Benjamin Constant E.J.B. Hendrickx

Abstract

Benjamin Constant E.J.B. Hendrickx William Henderson Click for larger view View full resolution BENJAMIN CONSTANT E.J.B. HENDRICKX (25/7/1939 – 8/7/2021) [End Page 1] It was with great shock and deep sadness that academics here and abroad received the news of the passing of Benjamin (Ben) Hendrickx. His wide circle of colleagues, students, and friends in the three main areas of his interest and influence, Belgium, Greece, and Africa, mourn his death, but also celebrate his life as international scholar, inspiring teacher, and devoted family man. Ben was born on 24 July 1939 in Deurne, a suburb of Antwerp. He received his early schooling at St. Stanislas College in Berchem, matriculating in Greek, Latin, and the Studia humaniora. Annual scholarships from the Belgian State enabled him to pursue his studies at the University of Louvain-Leuven from 1958 to 1962. In 1960 he was awarded the Candidature ès Philosophie et Lettres, Section: Ancient History, in 1962 the Licence ès Philosophie et Lettres, Section: Ancient History cum laude, with a dissertation on Het Kroningsceremonieel in Byzantium: Onderzoek naar de Oorsprong der Kroningselementen in de Teksten van Suetonius en de Scriptores Historiae Augustae, written under the supervision of Professor J. Vergote, and the Agrégation ès Philo-sophie et Lettres, also cum laude. While still at university Ben had met Thekla Sansaridou, from Thessaloniki. They had corresponded since 1958, in English, the only language they shared. Two years later, when Ben and a friend visited Greece, they finally met in person on 3 September 1960, at the Thessaloniki railway station. Two weeks later, before Ben's return to Belgium, they got engaged. Thekla and her mother visited the Hendrickx family that Christmas and New Year. The following year, on 31 December 1961, they were married in Thessaloniki and in January 1962 they settled in Antwerp where Ben continued his studies. Ben's first appointment, in 1962, was as a high school teacher at St. Ludargis School in Antwerp. He continued with his studies at Louvain: Philologie orientale chrétienne (1963-1964) and the Licence ès Histoire et Civilization byzantines (1964), with a dissertation titled Poging tot Reconstructie [End Page 2] van de Kroningsceremonie van de Keizer in de laat Byzantijnse Tijd, again with Vergote as supervisor. His next appointment, from 1964 to 1969, was as a lecturer at the Collèges Lamennais, Javouhey and Pomaré, in Tahiti. Here he began work on his doctorate, but also studied for and obtained the Diplômes de morpho- et graphopsychologie at the Institut de Culture Humaine in Paris (1967-1968). The couple returned to Greece in 1969 when Ben received scholarships from the Greek State to complete his PhD at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1970 he was awarded the degree Doctor Philosophiae for his dissertation titled Οι πολιτικοί και στρατιωτικοί θεσμοί της Λατινικής Αυτοκρατ-ορίας Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κατά τους πρώτους Χρόνους της Υπάρξέως της (The Political and Military Institutions of the Latin Empire of Constantinople during the First Years of its Existence), written under the supervision of Professor Ioannes Karayiannopoulos. This work was published as a book in 1970 and reprinted in 1999. He continued research at the university until 1971, when his career and their lives took a decisive turn. In June, when they were preparing to move to Belgium, Professor Paul du Plessis, who with his wife Yvonne had travelled by bus from Athens, arrived in Thessaloniki to meet Ben, and persuaded them to delay their departure. Professor Du Plessis could not explain how he had obtained Ben's address and information about his qualifications, but he wanted to have Ben working with him at the University of Port Elizabeth (now the Nelson Mandela University). However, he failed to persuade the Rector of that university to appoint Ben and instead turned to the Rector of the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU, now the University of Johannesburg, UJ), Professor Gerrit Viljoen, who offered Ben a signed contract as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics. Ben, Thekla, and their children Annoula, Raita, and Yannis arrived in South Africa in 1971. Assigned to meet them at the airport, I had to wait a while for them to emerge. There had been a hitch at immigration when Ben's passport gave his surname as Hendrickx, whereas Thekla...