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Robert Étienne

1921 – 2009

French historian and classical archaeologist

Historian of classical antiquityClassical archaeologistUniversity teacher
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About Robert Étienne

Lived 1921 – 2009 (aged 87). Robert Étienne was a French historian of classical antiquity, classical archaeologist, university teacher, secondary school teacher, researcher and lecturer.

Robert Étienne (; 18 January 1921 – 9 January 2009) was a 20th-century French historian of ancient Rome.

Career A student of the École Normale Supérieure and agrégé of history, Robert Étienne was member of the École française de Rome from 1947 to 1949. In 1958, he defended a doctoral thesis on the imperial cult in the Iberian Peninsula from Augustus to Diocletian.

Apart from a passage at the CNRS as research attaché, he spent his entire career at the University of Bordeaux as an assistant, lecturer and teacher. He headed the Centre Pierre Paris, a unit associated with the CNRS and the French mission in Portugal.

Robert Étienne won the Prix Broquette-Gonin of the Académie française in 1962 and the Prix Thérouanne of the same Académie in 1967.

In 1988 he was elected corresponding member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and full member in 1999.

Publications 1958: Le culte impérial dans la Péninsule ibérique d'Auguste à Dioclétien, Paris, BEFAR, 1960: Le quartier Nord-Est de Volubilis 1962: Bordeaux antique (in collaboration with P. Barrère) 1966: La vie quotidienne à Pompéi. 1970: Le siècle d'Auguste 1973: Les Ides de Mars : l'assassinat de César ou de la dictature ? 1986: Ausone ou les ambitions d'un notable aquitain 1987: Pompéi : La cité ensevelie, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 16), série Archéologie. Paris: Éditions Gallimard, new edition in 2009 Trad. into English by Caroline Palmer – Pompeii: The Day a City Died, "Abrams Discoveries" (New York: Harry N. Abrams) & 'New Horizons' (London: Thames & Hudson), 1992 1997: Jules César, Paris

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Historian of classical antiquity, classical archaeologist, university teacher, secondary school teacher, researcher, lecturer
Nationality
Education
École Normale Supérieure, University of Bordeaux, École pratique des hautes études
Positions held
Professeur des universités, Member of the École française de Rome
Employers
Bordeaux Montaigne University, École française de Rome, University of Bordeaux, National Center for Scientific Research
Awards
Broquette-Gonin prize; Prix Thérouanne; Officer of the Legion of Honour; Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit; Commander of the French Order of Academic Palms; Commander of the National Order of Merit; Honorary doctorate of the University of Coimbra

People in Robert Étienne's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Robert Étienne's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Robert Étienne?

French historian and classical archaeologist (1921–2009)

When was Robert Étienne born?

Robert Étienne was born on 18 January 1921 in Mérignac.

When did Robert Étienne die?

Robert Étienne died on 4 January 2009 in Bordeaux.

What was Robert Étienne's occupation?

Robert Étienne was a historian of classical antiquity, classical archaeologist, university teacher, secondary school teacher, researcher and lecturer.

What nationality was Robert Étienne?

Robert Étienne was French.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Robert Étienne

· Wikidata: Q2159339

· DBpedia: Robert Étienne

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Robert Étienne. https://biography.guide/robert-etienne/

MLA: "Robert Étienne." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/robert-etienne/.

Chicago: "Robert Étienne." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/robert-etienne/.

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