. He has authored or co-authored 56 books, over 150 legal articles, and close to 100 articles on geopolitical issues in journals and newspapers in three continents. His most-recent work is his three-volume illustrated treatise entitled Ancient Greek Poetry from Homer to Roman Times, Jan Sramek, Verlag (2017). His academic work has earned him Fellowships at the Academies of Athens, Belgium, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Rome (Lincei), as well as the Athens Archaeological Society and the American Law Institute. For his work in promoting international relations and the study of various European Cultures, especially through his creation of the Leiden Institute of Anglo-American Law (in 1987); The Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law (in 1996) of which he was Founder, fund raiser, and first Director; and the Texas Institute of Global Law (in 2000), he was awarded the Insignia of the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy; the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of France; the Insignia of the Grand Cross of Service with Star of the Republic of Germany, as well as the insignia of Commander of the Order of the Légion d' honneur of France. In 1997 on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, he was appointed Hon. Queen's Counsel; and in 2005, on the advice of the Prime Minister, he was knighted by H. M. Queen Elizabeth II for "exceptional services to international relations."