J. Gwyn Griffiths
Encyclopedia
John Gwyn Griffiths was a Welsh
poet, Egyptologist and nationalist political activist who spent the largest span of his career lecturing at Swansea University
.
in the Rhondda Valley
, Griffiths was educated at Porth Grammar school before reading Latin at Cardiff
gaining a first class degree in 1932. He then graduated with a first class degree in Greek in 1933, and obtained a first class teacher's diploma in 1934. He obtained an M.A. degree at Liverpool University on the influence of Ancient Egypt on Greek religion in the Mycenean period. Between 1936 and 1937 he was an archaeological assistant with the Egyptian Exploration Society at Sesebi, Lower Nubia. Having studied at Queen's College, Oxford from 1936 to 1939 he obtained a D.Phil degree from Oxford University on the quarrel of Horus and Seth in 1949.
It was at Oxford that he met Käte Bosse-Griffiths
a German-born refugee of German and Jewish ancestry, who shared academic and literary interests with Griffiths and was a scholar in Egyptology; later she became Keeper of Archaeology at Swansea Museum
. They married on September 13, 1939 and set up home in 14 St. Stephen's Avenue, Pentre, Rhondda. Griffiths took up teaching at his old school in Porth in 1939.
Griffiths' writing was influenced by the European avant-garde movement, especially that of Dadaist Kurt Schwitters
. Griffiths, along with his wife, set up a writing and intellectual circle in the Rhondda for likeminded thinkers. The group, named the Cadwgan Circle (Cylch Cadwgan), had a membership consisting of the finest writers of the Welsh language
the Rhondda had ever produced, including Rhydwen Williams
, Euros Bowen
, Pennar Davies
and J. Kitchener Davies
.
In 1946 he and his wife moved to the Uplands, Swansea, and in 1957 to Sketty
in Swansea. In 1946 he began editing the Welsh Magazine, Y Fflam (The Flame) with Euros Bowen
, mainly as a response to W.J. Gruffydd's
Y Llenor, a Professor of Welsh at Cardiff, whom the Cadwgan Circle saw as the antiquated voice of Welsh language politics.
During this period Griffiths became more and more associated with the national party for Wales, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru
and from 1948 until 1952, edited the party's newspaper Y Ddraig Goch. Griffiths also stood as a member for Plaid Cymru in 1959 and 1964, on both occasions for the district of the Gower
, in Swansea
but was not elected to Parliament. Griffiths would also be an important figure in the promotion of Welsh language in education and law, and on several occasions was arrested for minor violations, as a form of non-violent protest.
He lectured at a wide array of universities, including Cairo (1965-66 as visiting professor), Tübingen, Bonn and All Souls College Oxford (as visiting fellow). Griffiths wrote several major works on Egyptian religion, as well as work on Latin and Greek texts. However, he is better known in Wales for his poetry, of which he published four collections of texts, all in the Welsh language. He also wrote literary criticism, most notably I Ganol y Frwydr (Into the Thick of Battle) in 1970.
He retired in 1979, but continued writing on classical and egyptological themes. Among his output are two of his most important academic texts, his editions of Plutarch
's De Iside et Osiride (1970) and Apuleius of Madaura The Isis Book (1975), from the last book of the Golden Ass. He edited the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology between 1970 and 1978.
His later substantial books include The Origins of Osiris and his Cult (1980), Atlantis and Egypt (1991), The Divine Verdict (1991), and Triads and Trinity (1996) as well as contributing to The Cambridge History of Judaism (1999). He obtained D.Litt (Oxford) and D.D. (Wales) degrees for his contributions to the study of the ancient world.
Griffiths had two sons with Bosse, Robat Gruffudd (b. 1943) and Heini Gruffudd (b. 1946).
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
poet, Egyptologist and nationalist political activist who spent the largest span of his career lecturing at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
.
Early history
Born in 1911 in PorthPorth
Porth is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Valley and is regarded as the gateway to the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach valleys because both valleys meet at Porth...
in the Rhondda Valley
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, Griffiths was educated at Porth Grammar school before reading Latin at Cardiff
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
gaining a first class degree in 1932. He then graduated with a first class degree in Greek in 1933, and obtained a first class teacher's diploma in 1934. He obtained an M.A. degree at Liverpool University on the influence of Ancient Egypt on Greek religion in the Mycenean period. Between 1936 and 1937 he was an archaeological assistant with the Egyptian Exploration Society at Sesebi, Lower Nubia. Having studied at Queen's College, Oxford from 1936 to 1939 he obtained a D.Phil degree from Oxford University on the quarrel of Horus and Seth in 1949.
It was at Oxford that he met Käte Bosse-Griffiths
Käte Bosse-Griffiths
Käte Bosse-Griffiths was a German born Egyptologist who after moving to Wales became a writer in the Welsh language.-Early history:...
a German-born refugee of German and Jewish ancestry, who shared academic and literary interests with Griffiths and was a scholar in Egyptology; later she became Keeper of Archaeology at Swansea Museum
Swansea Museum
The Swansea Museum in Swansea, Wales, UK is the oldest museum in Wales. The building was built for the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1841 in the neo-classical style.-Main museum:...
. They married on September 13, 1939 and set up home in 14 St. Stephen's Avenue, Pentre, Rhondda. Griffiths took up teaching at his old school in Porth in 1939.
