R. J. Hopper

Robert John Hopper, FSA (1910 – 3 July 1987), known as R. J. Hopper, was an archaeologist and historian of Ancient Greece. He was Professor of Ancient History at the University of Sheffield. He was Dean of the university's Faculty of Arts from 1967 to 1970.

Hopper was born on 13 August 1910. He studied classics at the University College of Swansea. He was then awarded a scholarship, the Rhonda studentship, to study at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. There, he completed the diploma in classical archaeology and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in classics.

Hopper was the Senior Lecturer in charge of the Department of Ancient History at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England from 1947 to 1956. In 1953, he wrote the book The Attic Silver Mines in the 4th Century BC until, in 1955, he wrote the book Ancient Corinth about Corinth's history and also reviewed the 1964 by A. French The Growth of the Athenian Economy. Later he became Professor of Ancient History at Sheffield. In 1961, he wrote the book The Mines and Miners of Ancient Athens and both Parthenos and Parthenon and Greece and Rome in 1963 and, from 1967 to 1970, he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and by 1976 was a Professor Emeritus.

Hopper is a member of the Managing Committee of the British School of Archaeology at Athens and wrote two popular books on ancient Greek history, The Acropolis (1971) and The Early Greeks (1976). He also wrote a book in 1968 about the Laurium mines called The Laurium Mines: A Reconsideration and, that same year, he also wrote the segment "Observations on the Wappenmünzen" in the book Essays in Greek Coinage by C. M. Kraay and G. K. Jenkins. In 1971, he also participated in the Research Seminar in Archaeology and Related Subjects at University of Sheffield In 1979, he also wrote the book Trade and Industry in Ancient Greece which, along with his other books, has been recited several times.

Hopper was an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA).