EHRENBERG, VICTOR LEOPOLD

EHRENBERG, VICTOR LEOPOLD (1891–1976), German historian. Born in Altona, Ehrenberg was professor of ancient history at the German University in Prague (1929–39). The Nazi regime forced his immigration to Great Britain (1939), where he was visiting lecturer at several universities, and from 1949 to 1957 lecturer and reader in ancient history at the University of London. He was joint founder of the London Classical Society and joint founder and editor of the journal Historia. The bulk of Ehrenberg's work was in ancient Greek history. These include Neugruender des Staates (1925); Alexander und Aegypten (1926); and Alexander and the Greeks (1938). The People of Aristophanes (1943, 1951²) is a sociological account of life in ancient Athens, based upon the surviving works of old Attic comedy; Sophocles and Pericles (1954) deals with the spiritual trends of the fifth century b.c.e.; From Solon to Socrates (1968) describes Greek civilization of the sixth and fifth centuries b.c.e. Many of his numerous articles were gathered in Aspects of the Ancient World (1946) and Polis und Imperium (1965).

bibliography:

H. Schaefer, in: Historia, 10 (1961), 387–408 (includes list of works); Ancient Society and Institutions, Studies Presented to Victor Ehrenberg on his 75^th Birthday (1966). add. bibliography: P.R. Franke, "Victor Ehrenberg – Ein deutsches Gelehrtenschicksal," in: R. Schneider (ed.), Juden in Deutschland (1994), 309ff.

[Irwin L. Merker]