Ettore Romagnoli

Born in Rome in 1871 and dying there in 1938, Ettore Romagnoli was an Italian Hellenist, literary scholar, critic, and translator best known for his work on Greek literature. He taught Greek language and literature at several universities, including Milan and Rome, and built a reputation as a gifted interpreter of the ancient world.

Romagnoli pursued an ambitious project of translating major works of Greek poetry into Italian. His versions of Aristophanes were especially noted, and he also translated Homer, Pindar, and the Greek tragedians. Alongside this scholarly work, he wrote essays and criticism that made classical literature feel active and contemporary rather than remote.

He is also remembered for his connection to the revival and staging of ancient Greek drama in Italy, especially at Syracuse. That mix of scholarship, translation, and performance gave his career a broad cultural reach, helping shape how many Italian readers and theatergoers encountered the Greek classics in the early twentieth century.