Persona

Roeder, (Ernst) Günther

1881-1966

German Egyptologist; he was born at Schwiebus, 2 Aug. 1881, son of Ernst R., pharmacist, and Meta Wahrburg; he studied at the University of Jena and then Berlin under Erman, gaining his doctorate at Friedrich-Wilhelm University, 1904; he helped with the classification of objects in the Egyptian Department of Berlin Museum, becoming a methodical and very systematic worker; he also published the inscriptions in the museum, and at this time also helped with the Worterbuch, 1900-7; he joined the Egyptian Antiquities Service, 1907-11; for Maspero he copied the reliefs and inscriptions in three Nubian temples, Debod, Kalabsha, and Dakka, and for Cairo Museum also published the Naos vol. of the Cairo Cat. General; he completed his habilitaion at the University of Beslau, 1914; he then became a lecturer at Breslau, 1914; Professor, 1916; he was Director of the Hildesheim Museum which had been founded shortly before by W. Pelizaeus, 1915-1945 and Director of the Berlin Museum, Dec. 1940-45 when he was dismissed from his posts as a supporter of the Nazi government; he published a catalogue of this collection; between 1929 and 1939; he directed the excavations at Hermopolis, 1930-39, for which he became famous, clearing much of the vast site of the Thoth temple and the associated buildings, and finding many blocks with scenes of the Aten which apparently came from El-Amarna; he was appointed Director in the Berlin Museum, 1940-45; Roeder made a special study of Egyptian mythology and religion and also certain types of object, his wide variety of interests being shown in his publications; he was a very prolific writer: Debod bis Bab Kalabsche, 2 out of 3 vols. 1911-12; Die Denkmiiler des Pelizaeus-Museums zu Hildesheim, 1921; Aegyptische Inschnfierz aus den koniglichen Museen zu Berlin, 1924; Agyptisch: praktische Einflihrung in die Hieroglyphen und die eigyptische Sprache mit Lesestiicken und Wiirterbuch, 1926; Die Mastaba des Uhemka im Pelizaeus-Museum zu Hildesheim, 1927; Der Tempel von Dakke, 2 out of 3 vols. 1930; Agyptische Bronzewerke, 1937; Der Felsentempel von Bet el-Wali, 1938; _Agyptische Bronzefiguren), 2 pts., 1956; Hermopolis, 1929-1939; Die agyptische Religion in Texten und Bildern, 4 pts. 1959-61, and posthumously Amarna-Reliefs aus Hermopolis. Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Hermopolis-Expedition 1929-39 II, 1969.

• Who Was Who in Egyptology (4th ed. 2012), 470-1 fig. (portrait).