Griffiths' writing was influenced by the European avant-garde movement, especially that of Dadaist Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Schwitters
Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters was a German painter who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design, typography and what came to be known as...
. Griffiths, along with his wife, set up a writing and intellectual circle in the Rhondda for likeminded thinkers. The group, named the Cadwgan Circle (Cylch Cadwgan), had a membership consisting of the finest writers of the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
the Rhondda had ever produced, including Rhydwen Williams
Rhydwen Williams
Robert Rhydwenfro Williams, known as Rhydwen Williams , was a Welsh poet, novelist and Baptist minister. His work is mainly written in his native Welsh language, and is noted for adapting the established style and context of Welsh poetry from a rural and bygone age to that of a modern industrial...
, Euros Bowen
Euros Bowen
Euros Bowen was a Welsh language poet.Born in Treorchy, and a brother of the poet Geraint Bowen, he was educated in the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, and later at the University of Wales and Mansfield College, Oxford...
, Pennar Davies
Pennar Davies
William Thomas Pennar Davies was a Welsh clergyman and author.Born simply William Thomas Davies, in Mountain Ash , the son of a miner, he took the name "Pennar" "as a sign of his identification with the native culture of Wales"...
and J. Kitchener Davies
James Kitchener Davies
James Kitchener Davies , also known as J. Kitchener Davies, was a Welsh poet and playwright who wrote mostly in the Welsh language...
.
Academic and political career
Griffiths was a conscientious objector during the Second World War. He took up a teaching post (Latin) at Bala Grammar School in 1934, and in 1946 he was appointed lecturer in Classics at University College of Wales, Swansea. From 1957 to 1958 he was a Lady Wallis Budge Research Lecturer at University College Oxford, and in 1959 he was promoted to a senior lecturship at Swansea became reader in Classics in 1965. In 1973 he was obtained a personal Chair in Classics and Egyptology at Swansea.In 1946 he and his wife moved to the Uplands, Swansea, and in 1957 to Sketty
Sketty
Sketty is the name of an electoral ward, a community and a suburb in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The community is coterminous with the electoral ward....
in Swansea. In 1946 he began editing the Welsh Magazine, Y Fflam (The Flame) with Euros Bowen
Euros Bowen
Euros Bowen was a Welsh language poet.Born in Treorchy, and a brother of the poet Geraint Bowen, he was educated in the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, and later at the University of Wales and Mansfield College, Oxford...
, mainly as a response to W.J. Gruffydd's
William John Gruffydd
Professor William John Gruffydd was a Welsh academic, poet, writer, and politician.-Family and Education:...
Y Llenor, a Professor of Welsh at Cardiff, whom the Cadwgan Circle saw as the antiquated voice of Welsh language politics.
During this period Griffiths became more and more associated with the national party for Wales, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
and from 1948 until 1952, edited the party's newspaper Y Ddraig Goch. Griffiths also stood as a member for Plaid Cymru in 1959 and 1964, on both occasions for the district of the Gower
Gower (UK Parliament constituency)
Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....
, in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
but was not elected to Parliament. Griffiths would also be an important figure in the promotion of Welsh language in education and law, and on several occasions was arrested for minor violations, as a form of non-violent protest.
He lectured at a wide array of universities, including Cairo (1965-66 as visiting professor), Tübingen, Bonn and All Souls College Oxford (as visiting fellow). Griffiths wrote several major works on Egyptian religion, as well as work on Latin and Greek texts. However, he is better known in Wales for his poetry, of which he published four collections of texts, all in the Welsh language. He also wrote literary criticism, most notably I Ganol y Frwydr (Into the Thick of Battle) in 1970.
He retired in 1979, but continued writing on classical and egyptological themes. Among his output are two of his most important academic texts, his editions of Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
's De Iside et Osiride (1970) and Apuleius of Madaura The Isis Book (1975), from the last book of the Golden Ass. He edited the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology between 1970 and 1978.
His later substantial books include The Origins of Osiris and his Cult (1980), Atlantis and Egypt (1991), The Divine Verdict (1991), and Triads and Trinity (1996) as well as contributing to The Cambridge History of Judaism (1999). He obtained D.Litt (Oxford) and D.D. (Wales) degrees for his contributions to the study of the ancient world.
Griffiths had two sons with Bosse, Robat Gruffudd (b. 1943) and Heini Gruffudd (b. 1946).
Poetry
- Yr Efengyl Dywyll (1944)
- Cerddi Cadwgan (1953) a collection of works from members of the Cadwgan Circle
- Ffroenau'r Draig (1961)
- Cerddi Cairo (1969)
- Cerddi'r Holl Eneidiau (1981)
Academic work
- The Conflict of Horus and Seth (1960)
- Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride (1970)
- Apuleius of Madaura The Isis Book (1975)
- The Origins of Osiris and his Cult (1980)
- The Divine Verdict: A Study of the Divine Judgement in the Ancient Religions (1990)
- Triads and Trinity (1996)
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient EgyptOxford Encyclopedia of Ancient EgyptThe Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by Donald B. Redford and published in three volumes by Oxford University Press in 2001 contains 600 articles that cover the 5,000 years of the history of Ancient Egypt, from the predynastic era to the seventh century CE...
, contributor (2001)