Enzo Degani

Enzo Degani (30 September 1934 – 23 April 2000) was an Italian classical philologist, Professor in Greek literature at the University of Bologna.

Biography Born in Terrazzo (Verona), from Garibaldi and Angelina Degani (née Pasquale), Enzo Degani studied at the liceo classico Pigafetta in Vicenza and enrolled at the University of Padua, initially in the Faculty of Classics, moving to Engineering for about a semester, and finally returning to Classics. He graduated in 1958, tutored by Carlo Diano. From 1959 to 1969 he was assistant professor in Greek literature at the University of Cagliari. From 1965 to 1970 he taught Byzantine philology at the University of Cagliari.

In 1969, Degani became Professor in Greek Literature at the University of Bologna, where he spent the rest of his career. In Bologna, Degani was chair of Greek literature, also teaching History of Ancient Greek language (1970–1972), History of Classical Philology (1973–1977, 1987–1988), Byzantine philology (1977–1978), Greek philology (1990–1992), Medieval Greek (1990–1992, at the Scuola per Archivisti in Ravenna).

A lifelong Marxist, Degani married Maria Grazia Bonanno, would-be Professor in Greek literature at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, but the marriage ended in divorce. He died in 2000.

Research activity Degani's first and foremost interest was in Greek elegy and iambic poetry, but he also was interested in Greek tragedy and philosophy. He published the Teubner edition of Hipponax and monographs on Greek parodic poetry. With Gabriele Burzacchini, he edited an anthology of Greek lyrics. In Cagliari, Degani started working on Greek lexicography, and in particular on Hesychius of Alexandria, publishing philological notes on the Lexicon and the critical edition of a selection of entries from letter alpha.

In his last years, he was working on a research project on Athenaeus, which aimed at the first Italian translation and commentary of The Learned Banqueters. His translation of Book I was published posthumously. Occasionally, he wrote on Byzantine literature: Nikephoros Basilakes, Niketas Choniates, Byzantine epigram. He developed an interest in history of classical scholarship, in particular for modern Italian scholars and the academic body of the University of Bologna, and published a substantial overview of Greek philology in Italy in the XX century and an essay on the methodological relationship between history and philology.

Publications The full list of publications, totalling more than 350 items, was compiled and published in 2000.

Monographs

Articles and book chapters