Friedrich Blass facts for kids
Friedrich Blass was a German scholar who studied ancient languages and texts. He was born on January 22, 1843, in Osnabrück, Germany, and passed away on March 5, 1907, in Halle. He is mostly known for his important work on ancient Greek speeches and writing styles.
Life and Education
Friedrich Blass studied at the University of Göttingen and the University of Bonn from 1860 to 1863. After finishing his studies, he taught at several high schools called gymnasia. He also taught at the University of Königsberg.
In 1876, he became a professor of classical philology at the University of Kiel. Classical philology is the study of ancient languages and literature, like Greek and Latin. He became a full professor there in 1881. Later, in 1892, he moved to the University of Halle, where he continued his important work until he died.
Working with Others
Friedrich Blass often visited England and became good friends with many leading British scholars. He even received an honorary degree from Dublin University in 1892. People respected him because he was always ready to share his research. He was also known for being polite and kind to everyone he met.
His Important Works
Blass is best known for his studies on ancient Greek public speaking. This is also called Greek oratory. He wrote many books about how ancient Greeks spoke and wrote.
Some of his most famous works include:
- Die attische Beredsamkeit (This was his biggest work, about the speaking styles of ancient Athens).
- He also prepared special editions of speeches by famous ancient Greek speakers. These included Andocides, Antiphon, Hypereides, Demosthenes, Isocrates, Dinarchus, Aeschines, and Lycurgus. These editions helped other scholars study these important texts.
- He wrote about the rhythms in Greek and Roman writing.
Blass also worked on a large Greek grammar book with Bernhard Gerth. This book helped people understand the rules of the ancient Greek language.
Among his other works, he edited texts by Eudoxus of Cnidus and Bacchylides. He also wrote a grammar book for the Greek used in the New Testament part of the Bible. He also studied how ancient Greek was pronounced. His last work was an edition of a play called Choephori.
