{{Short description|German academic (1632–1703)}} [[File:Johannes Georgius Graevius (1632-1703), by Anonymous.jpg|thumb|right|Johann Georg Graevius.]] '''Johann Georg Graevius''' (originally ''Grava'' or ''Greffe''; Latin: Joannes/Johannes Georgius Graevius; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German [[classical scholar]] and [[critic]]. He was born in [[Naumburg (Saale)|Naumburg]], in the [[Electorate of Saxony]].
==Life== Graevius was originally intended for the [[law]], but made the acquaintance of [[Johann Friedrich Gronovius]] during a casual visit to [[Deventer]], under whose influence he abandoned jurisprudence for [[philology]]. He completed his studies under [[Daniel Heinsius]] at [[University of Leiden|Leiden]], and among others under the [[Protestant]] [[theology|theologian]] [[David Blondel]] at [[Amsterdam]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
During his residence in Amsterdam, under Blondel's influence he abandoned [[Lutheranism]] and joined the [[Reformed Church]]; and in 1656 he was called by the [[Prince-elector|Elector]] of [[Brandenburg]] to the chair of [[rhetoric]] in the [[University of Duisburg]]. Two years afterwards, on the recommendation of Gronovius, he was chosen to succeed that scholar at Deventer; in 1662 he moved to the [[Utrecht University|University of Utrecht]], where he occupied first the chair of rhetoric, and in addition, from 1667 until his death, that of [[history]] and [[political science|politics]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} [[File:Graevius - Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae, 1704 - 2112073 F.jpg|thumb|''Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae'', 1704]]
Graevius enjoyed a very high reputation as a teacher, and his lecture-room was crowded by pupils, many of them of distinguished rank, from all parts of the world. He was visited by [[Lorenzo Magalotti]] and honoured with special recognition by [[Louis XIV]], and was a particular favourite of [[William III of England]], who made him [[historiographer]] royal.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
His library, rich in antiquarian classical books, was bought after his death by [[Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine]] (reigned 1690–1716); part of it was later transferred to Heidelberg University Library
Graevius died in [[Utrecht]] in 1703.
==Work== His two most important works are the ''Thesaurus antiquitatum Romanarum'' (1694–1699, in 12 volumes), and the ''[[Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae]]'' published after his death, and continued by the elder [[Pieter Burmann the Elder|Pieter Burmann]] (1704–1725), although these have not always been looked upon favourably.<ref>Not, for example, in J.-C. Brunet, ''Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur des livres'', Paris 1842–1844, who calls this last work "poorly researched".</ref> His editions of the classics, although they marked a distinct advance in scholarship, are now for the most part superseded. They include ''[[Hesiod]]'' (1667), ''[[Lucian]]'', ''Pseudosophista'' (1668), ''[[Junianus Justinus|Justin]]'', ''Historiae Philippicae'' (1669), ''[[Lives of the Twelve Caesars|Suetonius]]'' (1672), ''[[Catullus]]'', ''[[Tibullus]] et [[Propertius]]'' (1680), and several of the works of [[Cicero]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
He also edited many of the writings of contemporary scholars.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He corresponded with scholars throughout Europe including with [[Albert Rubens]], the son of [[Peter Paul Rubens]] who was a prominent classical scholar and numismatist. He posthumously edited a collection of Albert Rubens's essays on ancient clothing, coins and gems, which was published in 1665 by [[Balthasar Moretus]] in Antwerp under the title ''De re vestiaria veterum, [...], et alia eiusdem opuscula posthuma''.<ref name=but>[https://www.academia.edu/23827302/Rubens_and_son ''Rubens&son'', Nils Büttner, ''Rubens&son''] in: Brosens, Koenraad; Kelchtermans, Leen; Van der Stighelen, Katlijne (Ed.), Family ties: Art production and kinship patterns in the early modern Low Countries, Turnhout 2012, pp. 131-14</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Sources == {{commons category|Johann Georg Graevius}} *{{EB1911|wstitle=Graevius, Johann Georg|volume=12|page=315}} *The ''Oratio funebris'' by Burmann (1703) contains an exhaustive list of the works of this scholar. *P.H. Kulb in Ersch and Gruber's ''Allgemeine Encyklopädie'', Leipzig 1818 *[[John Edwin Sandys|J.E. Sandys]], ''History of Classical Scholarship'', part ii, Cambridge 1908
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graevius, Johann Georg}} [[Category:1632 births]] [[Category:1703 deaths]] [[Category:People from Naumburg]] [[Category:German classical scholars]] [[Category:German philologists]] [[Category:Academic staff of Utrecht University]] [[Category:17th-century German historians]] [[Category:Political science educators]]