Alexander Stuart Murray, FBA (8 January 1841March, 1904) was a Scottish archaeologist. He was known for excavations on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Life

Murray was born at Arbroath, and educated there, at the Royal High School,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and at the Universities of

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1867 he entered the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

as an assistant in the department of Greek and Roman antiquities under Sir Charles Newton, whom he succeeded in 1886. His younger brother,

George Robert Milne Murray George Robert Milne Murray (11 November 1858 – 16 December 1911) was a Scottish naturalist, botanist, diatomist and algologist, noted for his association with T. H. Huxley and with the Discovery Expedition. He was the naturalist aboard the ...

(1858–1911), was made keeper of the botanical department in 1895, a rare instance of two brothers becoming heads of departments at the museum. In 1873 Murray published a ''Manual of Mythology'', and in the following year contributed to the ''Contemporary Review'' two articles—one on the

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic question—which led to a friendship with Mr Gladstone, the other on Greek painters. In 1874 he also published the popular work ''Who's Who in Mythology''. In 1880-1883 he brought out his ''History of Greek Sculpture: From the Earliest Times Down to the Age of Pheidias'', which at once became a standard work. In 1886, he was selected by the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

to deliver the next year's Rhind lectures on archaeology, out of which grew his ''Handbook of Greek Archaeology'' (1892). In 1894-1896 Murray directed excavations in Cyprus including those at Enkomi; they were undertaken by means of a bequest of £2000 from Miss Emma Tournour Turner. The objects obtained are described and illustrated in ''Excavations in Cyprus'', published by the trustees of the museum in 1900. Murray's other official publications include three folio volumes on Terra-cotta

Sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

, White

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Vases and Designs from Greek Vases. In 1898 he wrote for the ''Portfolio'' a monograph on Greek bronzes, founded on lectures delivered at the Royal Academy in that year, and he contributed many articles on archaeology to standard publications. In recognition of his services to archaeology he was made LL.D. of

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1887 and elected a corresponding member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1900.

Works

* ''Manual of Mythology'' (1873) * ''Who's Who in Mythology: A Classic Guide to the Ancient World'' (1874) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517017415
/ref> *
Two Vases from Cyprus
' (1887) *
Excavations in Cyprus: bequest of Miss E. T. Turner to the British Museum
' (1900)

References

External links

* * 1841 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Scottish people People from Arbroath People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Scottish archaeologists Employees of the British Museum Fellows of the British Academy {{UK-archaeologist-stub