Antoine Banier
Antoine Banier ( born November 2, 1673 Dallet, Auvergne, † November 2, 1741 in Paris) was a French classical scholar, translator and clergyman. Ancient Greek myths he sought to explain rationally.
Life and work
The Abbé Antoine Banier studied at the Jesuit College of Clermont -Ferrand. Because of his talent his impecunious parents sent him to continue his studies in Paris. Soon he had to earn his livelihood may even become a teacher. He found in the President Dumetz a promoter of his studies, and his son, who was about to give him lessons, a talented pupil, with whom he primarily drove old literature. As he came forward and his writings, he was in 1713 a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and remained under scientific pursuits in Paris until his death, which took place on November 2, 1741.
Baniers studies based mainly on Greek and Roman mythology. In the sense of the Euhemerism he investigated the historical core of the seals and examined the actual historical basis of the myths of later poetic embellishments to it to brighten in this way the older ancient history. The pagan gods of antiquity were in fact real people and have gradually been deified. After Baniers opinion of the truth was the only way to reveal that she was carefully separated from the miraculous accessories; in this way could be returned to the origin of the fables. This method also found outside of France extended period of time during the Enlightenment applause before more modern methods of investigation of the mythology inserting. From a Christian perspective, looked Banier the ancient fables as idolatry.
According to the described main idea of myth interpretation Baniers main work is carried out, the first under the title Explication historique of fables, où l' on leur origine et leur découvre conformité avec l' histoire ancienne ( 2 vols, Paris 1711) and appeared enthusiastic reception took place, 1715 reworked into three Duodezbänden and for the third time, as it came out as a very new work, under the title La mythology et les fables expliquées par l' histoire ( 3 vols, Paris 1738-1740 ). A five-volume German translation by Johann Adolf Schlegel with notes by Johann Matthias Schröckh appeared under the title explaining the mythology and fables from the history of 1754-1766 in Leipzig. In London was also an English translation of Baniers work.
Baniers fairly accurate, but dry French translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses owes the great success she found in France, some of the very beautiful engravings by Bernard Picart and others, which it is adorned. The first edition has the title Les metamorphoses d' Ovide, en Latin et en franc avec des explications of remarques et historiques par Banier ( 2 vols, Amsterdam 1732. 2nd edition 3 vols, ibid 1732; 3 edition 2 vols, Paris 1738 deluxe edition 4 vols, Paris 1767-1771, with 140 sheets of engravings ). A German imitation was published under the title of Ovid's metamorphoses presented with 136 manufactured by eminent artists and engravings with historical explanations accompanied ( 3 vols, Vienna 1791, new edition 4 vols, ibid, 1804).
The last literary work, participated in the proportion Banier, was a concerned with the Abbé Jean -Baptiste Le Mascrier new edition of the Histoire générale des cérémonies, moeurs, et de tous les coutumes religieuses peuples du monde, répresentées s 243 figures dessinées de la main de Bernard Picart avec des explications (7 vols, Paris 1741). In this work, Banier and Le Mascrier wanted all religions of the then known world, including their origins and rituals describe. They revised and expanded this one, however, because of their more exquisite copper higher estimated Amsterdam edition of the satirical author Huguenot Jean Frédéric Bernard ( Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous le monde du peuples, 1723ff. ). Ultimately, based on the contents of reports Catholic missionaries spread in Africa, America and Asia religions. Banier and Le Mascrier took larger changes, especially in those parts of Bernard's work that dealt with the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faith; while they were away passages, which the Catholic Church satirically treated, and added those which should underline the primacy of Catholicism over all other religions.
The Voyages de Paul Lucas verfertigte Banier a third part ( Troisième Voyage du sieur Paul Lucas, fait en 1714 par ordre de Louis XIV dans la Turquie, l' Asie, sourie la, la Palestine, la la Haute et Basse- Égypte, 3 vols, 1719), and new, much improved conditions he obtained from the Bonaventure d' Argonne Mélanges d' histoire et de littérature ( 1725), of the Pierre Gautruche Histoire poétique ( 1738) and of the Voyages de Corneille Lebruyn (Paris 1725, 5 vols ). He added the latter work added learned notes, where he faced ancient and modern geographical names exactly. In the Mémoires de l' Académie of the inscriptions are of him many treatises in which he seeks to explain objects of mythology often more perceptive than historically accurate.