Joseph-Daniel Guigniaut (1794-1876)

Joseph-Daniel Guigniaut, an eminent Hellenist, became a member of the Commission de Topographie des Gaules in 1858.

A specialist in classical religions from a prestigious school

A student, teacher, then head of the École normale, Joseph-Daniel Guigniaut was a Hellenist specialising in Greek literature and religion. From 1825, in collaboration with Alfred Maury, he devoted himself to the publication of the translation of German Georg Friedrich Creuzer’s work Religions of Antiquity. Appointed to the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres in 1837, he played at important part in the founding of the École française in Athens in 1846. When he joined the Commission de Topographie des Gaules in 1858, Guigniaut had already been a professor at the Collège de France for four years and president of the Société de Géographie for two years, and was a member of the Archaeological Institute of Rome.