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Alexander Fuks

Alexander Fuks was an Israeli historian of classical Greece and the Hellenistic period, known for his work on Jewish papyri.

1917 to 1978Corpus Papyrorum JudaicarumStudy of Hellenistic JudaismResearch on ancient Athenian politicsSocial conflict in ancient Greece

Born: 30 May 1917, Wrocław
Died: 29 November 1978, Jerusalem
Occupation: anthropologist, historian, archaeologist, papyrologist
Founded: Jonathan Institute for Terror Studies (1976)

Alexander Fuks was born in 1917 in Wrocław

Alexander Fuks was born on 30 May 1917 into a Zionist family. He studied in Polish at local schools and learned Latin and history as a boy.

He studied classics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and focused on Greek history, with Victor Tcherikover as his main teacher. His master's thesis in 1942 dealt with Pseudo-Xenophon, and his doctorate in 1946 dealt with Athenian politics and literature. In the early 1950s he spent time at Oxford, where Arnold Wycombe Gomme influenced him.

He taught at the Hebrew University throughout his career and became a full professor in 1962. With Tcherikover and Menahem Stern he worked on Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, an edition of Jewish papyri. He also wrote on the Athenian constitution, social conflict in Greece, the Jews of Hellenistic Egypt and society in Plato.

He died on 29 November 1978. His son Gideon Fuks is a professor at the University of Haifa.