Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade

Writer, historian of religions and researcher of mythology
Date of Birth: 13.03.1907
Country: USA

Biography of Mircea Eliade

Mircea Eliade, a writer, historian of religions, and researcher of mythology, was born on March 13, 1907, in Bucharest. The exact date of his birth varies in different sources due to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Romania only in 1924. Eliade's family, who were Orthodox, celebrated his birthday on the feast day of the Forty Martyrs, which falls on March 9 according to the Julian calendar. Eliade himself always indicated this day as his birthday.

Mircea Eliade

Eliade's father was a military officer, and as a result, the Eliade family frequently moved from place to place. During his time at the lyceum, Eliade became passionate about philosophy, the Ancient East, and the history of religions. He learned French, German, and Latin, and later added Italian and English to his linguistic repertoire. In 1925, Eliade enrolled at the University of Bucharest. By this time, he had already published over a hundred articles on the history of religions, Eastern studies, and alchemy. His master's degree dissertation focused on philosophers of the Italian Renaissance, from Marsilio Ficino to Giordano Bruno.

In 1928, Eliade was awarded a scholarship to study in India, and he embarked on a journey to Kolkata to study Sanskrit and philosophy. During his studies, Eliade traveled to Indian villages and monasteries in the Himalayas. He spent several months living in the Himalayan monastery of Rishikesh, where his guru was the renowned Swami Sivananda. In 1931, Eliade returned to Bucharest and soon began his teaching career at the University of Bucharest. Over the years, he taught at many universities in Europe, and from 1957, Mircea Eliade became a professor at the University of Chicago. He authored more than 30 scientific, literary, and philosophical works, which have been translated into 18 languages worldwide. His works on shamanism, yoga, cosmogonic myths, and "primitive" religious beliefs are considered particularly valuable in the field of religious history. He also explored the transition from mythological descriptions of the world to the historical.

In addition to his scholarly works, Eliade is the author of numerous fantastic works that feature characteristic elements such as vampires, evil spirits, ghosts, distortion of time, and the search for immortality.

Mircea Eliade passed away in Chicago on April 22, 1986, at the age of 79. The Department of History of Religions at the University of Chicago bears his name. On May 31 of the same year, a memorial gathering was held at the Sorbonne to commemorate the fortieth day since his death.

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