Hendrik Simon Versnel

Hendrik Simon Versnel (first name: Henk ) (* 1936 ) is a Dutch ancient historian .

Life

From 1956 to 1962, Henk Versnel studied Classical Antiquities at the University of Leiden and received his doctorate there in 1970 on the subject of Triumphus . An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph . Until 1971 he taught Latin and Greek at the Erasmianum grammar school in Rotterdam . From 1971 to 1980 worked as an adjunct professor and from 1980 as a full professor of ancient history at the University of Leiden. Versnel retired in 2000. In 2005 he received an honorary doctorate from the Philosophical Faculty of Heidelberg University .

Act

Among the classical scholars , Henk Versnel has a special international rank because of his scientific achievements: Firstly, he has published original articles in the field of the ancient history of religion and ideas . Second, the scientist combines the interpretation of sources with innovative contributions to theorizing, especially in the fields of ancient magic and rituals . Versnel emphasizes the importance of rituals as a heuristic possibility for understanding ancient societies. However, Versnel differs from his colleagues at the anthropological École de Paris , which was shaped by structuralism , such as the philologist Jean-Pierre Vernant and the historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet, through an intensive discourse on the method used and the terms . His current research interest lies in ancient magic, particularly the escape tables and paradoxes , contradictions and ambiguities of Greek mythology .

Publications (selection)

Monographs

• Triumph. An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph. Brill, Leiden 1970, (at the same time: Leiden, University, dissertation, 1970).
• Satricum en Rome. De Inscriptie van Satricum en de vroeg-Romeinse Geschiedenis (= Satricana. 3, ISSN  1872-9886 ). Stichting Nederlands Studiencentrum voor Latium, undated (around 1985), (In Italian: Satricum e Roma. L'Iscrizione di Satricum e la storia romana arcaica. Fondazione Centro di Studio Olandese per il Lazio, Campoverde et al. 1990).
• Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman religion. 2 volumes. Brill, Leiden et al. 1990-1993, ISBN 90-04-09268-4 (set);
  • Volume 1: Ter unus. Isis, Dionysus, Hermes. Three Studies in Henotheism (= Studies in Greek and Roman Religion. 6, 1). 1990, ISBN 90-04-09266-8 ;
  • Volume 2: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual (= Studies in Greek and Roman Religion. 6, 2). 1993, ISBN 90-04-09267-6 .
• Curse and prayer. Magical manipulation versus religious supplication? Religious-historical and hermeneutical considerations on ancient escape boards (= Hans-Lietzmann-Vorlesungen. 10). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-022635-5 .

Editorships

• Faith, Hope and Worship. Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient World (= Studies in the Greek and Roman Religion. 2). Brill, Leiden et al. 1981, ISBN 90-04-06425-7 .
• (Associate Editor) Religions in the Graeco-Roman World series. ISSN  0927-7633 .
• (Associate Editor) Mnemosyne magazine .
• (Associate Editor) Supplementa Mnemosyne series . ISSN  0169-8958 .

literature

• Herman FJ Horstmanshoff , Hendricus W. Singor, Folkert T. van Straten, Johan HM Strubbe (eds.): Kykeon. Studies in Honor of HS Versnel (= Religions in the Graeco-Roman World. 142). Brill, Leiden et al. 2002, ISBN 90-04-11983-3 .

Web links

• Appreciation homepage at the University of Leiden