Stefanos Koumanoudis

Stefanos Koumanoudis (Greek: Στέφανος Κουμανούδης, 1818-1899) was a Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer of the 19th century.

Stefanos Koumanoudis
Stefanos Koumanoudis in an advanged age
Born	1818 Adrianople
Died	31 May 1899 Athens
Nationality	Greek
Education	Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Paris
Occupation	Archaeologist, university teacher, writer, translator
Employer	University of Athens, Archaeological Society of Athens

Biography

He was born in 1818 in Adrianople to a rich merchant family.[1][2][3] In an early age, his family settled in Bucharest, and later in Silistra where he spent most of his childhood.[3][4] He graduated from the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Paris.[4][5] Fellow university students of Koumanoudis were Efthymios Kastorchis, Iraklis Mitsopoulos, Lysandros Kavtantzoglou and Emmanuel Kokkinos, who became notable teachers and archaeologists as well.[4]

He became a lecturer in 1845, and in 1846 he was appointed a professor of Latin philology of the University of Athens. In 1854 he was elected dean of the Philosophical School of the University, and in the later years 3 more times (1855-1856, 1866-1867, 1877-1888, 1884-1885).[6] He retired in August 1886 after forty years of active teaching. His subjects mostly concerned the history of Roman letters, the life of the Romans and the interpretation of the Latin poets and writers. He was a teacher of the later King George I and his wife Olga.[7] He had been a secretary of the Archaeological Society of Athens for 36 years. Among his discoveries, during his tenure at the Archaeological Society, were the Stoa of Attalos, the Hadrian's Library, the Theatre of Dionysus, the Dipylon and the Kerameikos.[7]

He was also a member of the Institut de France, the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Göttingen Academy of Sciences.[8] He died on 31 May 1899 (Gregorian calendar), and was buried the following day.[9]

Writings

He wrote excavations and epigraphic publications, dictionaries and commentary versions of classical works and translated several Serbian folk songs as well as works by Voltaire.[10][11] His diary was preserved and transcribed by his great-grandson, also philologist Stefanos N. Koumanoudis, and got published in 1980.[12] He also enriched and translated the Latin dictionary of Heinrich Ulrichs (1807-1843), and in 1883 contributed to the re-issue of the Archaeological Journal, and from 1861 to 1863 he published the historical magazine «Philistor» (Φιλίστωρ).[7] He also published, with Efthymios Kastorchis, the magazine «Athinaion» (Αθήναιον).[8]

References

1. Koumanoudēs, Stephanos A., 1818-1899, FAST Linked Data
2. Καθολικόν πανόραμα των Αθηνών. Μορφωτικό Ιδρυμα Εθνικής Τραπέζης. 2005. p. 30.
3. Matthaiou, Sophia. Stephanos A. Koumanoudēs (1818-1899): schediasma viographias. Archaeological Society of Athens. p. 15.
4. Argyropoulou, Roxani D. (18 December 2011). "Στέφανος Κουµανούδης: Τι πίστευε ένας διανοούµενος στη νεαρή Ελλάδα του 19ου αιώνα". To Vima.
5. Ὁ Σολων· ἀρχαιον Ἑλληνικον δικαιον. Περιεχον τους σωζομενους Νομους των Ἀθηναιων και τους Ναυτικους των τε Ῥοδιων και Αὐτοκρατορων της Κωνσταντινουπολεως. Μεταφρασθεν και ἐκδοθεν ὑπο Ν. Π. 1844. p. 315 – via British Library.
6. "ΕΚΠΑ: Κοσμητεία Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής - Ιστορικά Στοιχεία". www.deanphil.uoa.gr. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
7. "Κουμανούδης Στέφανος - Εθνολογικό Μουσείο Θράκης". database.emthrace.org. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
8. Λεύκωμα της εκατονταετηρίδος της Εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας. Athens: Archaeological Society of Athens. 1937. pp. 24–25 (part B).
9. Spandonis, N. (21 May 1899). "Στέφανος Κουμανούδης". Empros. p. 1 – via National Library Digital Archive.
10. Papageorgiou, Alekos G. (1 July 1939). "Ο Στέφανος Κουμανούδης μεταφραστής σερβικών λαϊκών τραγουδιών". Nea Estia (301): 912.
11. Papageorgiou, Alekos G. (15 May 1961). "Ο Στέφανος Κουμανούδης μεταφραστής του Βολταίρου". Nea Estia (813): 690.
12. Newspaper Ta Nea, 6 July 1987, p. 53.