Richard Wünsch (1 June 1869 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

– 17 May 1915 at

Iłża Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sa ...

) was a German

classical philologist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Cla ...

. He studied classical philology at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the worl ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1893. Following graduation, he spent two years on an extended study trip to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, Spain, Italy and Greece. He obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

in Breslau, and in 1902 was appointed professor of classical philology at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

. Later on, he held professorships at the universities of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

(from 1907) and

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state d ...

(from 1913). In World War I he died at

, while serving as a battalion leader during an assault on the Russian army.

Selected works

* ''De Taciti Germaniae codicibus Germanicis'', 1893. * ''Sethianische Verfluchungstafeln aus Rom'', 1898 –

Sethian The Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century CE, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century CE as a fusion of two distinct Hellenistic ...

curse tablet A curse tablet ( la, tabella defixionis, defixio; el, κατάδεσμος, katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The table ...

s of Rome. * ''Ioannis Laurentii Lydi liber de mensibus'' (edition of

John the Lydian John the Lydian or John Lydus ( el, ; la, Ioannes Laurentius Lydus) (ca. AD 490 – ca. 565) was a Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects. Life and career He was born in 490 AD at Philadelphia in Lydia, whence his cognomen ...

; 1898). * ''Das Frühlingsfest der Insel Malta'', 1902 – The spring festival of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. * ''Antikes Zaubergerät aus Pergamon'', 1905 – Ancient magical devices of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

. * ''Antike Fluchtafeln'', 1907 – Ancient curse tablets. * ''Aus einem griechischen Zauberpapyrus'', 1911 –

Greek Magical Papyri The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: ''Papyri Graecae Magicae'', abbreviated ''PGM'') is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek (but also in Old Coptic, Demotic, etc.), which each con ...

. As editor: * ''Eine Mithrasliturgie'' (by

Albrecht Dieterich Albrecht Dieterich (2 May 1866 – 6 May 1908) was a German classical philologist and scholar of religion born in Hersfeld. Academic background He studied at the Universities of Leipzig and Bonn, where at the latter he was a student of Herm ...

; 2nd edition by Wünsch in 1910) – A

Mithras Liturgy The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri, numbered ''PGM'' IV.475-834. The modern name by which the text is known originated in 1903 with Albrecht Dieterich, its first translator, bas ...

. * ''Mutter Erde : ein Versuch über Volksreligion'' (by Albrecht Dieterich; 2nd edition by Wünsch in 1913) – Mother Earth; an essay on

folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized r ...

.Most widely held works by Richard Wünsch
WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wunsch, Richard 1869 births 1915 deaths People from Wiesbaden German classical philologists University of Marburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of the University of Münster Academic staff of the University of Königsberg