Erwin Rohde (; 9 October 1845 – 11 January 1898) was one of the great

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

classical scholars of the 19th century. Rohde was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and was the son of a doctor. Outside of antiquarian circles, Rohde is known today chiefly for his friendship and correspondence with fellow philologist

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

. The two were students together in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, where they were studying

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

taught by

Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (6 April 1806 – 9 November 1876), a first cousin of theologian Albrecht Ritschl, was a German scholar best known for his studies of Plautus. Biography Ritschl was born in Großvargula, in present-day Thuringia. Hifa ...

. In 1872, Rohde became a professor at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

. He later was professor in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

(1876),

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

(1878) and finally

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where he died in 1898 after suffering from a gradual decline in health. His ''Psyche'' (1890-1894) remains a standard reference work for

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

cult practices and beliefs related to the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

. His work, ''Der Griechische Roman und seine Vorläufer'' (1876), was considered by

Mikhail Bakhtin Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (; rus, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Бахти́н, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bɐxˈtʲin; – 7 March 1975) was a Russian people, Russian philosopher and literary critic who worked on the phi ...

to be "the best book on the history of the ancient novel", and it is still regarded as one of the greatest "monuments of 19th century classics scholarship in Germany".Bakhtin, M. M. (1981)
The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays
'. Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin and London: University of Texas Press. p. 4

Bibliography

*''Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks'', trans. from the 8th edn. by W. B. Hillis (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925
archive.org
reprinted by Routledge, 2000), limited previe
online
full text at Project Gutenber
online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohde, Erwin 1845 births 1898 deaths German classical scholars Writers from Hamburg University of Bonn alumni Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of Heidelberg University Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Scholars of Greek mythology and religion German scholars of ancient Greek philosophy