Müller, Karl Otfried

Müller, Karl Otfried (kärl ôt`frēt` mül`ər), 1797–1840, German classical scholar and archaeologist. He was professor of classics at the Univ. of Göttingen (1819–39), lecturing on art history, literature, mythology, and archaeology. His aim was to promote the study of Greek life as a whole, and his work helped to develop a new conception of Hellenism. In his writings he sought to relate classical civilization to the present. Müller was a pioneer in the research into the sources of Greek myths. His chief work was the Geschichte hellenischer Stämme und Städte [history of Hellenic origins and cities], of which he completed two volumes (1820, 1824). He published his Manual of the Archaeology of Art in 1830 (tr. 1847). His history of the literature of ancient Greece appeared in 1840.