Georg Hendrick Carl Koës (1782–1811) was a Danish

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

of the early 19th century. Koës was born in

Antvorskov Antvorskov Monastery (Danish: ''Antvorskov Kloster'') was the principal Scandinavian monastery of the Catholic Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, located about one kilometer south of the town of Slagelse on Zealand, Denmark. It served as the Scand ...

, the third son of Anna Mathea Falch and Georg Frederik Koës, and was christened on 4 February 1782 in St Peter's, Slagelse. He studied classical philology under F.A. Wolf at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

, writing pioneering works of textual criticism on ancient Greek works, including

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, whose work he demonstrated to be by more than one writer (, Copenhagen 1806). He visited

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

in 1806 with his friend

Peter Oluf Brøndsted Peter Oluf Brøndsted (17 November 1780 – 26 June 1842), Danish archaeologist. He was a professor and rector at the University of Copenhagen. Brøndsted was the first Danish scholar who was involved in archeological work in Greece. Biograph ...

. After remaining there two years, they went together to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Both were zealously attached to the study of antiquities and the tastes and interests they held in common led them, in 1810, to join an expedition to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

with

Otto Magnus von Stackelberg Otto Magnus von Stackelberg may refer to: * Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (ambassador) (1736–1800), Russian diplomat * Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (archaeologist) (1786–1837), Estonian archeologist {{hndis, Stackelberg, Otto Magnus von ...

Carl Haller von Hallerstein Johann Carl Christoph Wilhelm Joachim Haller von Hallerstein (10 June 1774, Burg Hilpoltstein, Hiltpoltstein, Principality of Bayreuth – 5 November 1817, Ampelakia, Thessaly, Ottoman Greece) was a German architect, archaeologist and art h ...

, the German painter Jakob Linckh, and the then Austrian consul in Greece George Christian Gropius.

Death

However, Koës died unexpectedly on

Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

in 1811, aged 29, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. He was buried at the house of consul Lunzi on the island (Brøndsted was away in Thessaly at the time). Sir

William Gell Sir William Gell FRS (29 March 17774 February 1836) was a British classical archaeologist and illustrator. He published topographical illustrations of Troy and the surrounding area in 1804. He also published illustrations showing the result ...

, who also participated in the expedition, sent home a drawing of the burial-spot for Koës's family back in Denmark, and this is now in the possession of the Brøndsted family. The expedition continued and, when Brøndsted returned to Copenhagen in 1813, he married Georg's sister Frederikke. Koes had been engaged to his cousin Caroline Falch (7 November 1790 – 10 November 1856), daughter of Andreas Falch (1748–1797) and Charlotte Sophie Suhr (1756–1822), before leaving for Paris, and on his death she married Theodor Suhr the elder (1792–1858) around 1816.

Death

References

Further reading