Jan N. Bremmer (born 18 December 1944) is a Dutch academic and historian. He served as a professor of Religious Studies and Theology at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

. He specializes in history of ancient religion, especially ancient Greek religion and

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

Early life

Jan N. Bremmer was born during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944 in Groningen, Netherlands. Though he became a liberal

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

later in life, he was brought up in an orthodox

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

family. His father Rolf Hendrik Bremmer was a Calvinist minister and a church historian, and his mother Lucy Lindeboom also came from a family of Calvinist ministers. His maternal great-grandfather Lucas Lindeboom (1845–1933) was a professor at the Kampen Theological College. Bremmer studied

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and Spanish at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (1962–1970) and the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

(1969–1970). During 1970–1972, he did his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

with the Dutch Military Intelligence. He married Christine, a British citizen. They have one son and three daughters: Benjamin, Melissa, Rebecca and Daisy.

Academic career

During 1972–74, Bremmer taught Classics at Christelijk Streeklyceum (Christian Regional Lyceum) in Ede, Netherlands. Subsequently he taught ancient history at the University of Utrecht, as an Assistant Professor (1974–1978) and as an Associate Professor (1978–1990). In 1979, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Vrije Universiteit with a dissertation on ''The Early Greek Conception of the Soul'' (published by

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

in 1983). In 1990, Bremmer joined the University of Groningen as the Chair of Religious Studies, in Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. He served as the dean of the Faculty during 1996–2005. He was the inaugural Getty Villa Professor at Malibu during 2006–2007. He served as a visiting professor at several other places, including the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(2007). He retired from teaching in December 2009. In his farewell lecture in January 2010, he discussed the rise of Christianity through the eyes of scholars

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

, Adolf von Harnack and Rodney Stark.

Works

Author * 1983: ''The Early Greek Concept of the Soul'', Princeton University Press * 1994: ''Greek Religion'', Oxford University Press * 2002: ''The Rise and Fall of the Afterlife'', Routledge * 2008: ''Greek Religion & Culture, the Bible and the Ancient Near East'', Brill * 2010: ''The Rise of Christianity through the Eyes of Gibbon, Harnack and Rodney Stark'', Barkhuis * 2014: ''Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World'', De Gruyter Editor * 1987: ''Interpretations of Greek Mythology'', Croom Helm * 1989: ''From Sappho to De Sade'', Routledge * 1991: ''A Cultural History of Gesture'', Polity (with Herman Roodenburg) * 1992: ''Sacred History and Sacred Texts in Early Judaism'', Kok Pharos (with F. García Martínez) * 1995: ''Between Poverty and the Pyre. Moments in the History of Widowhood'' Routledge (with Lourens P. van den Bosch) * 1996: ''The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla'', Kok Pharos * 1997: ''A Cultural History of Humour'', Polity (with Herman Roodenburg) * 1998: ''The Apocryphal Acts of Peter: Magic, Miracles and Gnosticism'', Peeters * 2000: ''The Apocryphal Acts of Andrew'', Peeters * 2001: ''The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas'', Peeters * 2003: ''The Metamorphosis of Magic from Antiquity to the Middle Ages'', Peeters (with J. Veenstra) * 2006: ''Cultures of Conversions'', Peeters (with W.J. van Bekkum and A.L. Molendijk) * 2006: ''Paradigms, Poetics and Politics of Conversion'', Peeters (with W.J. van Bekkum and A.L. Molendijk) * 2007: ''The Strange World of Human Sacrifice'', Peeters * 2007: ''The Visio Pauli and the Gnostic Apocalypse of Paul'', Peeters (with I. Czachesz) * 2010: ''The Gods of Ancient Greece'', Edinburgh University Press (with Andrew Erskine) * 2010: ''The Pseudo-Clementines'', Peeters * 2012: ''Perpetua's Passions'', Oxford University Press (with Marco Formisano) * 2015: ''The Materiality of Magic'' (Morphomata Vol. 20), Wilhelm Fink (with Dietrich Boschung)

References

External links

Academia profile

Profile
on New York University website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bremmer, Jan Nicolaas 1944 births Living people 20th-century Dutch historians Academic staff of the University of Groningen Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Alumni of the University of Bristol 21st-century Dutch historians

Early life

Academic career

Works

See also

References

External links