Pierre Grimal (November 21, 1912, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

– November 2, 1996, in Paris) was a French

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and

Latinist Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Fascinated by the Greek and Roman civilizations, he did much to promote the cultural inheritance of the

classical world Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

, both among specialists and the general public.

Biography

Admitted to the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1933, and received third at the " agrégation de lettres" in 1935, he was member of the

École française de Rome The École française de Rome (EFR) is a French research institute for history, archaeology, and the social sciences; overseen by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and a division of the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et d ...

(1935–1937) then taught Latin at a

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

lycée. Then he was active as a professor of Roman civilization at the faculties of Caen and Bordeaux, and finally at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

for thirty years. He published studies on the Roman civilization, of which many volumes to the "

Que sais-je? "Que sais-je?" (QSJ) (; Literally: "What do I know?", ) is an editorial collection published by the Presses universitaires de France (PUF). The aim of the series is to provide the lay reader with an accessible introduction to a field of study wr ...

" series, and translations of Latin classical authors (Cicero, Seneca the Younger, Tacitus, Plautus, Terence). On his retirement, he also published biographies and fictionalized histories (''Mémoires d’Agrippine'', ''le procès Néron''), more intended for the general public. At the end of his life, he campaigned for the safeguarding of literary teaching.

Works

All published in Paris: * ''Dictionnaire de la mythologie grecque et romaine'', published by

PUF PUF may refer to: * Physical unclonable function, in computer security, a physically-implemented secure identifier * The University Presses of France *Permanent University Fund, for Texas public universities * Pau Pyrénées Airport in France (I ...

, 1951, fifth edition in 1976 * ''Romans grecs et latins'',

Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the c ...

, 1958 * ''Le siècle des Scipions, Rome et l’Hellénisme au temps des guerres puniques'', Aubier, second edition in 1975 * ''La littérature latine'', PUF Que sais-je? n° 376, 1965 * ''La mythologie grecque'', PUF Que sais-je? n° 582, ninth edition in 1978 * ''L’art des jardins'', PUF Que sais-je? n° 618, third edition 1974 * ''Les villes romaines'', PUF Que sais-je? n° 657, first edition 1954, seventh edition in 1990 * ''Le siècle d’Auguste'', PUF Que sais-je? n° 676, 1965 * ''Dans les pas des césars'', Hachette, 1955 * ''

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

'', Editions du Seuil, 1955 * ''La civilisation romaine'', Arthaud, fourth edition in 1970 * ''Italie retrouvée'', PUF, 1979 * ''Nous partons pour Rome'', PUF, third edition 1977 * ''L’amour à Rome'', Belles Lettres, 1979 * ''Mythologies'', Larousse, 1964 * ''Histoire mondiale de la femme'', Nouvelle Librairie de France, 1965 * ''Etude de chronologie cicéronienne'',

Les Belles Lettres Les Belles Lettres is a French publisher specialising in the publication of ancient texts such as the '' Collection Budé''. The publishing house, originally named ''Société Les Belles Lettres pour le développement de la culture classique'', ...

, 1977 * ''Essai sur l’art poétique d’Horace'', Paris SEDES, 1968 * ''Le guide de l’étudiant latiniste'', PUF, 1971 * ''La guerre civile de Petrone, dans ses rapports avec la Pharsale'', Les Belles Lettres, 1977 * ''Le Lyrisme à Rome'', PUF, 1978 * ''Sénèque, ou la conscience de l’Empire'', Les Belles Lettres, 1978 * ''Le théâtre antique'', PUF Que sais-je number 1732, 1978 * ''Le Quercy de Pierre Grimal'', Arthaud, 1978 * ''Sénèque'', PUF Que sais-je number 1950, 1981 * ''

Jérôme Carcopino Jérôme Carcopino (27 June 1881 – 17 March 1970) was a French historian and author. He was the fifteenth member elected to occupy seat 3 of the Académie française, in 1955. Biography Carcopino was born at Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure, son of a ...

, un historien au service de l’humanisme'' (in collaboration with Cl. Carcopino and P. Oubliac), Les Belles Lettres, 1981 * ''Rome, les siècles et les jours'', Arthaud, 1982 * ''Virgile ou la seconde naissance de Rome'', Arthaud, 1985 *
Rome, la littérature et l'histoire
', École française de Rome, 1986 * ''Cicéron'', Fayard, 1986 * ''Les erreurs de la liberté'', Les Belles Lettres, 1989 * ''Tacite'', Fayard, 1990 * ''Marc Aurèle'' * ''Les mémoires d’ Agrippine'', editions De Fallois, 1992 * ''Le procès de Néron'', editions De Fallois

Translations

Latin to French

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...

, ''De aquae ductu Urbis Romae'', Belles Lettres, 1944 *

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...

'', in ''Romans grecs et latins'',

, 1958 *

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

, Les Métamorphoses, in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 *

Longus Longus, sometimes Longos ( el, Λόγγος), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, ''Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') during ...

, La pastorale de Daphnis et Chloé, in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 *

'', Livre de poche, 1960 *

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

** ''De brevitate vitae'', PUF, 1959 ** ''Phaedra'', PUF, 1965 ** ''De vita beata'', PUF, 1969 *

, ''Amor and Psyche'', PUF, 1963 *

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

and

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

, complete works, Paris NFR, 1971 *

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

, complete works, La Pléiade, 1990 *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

(published posthumously) ** ''In Pisonem'', Belles Lettres, 1967 ** ''Pro Plancio'', Belles Lettres, 1976 * ''The memoirs of Pomponius Atticus'', Belles Lettres, 1976

Greek to French

Chariton Chariton of Aphrodisias ( grc-gre, Χαρίτων ὁ Ἀφροδισιεύς) was the author of an ancient Greek novel probably titled '' Callirhoe'' (based on the subscription in the sole surviving manuscript). However, it is regularly referred t ...

, Les aventures de Chéréas et de Callirhoé, in ''Romans grecs et latins'',

, 1958 *

Heliodorus of Emesa Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa ( grc, Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ Ἐμεσηνός) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the ''Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. Ide ...

, Les Ethiopiques, in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 *

Achilles Tatius Achilles Tatius (Greek: Ἀχιλλεὺς Τάτιος, ''Achilleus Tatios'') of Alexandria was a Roman-era Greek writer of the 2nd century AD whose fame is attached to his only surviving work, the ancient Greek novel, or ''romance'', '' The Adve ...

, Le roman de Leucippé et Clitophon, in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 * Philostratos, Vie d'Apollonios de Tyane, in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 *

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

, ''Histoire véritable'', in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958 *

, ''La Confession de Cyprien'', in ''Romans grecs et latins'', Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 1958

Honours

Pierre Grimal was a member of: * l' Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres, from 1978 * Comité d'honneur de l' ASSELAF (Association pour la sauvegarde et l'expansion de la langue française)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimal, Pierre Writers from Paris 1912 births 1996 deaths French classical scholars Greek–French translators Latin–French translators Historians of antiquity French Latinists École Normale Supérieure alumni French scholars of Roman history Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) 20th-century French translators French male non-fiction writers Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French male writers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences