Richard Wünsch (1 June 1869 in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

– 17 May 1915 at

Iłża Iłża () is a small town in Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. In 2006 Iłża had approximately 5,165 inhabitants. The town belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland, and from its foundation until 1795, it was part of Lesser Poland’s Sandomie ...

) was a German classical philologist. He studied classical philology primarily at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, and also at the Universities of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. He received his doctorate in 1893. Following graduation, he spent two years on an extended study trip to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Spain, Italy and Greece. He obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in Breslau, and in 1902 was appointed professor of classical philology at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. Later on, he held professorships at the universities of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(from 1907) and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

(from 1913). During World War I, he died at

at the age of 45, while serving as a battalion leader during an assault on the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

Career

Wünsch supported his doctoral adviser Albrecht Dieterich on the latter's theory of ''manuum vellatio''. Wünsch noted that this ritual had been indigenous to the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

worship of Fides. Wünsch also was a collector of curse tablets. He had the Kaklık

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

curse tablet in his collection, but it is unknown why he did not comment on it.

Selected works

* ''De Taciti Germaniae codicibus Germanicis'', 1893. On

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

. * ''Sethianische Verfluchungstafeln aus Rom'', 1898 – Sethian

curse tablet A curse tablet (; ) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The tablets were used to ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perfo ...

s of Rome. * ''Ioannis Laurentii Lydi liber de mensibus'' (edition of

John the Lydian John the Lydian or John Lydus (; ) ( AD 490 – 565) was a Byzantine administrator and writer. He is considered a key figure in antiquarian studies from the fourth to the sixth century A.D. Although he is a secondary author, his works are signific ...

; 1898). * ''Das Frühlingsfest der Insel Malta'', 1902 – The spring festival of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. * ''Antikes Zaubergerät aus Pergamon'', 1905 – On the ancient magical devices found at

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

by the Athens Institute which had references to the goddesses

Hecate Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associat ...

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

and Artemis Leucophryene. The devices also referred to the angels from the Judaic canon:

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

, Raguel and

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. * ''Antike Fluchtafeln'', 1907 – Ancient curse tablets. * ''Aus einem griechischen Zauberpapyrus'', 1911 – Greek Magical Papyri. As editor: * ''Eine Mithrasliturgie'' (by Albrecht Dieterich; 2nd edition by Wünsch in 1910) – A Mithras Liturgy. * ''Mutter Erde: ein Versuch über Volksreligion'' (by Albrecht Dieterich; 2nd edition by Wünsch in 1913) – Mother Earth; an essay on

folk religion Folk religion, traditional religion, or vernacular religion comprises, according to religious studies and folkloristics, various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. ...

.Most widely held works by Richard Wünsch
WorldCat Identities * ''Kleine Schriften'' (by Albrecht Dieterich) - 1911. * ''Religionsgeschichtlichte Versuche und Vorarbeiten'' - 1908-1915. * ''Archiv für Religionwissenschaft'' - 1908-1915. *

Inscriptiones Graecae The ''Inscriptiones Graecae'' (''IG''), Latin for ''Greek inscriptions'', is an academic project originally begun by the Prussian Academy of Science, and today continued by its successor organisation, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences a ...

- ''Defixionum Tabellae Atticae'' (III.3) - Berlin, 1897

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wunsch, Richard 1869 births 1915 deaths People from Wiesbaden German classical philologists University of Marburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Giessen Academic staff of the University of Münster Academic staff of the University of Königsberg German military personnel killed in World War I