Paul-François Foucart (15 March 1836, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 19 May 1926) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, known for his research involving the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

. He was the father of

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

Georges Foucart. Beginning in 1855 he studied at the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in Paris, obtaining his

agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

in 1858. Afterwards, he taught classes at the

Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne () is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Je ...

(from 1865) and at the

Lycée Bonaparte Lycée Bonaparte is a French international school in Doha, Qatar. It includes levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) through ''lycée'' (senior high school). It is named after French Emperor Napoleon. The École Française de Doha was established in ...

(from 1868). In 1874 he became a lecturer at

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

, where in 1877 he was appointed professor of

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

and Greek antiquities. In 1878 he was elected a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, replacing

Joseph Naudet Joseph Naudet (8 December 1786 – 13 August 1878) was a French historian who was a native of Paris. He initially worked at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, and was later a teacher of Latin poetry at the Collège de France. In 1817 he became a ...

, and during the same year, was named director of the

French School at Athens The French School at Athens (, EfA; ''Gallikí Scholí Athinón'') is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece. History Founded in 1846, the EfA is the oldest foreign institute in Athens. Its early f ...

Selected works

* ''Mémoire sur les ruines et l'histoire de Delphes'', 1865 – Memoire on the ruins and history of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

. * ''Des associations religieuses chez les Grecs, thiases, éranes, orgéons'', 1875 – Religious associations among the Greeks. * ''Décret des Athéniens relatif à la ville de Chalcis'', 1877 – Decree of the Athenians on the city of

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

. * ''Mélanges d'épigraphie grecque'', 1878 – Melanges of Greek epigraphy. * ''Recherches sur l'origine et la nature des mystères d'Éleusis'', 1895 – Research on the origin and nature of the mysteries of

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

. * ''Les grands mystères d'Éleusis, personnel--cérémonies'', 1900 – The grand mysteries of Eleusis. * ''La formation de la Province Romaine d'Asie'', 1903 – The formation of the Roman province of Asia. * ''Le culte de Dionysos en Attique'', 1904 – The

Cult of Dionysus The cult of Dionysus consisted of devotees who involved themselves in forms of ecstatic worship in reverence of Dionysus. An ecstatic ritual performed by the cult included the '' orgeia,'' a forest rite involving ecstatic dance during the night ...

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

. * ''Étude sur Didymos d'après un papyrus de Berlin'', 1906 – Study of Didymus according to the

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. * ''Les mystères d'Éleusis'', 1914 – The mysteries of Eleusis. * ''Le culte des héros chez les Grecs'', 1918 – Hero worship among the Greeks.HathiTrust Digital Library
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foucart, Paul 1836 births 1926 deaths Scientists from Paris French archaeologists French epigraphers French hellenists Academic staff of the Collège de France Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres