Rudolf Ludwig Friedrich Herzog (1871–1953) was a German archaeologist, classical philologist, and historian of medicine.
He was professor of Ancient Greek at various German universities. On October 9 of 1902, he discovered the Asclepieion of Kos with help of the Greek historian Iacob Zarraftis, and started excavating it at the dawn of the twentieth century, from 1902 to 1904 or 1905. His son was the soldier Dietrich Herzog (1910–1989) and his grandson is the filmmaker Werner Herzog, who made a cinematic reference to Rudolf in his opera prima Lebenszeichen (Signs of Life).
Life and career He was born in Tübingen on August 31, 1871. Being son of professor Ernst Herzog (1834–1911), Rudolf Herzog attended the Gymnasium and protestant theological seminaries in Maulbronn and Blaubeuren.
After studying Classical Philology at the Universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Tübingen, he received his doctorate in 1894. As a student in Tübingen, in the winter semester of 1889 -1990 he joined the academic fraternity Igel zu Tübingen.
From 1895 to 1897, he worked as a secondary school teacher in Württemberg and in 1897-1898 received a travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute, which took him to ancient sites in the Mediterranean region, especially to the island of Kos.
After completing his habilitation, Herzog became private lecturer in 1899 and associate professor in 1903.Georg Boner: Die Universität Basel in den Jahren 1914-1939. Basel 1943, S. 71. From 1900 to 1907, he conducted excavations of the Asklepieion on Kos, which he had discovered. From July 17, 1909, until the end of the winter semester of 1913-1914, he was a full professor and chair of Greek philology in Basel , succeeding Ferdinand Sommer. In 1914, he accepted a professorship at the University of Giessen as full professor of classical philology, succeeding Alfred Körte; his colleague there was Karl Kalbfleisch. In 1928, he was elected rector of the University of Giessen for one year and appointed chancellor in 1933. He retired in 1936.Mechthilde Unverzagt: Wilhelm Unverzagt and the plans for the founding of an institute for the prehistory of East Germany . von Zabern, Mainz 1985, ISBN 3-8053-0807-8 . p. 32. On November 1, 1931 he had joined the Nazi Party, with membership number 692797.Bundesarchiv R 9361-IX KARTEI/15340479 On July 5, 1934, with a vote he prevented Karl Reinhardt and Friedrich Pfister from being called to Gießen.Jürgen Malitz: Klassische Philologie, S. 19. Aus: Eckhard Wirbelauer (Hrsg.): Die Freiburger Philosophische Fakultät 1920 – 1960. Mitglieder – Strukturen – Vernetzungen (= Freiburger Beiträge zur Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte. Neue Folge, Bd. 1.). Verlag Karl Alber, Freiburg / München, 2006, S. 303–364 (pdf; 410 kB).
In 1933 he received an honorary doctorate from the Medical Faculty of the University of Rostock and became a full member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1941. As a member of the German Grammar School Association , he was its last chairman until 1945.
He died on March 11, 1953, in Großhesselohe.
Selected works Koische Forschungen und Funde. Dieterich, Leipzig 1899 (Reprint Olms, Hildesheim 1983, ISBN 3-487-07063-4). Aus der Geschichte des Bankwesens im Altertum: Tesserae nummulariae A. Töpelmann, Gießen 1919. Die Stellung der Philologie in der Universität A. Töpelmann, Gießen 1929 (Speech at the anniversary celebration of the Hessian Ludwig University on June 1, 1929). Die Wunderheilungen von Epidaurus. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Medizin und der Religion (Philologus. Supplement Volume 22.3). Dieterich, Leipzig 1931. Asylieurkunden aus Kos (coauthored with Günther Klaffenbach). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1952 (Proceedings of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Class for Languages, Literature and Art. Year 1952, No. 1).
Further reading Helmut Berve: Rudolf Herzog. In: Yearbook of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences . 1953, pp. 165–168. Hans Georg Gundel: Classical Philology at the University of Giessen in the 20th Century . In: Ludwigs-Universität, Justus Liebig-Hochschule 1607–1957. Festschrift for the 350th Anniversary. Giessen (v. Münchowsche Univ.-Dr.) 1957, pp. 192–221 ( PDF 2.2 MB ). Bruno W. Reimann: "The well-known National Socialist university professor Dr. Rudolf Herzog." In: Bruno W. Reimann et al.: Antisemitism and National Socialism in the Giessen Region (1890–1933). Exhibition catalog. Giessen, n.d. (1993). Marion Giebel: "My Romantic Plan." Rudolf Herzog. Classical Philologist, Archaeologist, Medical Historian . In: Antike Welt . Vol. 30 (1999), pp. 201–202. Alexandra Kankeleit: "Unrestricted Research Opportunities" with "Unpleasant Surprises" – German Archaeologists in Greece During the National Socialist Era, in: Martijn Eickhoff, Daniel Modl, Katie Meheux and Erwin Nuijten (eds.), National-Socialist Archeology in Europe and its Legacies (Cham 2023) pp. 257–280
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