Karl Otfried Müller
200319
222373598
2008-06-29T00:35:48Z
Wetman
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deforced px per MoD; Böckh isn't a household name;added detail from an article
[[Image:Karl Otfried Müller.JPG|thumb|upright|Portrait of Karl Otfried Müller.]]
'''Karl Otfried Müller''' ([[August 28]], [[1797]]–[[August 1]], [[1840]]), was a [[Germany|German]] scholar and [[Philodorian]], or admirer of ancient [[Sparta]], who introduced the modern study of [[Greek mythology]] but whose life was cut tragically short.
He was born at [[Brieg]] in [[Silesia]], raised in the atmosphere of Protestant [[Pietism]] and educated partly in [[Breslau]] and partly in [[Berlin]]. There his enthusiasm for the study of Greek literature, art and history was fostered by the influence of [[Philipp August Böckh]]. In 1817, after the publication of his first work, ''Aegineticorum liber'', on the [[Aegina|Aeginetans]], he received an appointment at the Magdaleneum in Breslau, and in 1819 he was made adjunct professor of ancient literature at the [[University of Göttingen]], his subject being the [[archaeology]] and history of ancient art. He deepened his understanding of Greek art by travelling in the summer of 1822 to the Netherlands, England and france.
His aim was to form a vivid conception of Greek life as a whole; and his books and lectures were a turning point in the development of Hellenic studies. Turning away from the [[Enlightenment]] conception of Greek myth as a reflection of a universal religion in its infancy, Müller placed the study squarely as the outcome of an encounter between the [[Essentialism|particular character of a people]] and a specific historical setting,<ref>Josine H. Blok, "Quests for a Scientific Mythology: F. Creuzer and K. O. Muller on History and Myth", ''History and Theory'' '''33'''.4, "Proof and Persuasion in History" (December 1994:26-52)</ref> where, in the broadest sense it has remained, though his convictions that the core of each culture is uniquely its own led him to deny the influence of Egyptian art on Greek art,<ref>In his article on "the alleged Egyptian origin of Greek art", "Ueber<!--Ueber in original--> den angenblich ägyptischen Ursprung der griechischen Kunst", ''Kunstblatt: Beiblatt der Morgenblatt'' '''79''' (1820)' reprinted in ''Kleine deutsche Schriften'.</ref> already being recognised at the time.
Müller's position at Göttingen was made difficult by the political troubles which followed the accession of [[Ernest Augustus I of Hanover]] in 1837, he applied for permission to travel; and in 1839 he left Germany. In April of the following year he reached [[Greece]], having spent the winter in Italy. He investigated the remains of ancient [[Athens]], visited many places of interest in [[Peloponnesus]], and finally went to [[Delphi]], where he began excavations. He was attacked by intermittent fever, of which he died at Athens.
[[Image:Karl Otfried Müller Büste.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Bust of Müller at the [[University of Göttingen]]]]
The most important of his historical works was his ''Geschichten hellenischen Stämme und Städte: Orchomenos und die Minyer'' (1820), and ''Die Dorier'' (1824), including the essay ''Über die Makedonier'', on the settlements, origin and early history of the [[Macedon]]ians. He introduced a new standard of accuracy in the [[cartography]] of ancient Greece. In 1828 he published ''Die Etrusker'', a treatise on [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] antiquities.
His ''Prolegomena zu einer wissenschaftlichen Mythologie'' (1825),<ref>It was translated into English by J. Leitch in 1844; it has been reprinted, as ''Introduction to a Scientific System of Mythology'', 1978.</ref> in which he avoided the extreme<!--better characterisation should be found--> views of [[Georg Friedrich Creuzer|G. F. Creuzer]] and [[Christian August Lobeck|C. A. Lobeck]], prepared the way for the scientific investigation of [[mythology|myth]]s. Working without the benefit of modern understanding of [[psychology]], he offered steps towards the "internal idea" of myth and presented techniques for determining the age of a ''mythus'' from the mentions of it in literary sources and a notable chapter on how to separate the ''mythus'' from the modifications of poets and prose writers, and examined the relations that [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] bore to their traditions, all of this before the supportive contributions of modern archaeology, philological analysis, or the understanding of oral transmission of myth, a remarkable achievement.
The study of ancient art was promoted by his ''Handbuch der Archäologie der Kunst'' (1830)<ref>English translation, by J. Leitch, 1847.</ref>, and ''Denkmäler der alten Kunst'' (1832), which he wrote in association with [[Carl Oesterley]].
In 1841 appeared his posthumous ''Geschichte der griechischen Literatür'',<ref>It had been translated into English as ''History of the Literature of Ancient Greece'' and published the previous year in London: chapters i.-xxii. were translated by Sir [[George Cornewall Lewis]]; chapters xxiii.-xxxvi. by [[John William Donaldson|J. W. Donaldson]], who carried the work down to the taking of [[Constantinople]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]].</ref> which remained one of the best books on the subject for many years. Müller also published an admirable translation of the ''Eumenides'' of [[Aeschylus]] with introductory essays (1833), and new editions of [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] (1833) and [[Festus]] (1839).
== Quotes ==
*"A [[democracy]] likes a large mass and hates all divisions."<ref>''The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race'', Vol II, p. 396</ref>
== Works==
*''The History and Antiquities of the Doric Race'', 2nd. ed. rev., 2 Vol., translated from the German by [[Henry Tufnell]] and [[George Cornewall Lewis]], John Murray, Albemarle Str., London, 1839.
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References ==
{{1911}}
*A memoir of his life by his brother Eduard, prefixed to the posthumous edition of Müller's ''Kleine deutsche Schriften'' (1847), is the starting-point of all biographical essays.
*[[F. Lucke]], ''Erinnerungen an K.O. Müller'' (Göttingen, 1841)
*[[F. Ranke]], ''K.O. Müller, ein Lebensbild'' (Berlin, 1870)
*[[Conrad Bursian]], ''Geschichte der klassischen Philologie in Deutschland'' (1883), ii. 1007-1028
*Calder, W.M., H. Flashar and R. Schlesirt, eds. ''K.O. Müller Reconsidered'', (Urbana) 1995.
*[[C. Dilthey]], ''Otfried Müller'' (Göttingen, 1898)
*[[E. Curtius]], ''Altertum und Gegenwart''
*[[J. W. Donaldson]]'s essay ''On the Life and Writings of Karl Otfried Müller'' in vol. i. of the English translation of the history of Greek literature.
*A biography composed from his letters was published by O. and [[Else Kern]], ''K. O. Müller, Lebensbild in Briefen an seine Eltern'' (1908); see also
*[[John Edwin Sandys|J. E. Sandys]], ''History of Classical Scholarship,'' iii. (1908), 213-216.
==Notes==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Karl Otfried}}
[[Category:1797 births]]
[[Category:1840 deaths]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Silesia]]
[[Category:German archaeologists]]
[[Category:German classical scholars]]
[[Category:Mythographers]]
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