Olivier Rayet (23 September 1847, Le Cairou – 19 February 1887,

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. Si ...

) was a French

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

. From 1866 he studied

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

and ancient history at 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, S ...

in Paris, where he was a pupil of

Ernest Desjardins Antoine Émile Ernest Desjardins (30 September 1823 – 22 October 1886) was a French historian, geographer and archaeologist. He was a younger brother of historian Abel Desjardins (1814–1886). In 1856 he began teaching classes in Latin epigr ...

, his future father-in-law. In 1869 he obtained his

agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''profe ...

in history and became a member of the

French School at Athens The French School at Athens (french: École française d’Athènes, EfA; el, Γαλλική Σχολή Αθηνών ''Gallikí Scholí Athinón'') is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece. History ...

. From 1876 he taught classes in

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...

and Greek archaeology at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

, and three years later, began teaching courses in

ancient art Ancient art refers to the many types of art produced by the advanced cultures of ancient societies with some form of writing, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The art of pre ...

at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

, succeeding

Paul Foucart Paul-François Foucart (15 March 1836, Paris – 19 May 1926) was a French archaeologist, known for his research involving the Eleusinian Mysteries. He was the father of Egyptologist Georges Foucart. Beginning in 1855 he studied at the École N ...

, a professor of

, who had recently been named director of the

. In 1884 he succeeded

François Lenormant François Lenormant (17 January 1837 – 9 December 1883) was a 19th-century French Hellenist, Assyriologist and archaeologist. Biography Early life Lenormant's father, Charles Lenormant, distinguished as an archaeologist, numismatist and Egypto ...

as chair of archaeology at the

Bibliothèque nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in Paris.Rayet, Olivier
INHA Theseus Minotauros Louvre MNC675

In 1873 he directed excavations in

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' ( exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ...

and

Didyma Didyma (; grc, Δίδυμα) was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia in the domain of the famous city of Miletus. Apollo was the main deity of the sanctuary of Didyma, also called ''Didymaion''. But it was home to both of the te ...

that were financed by Gustave and

Edmond de Rothschild Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (Hebrew: הברון אברהם אדמונד בנימין ג'יימס רוטשילד - ''HaBaron Avraham Edmond Binyamin Ya'akov Rotshield''; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French memb ...

. During the 1870s, he enriched the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

with some of the finest early examples of

Tanagra figurines The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BC, named after the Boeotian town of Tanagra, where many were excavated and which has given its name to the whole class. However, they ...

Published works

* ''Le temple d'Apollon Didyméen'', 1876 – The Temple of Apollo (Didyma). * ''Milet et le golfe Latmique'', 1877–85, with Albert Thomas (2 volumes) –

and the Latmian Gulf. * ''Études d'archéologie et d'art'', 1888, with Salomon Reinach – Studies of archaeology and art. * ''Histoire de la céramique grecque'', 1888, with

Maxime Collignon Léon-Maxime Collignon (8 November 1849 in Verdun – 15 October 1917 in Paris) was a French archaeologist who specialized in ancient Greek art and ancient Greek architecture, architecture. Biography From 1868 he studied at the École norma ...

– History of

Greek ceramics Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayet, Olivier 1847 births 1887 deaths Collège de France faculty French art historians French archaeologists People from Lot (department)