Diels, Hermann Alexander
Diels, Hermann Alexander
Classical philologist
Born: 18.05.1848 in Biebrich
Died: 04.06.1922 in Berlin
Diels studied classical philology in Berlin and Bonn and completed his studies in 1870 with a dissertation on the history of philosophy by Galenus; he then initially entered the teaching profession.
Alongside his work as a teacher in Flensburg (1872), in Hamburg (1873-77) and in Berlin until 1882, he continued to devote himself to his academic work. From 1877 he was a full member of the Prussian Academy. In 1882 he was appointed associate professor at the University of Berlin. In 1886 he was appointed full professor. From 1895 to 1920 he was secretary of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
From his extensive work, around 250 books, treatises, speeches and reviews, the Doxographies (=philosophical-historical treatises), the Aristotle commentaries and the fragments of the Pre-Socratics stand out in particular. These studies were groundbreaking for the study of antiquity. His works on ancient medicine and philosophy are still of fundamental importance today.
He received numerous honors at home and abroad and was a Knight of the Order Pour le mérite.
Literature
Kern, Otto: Hermann Diels and Carl Robert. A biographical attempt. In: Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft, Supplementband 215, Leipzig 1927.
Regenbogen, Otto: Hermann Diels. In: Deutsches Biographisches Jahrbuch, vol. IV (1922), Berlin et al. 1929.
Renkhoff, Otto: Nassau Biography. Kurzbiographien aus 13 Jahrhunderten, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden 1992 (Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Nassau 39) [p. 133].