Eric Robert Dodds (1893–1979) was a Classical scholar and poet. Born and educated in Ireland, he obtained an MA from the University of Oxford in 1917 and became Chair of Greek at the University of Birmingham in 1924. In 1936, Dodds succeeded Gilbert Murray as Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford. He gained much respect for his contribution to the understanding of ancient Greek culture and philosophy. Among his publications, The Greeks and the Irrational (1951) is probably the most significant. In this visionary work, Dodds challenges the traditional view of ancient Greeks and offers a deeper understanding of their culture bridging the gap between the rational philosophy of figures like Socrates and Plato and the more mystical elements of cults and religions. Dodds was the Presidente of the Society for Psychical Research between 1961 and 1963.

Dodds was also passionate about education, especially in Germany. He held an executive role in the Association of University Teachers soon after the Second World War.

Further details of his life and work can be found in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and in his autobiography Missing Persons (1977).