Edward Dodwell

Edward Dodwell (* 1767 in Dublin, † May 14, 1832 in Rome) was an Irish travel writer and archaeologist.

After studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, he traveled in 1801, 1805 and 1806 Greece. After that, he lived mainly in Naples and Rome, where he married the daughter of an earl, Teresa Giraud. He died in 1832, when he explored the Sabine hills around Rome.

His work A Classical and Topographical Tour Through Greece During the Years 1801, 1805 and 1806 (published in 1819 in London, German translation 1821) is aimed at both a classically educated as well as to a wider audience. It is based on his own drawings and a travel diary that he reworked for publication. He mainly focuses on ancient Greece. He also reports on the modern Greece, where he attempted to recycle customs of the Greeks of his time on ancient, without considering that in the meantime could have worked also Byzantine and Ottoman influences. His descriptions show a clear dominance of the visual: Often, for example, the appearance of a village is described in detail, but without going into economic or social conditions.

Other works

• Alcuni Bassirilievi della Grecia. Descritti e pubblicati in otto tavole. Rome 1812
• Views in Greece, with thirty colored plates (1821 )
• Views and Descriptions of Cyclopian or Pelasgic Remains in Italy and Greece (London and Paris, with French text, 1834).