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Grigori Tsereteli

Grigori Tsereteli

12. III 1870 — 1938

Founder of classical studies in Georgia

Country of origin: Georgia

Associated place in Tartu: Pepleri Street

Lived in Tartu: 1904-1914

Health and intellect are the two blessings of life. Menander (Monostikoi or Single Lines)

Menandros (Monostikoi), Tsereteli wrote his dissertation on the plays of Menandros.

Grigori Tsereteli Country of origin: Georgia Photo: National Archives, EAA.2073.1.277. P 160

Photo: National Archives, EAA.2073.1.277. P 160

Pepleri Street in Tartu, with St. Marys Church in the distance

Tsereteli studied at university in St. Petersburg, and over three years also pursued studies in Austria, Germany, England, Italy and Greece, where he specialized in study of Greek manuscripts. In 1904, he defended his master’s thesis at the University of Tartu
and was appointed professor of classical philology the following year. In 1914, he received a doctorate in St. Petersburg (dissertation on Menandros’ New Comedies) and settled there. Starting in 1920, he worked in Tbilisi where he is considered the founder of classical philology as a branch of research in Georgia.