Theodor Bergk (22 May 181220 July 1881) was a German

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, an authority on

classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

poetry.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

as the son of Johann Adam Bergk. After studying at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where he profited by the instruction of

Gottfried Hermann Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann (28 November 1772 – 31 December 1848) was a German classical scholar and philologist. He published his works under the name Gottfried Hermann or its Latin equivalent . Biography He was born in Leipzig. Entering ...

, he was appointed in 1835 to the lectureship in Latin at the orphan school at Halle. After holding posts at Neustrelitz, Berlin and Cassel, he succeeded (1842)

Karl Friedrich Hermann Karl Friedrich Hermann (4 August 1804 – 31 December 1855) was a German classical scholar and antiquarian, antiquary. Biography He was born at Frankfurt-am-Main. Having studied philosophy at the universities of university of Heidelberg, Heide ...

as professor of classical literature at

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

. In 1852 he went to

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, and in 1857 returned to Halle. In 1868 he resigned his professorship, and settled down to study and literary work 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 ...

. He died on 20 July 1881, at

Ragatz Ragatz, also known as "''Old Baths Pfäfers''" or "''Old Baths of Pfäfersin''" in the 19th century and earlier, was a famous watering-place in the Swiss village of Bad Ragaz, situated on the left bank of the Rhine, and by rail 22 km north of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he had gone for the benefit of his health. Bergk's literary activity was very great, but his reputation mainly rests upon his work in connection with Greek literature and the Greek lyric poets. His ''Poetae Lyrici Graeci'' (1843), and ''Griechische Litteraturgeschichte'' (1872–1887) (completed by G. Hinrichs and R. Peppmüller with the aid of Bergk's posthumous papers) became standard works. He also edited

Anacreon Anacreon ( BC) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early ...

(1834), the fragments of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

(1840), Aristophanes (3rd ed., 1872),

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

(2nd ed., 1868), a lyric anthology (4th ed., 1890). Among his other works may be mentioned: ''Augusti Rerum a se gestarum Index'' (1873); ''Inschriften römischer Schleudergeschosse'' (1876); ''Zur Geschichte und Topographie der Rheinlande in römischer Zeit'' (1882); ''Beiträge zur römischen Chronologie'' (1884). His ''Kleine philologische Schriften'' were edited by Peppmüller (1884–1886), and contain, in addition to a complete list of his writings, a sketch of his life.

Works

*
Aristophanis fragmenta
'. Edidit Th. Bergk, Berolini typis et impensis G. Reimeri, 1840. *
Poetae Lyrici Graeci
'. Edidit Theodorus Bergk, Lipsiae, Sumtu Reichenbachiorum fratrum, 1843. **
Poetae Lyrici Graeci
'. Recensuit Theodorus Bergk. Editio altera auctior et emendatior. Lipsiae, apud Rechenbachios, 1853. **''Poetae Lyrici Graeci''. Tertiis curis recensuit Theodorus Bergk
Pars 1pars 2pars 3
Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1865–67. **''Poetae Lyrici Graeci''. Recensuit Theodorus Bergk. Editionis quartae
Vol. 2vol. 3
Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1878–82. *''Griechische Literaturgeschichte'' von Theodor Bergk
Vol. 1vol. 2vol. 3vol. 4
Berlin, Weimannsche Buchhanndlung, 1872–87.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergk, Theodor 1812 births 1881 deaths German classical scholars German philologists Writers from Leipzig People from the Kingdom of Saxony Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of the University of Freiburg Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities