Carl Kerenyi

Carl Kerényi (Timișoara, Romania, 1897 - Zurich, Switzerland, 1973) was a Hungarian (Swabian) professor of classical studies, a scholar of the history of myths and religion. He was involved in the modern study of Greek mythology, initially teaching at the Universities of Szeged and Pécs in Hungary. In 1943, due to increasing pressures from Nazism in Hungary, he sought refuge in Switzerland, initially with diplomatic status and later as a political refugee. He was a lecturer at the C. G. Jung Institute and editor of the Albae Vigiliae series in Zurich, focusing on topics related to ancient mythology and art. After the war, he taught Hungarian language and literature at the University of Basel. However, in 1946, he faced a series of attacks in his homeland that questioned both his democratic principles and his scientific integrity. In 1947, he traveled to his homeland to speak on the occasion of his induction as a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, but warnings from the communist regime forced him to leave Budapest. In 1962, he received Swiss citizenship. He passed away in Zurich on April 14, 1973, having written his most significant works in German. In 1989, he was posthumously declared a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His second wife, Magda Kerényi, undertook the comprehensive publication of his work between 1966-1988 and 1994-1998.