Mogens Herman Hansen FBA (20 August 1940 – 22 June 2024) was a Danish classical philologist and classical demographer who was one of the leading scholars in

Athenian Democracy Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Ancient Greece, Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Classical Athens, Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, and focusing on supporting lib ...

and the

Polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

Life and career

Hansen finished his masters at

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

in 1967. The following year he was engaged to work at the same university. He has written many books about the

. From 1993 to 2005 he was the director of the Copenhagen Polis Centre. Hansen was visiting fellow at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, Wolfson College (

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and Churchill College (

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

). Hansen was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences, by

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office, Federal Foreign Office of Germany. Status, tasks and ...

and the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. In June 2010, Hansen retired after 40 years at Copenhagen University. He died on 22 June 2024, at the age of 83.Mogens Herman Hansen obituary
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Major works in English

*''The Sovereignty of the People's Court in Athens in the 4th c. B.C.'' (1974) *''The Athenian Assembly'' (1987) *''The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes'' (1991) *''Acts of the Copenhagen Polis Centre I-VII'' (1993-2005) *''Papers of the Copenhagen Polis Centre I-VII'' (1994-2004) *''A Comparative Study of 30 City-State Cultures'' (2000) *''Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis'' (2004)

Sources

* '' Kraks Blå Bog 2006/2007''

References

1940 births 2024 deaths Classical philologists Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen {{Denmark-bio-stub