Overview

Carl Blegen is the most famous American archaeologist ever to work in Greece, and no American has ever had a greater impact on Greek archaeology. Yet Blegen, unlike several others of his generation, has found no biographer. In part, the explanation for this must lie in the fact that his life was so multifaceted: not only was he instrumental in creating the field of Aegean prehistory, but Blegen, his wife, and their best friends, the Hills (""the family""), were also significant forces in the social and intellectual community of Athens. Authors who have contributed to this book have each researched one aspect of Blegen's life, drawing on copious documentation in the United States, England, and Greece. The result is a biography that sets Blegen and his closest colleagues in the social and academic milieu that gave rise to the discipline of classical archaeology in Greece.

Full Product Details

9781937040239

Table of Contents

Reviews

The contributions...[include] praise, some light-duty prosopography linking Blegen and friends to their equally distinguished peers (and occasionally to students), some veiled references to Blegen household arrangements (and equally broad assurances), and enough references to intrigue Blegenophiles and historians of American archaeology alike. -- Bill Caraher, The Archaeology of the Mediterranean World, March 11, 2015

The contributions...[include] praise, some light-duty prosopography linking Blegen and friends to their equally distinguished peers (and occasionally to students), some veiled references to Blegen household arrangements (and equally broad assurances), and enough references to intrigue Blegenophiles and historians of American archaeology alike. -- Bill Caraher, The Archaeology of the Mediterranean World, March 11, 2015 This handsome volume [offers] many pleasures that normal biographies rarely provide. For one thing its generous illustrations include facsimiles of correspondence and reproductions of Piet de Jong's wonderful cartoons of famous Aegean scholars (one of these forming the cover of the book). [...]The main service provided by this book is to remind us all that real advances in our understanding of the ancient world are always, to a greater or lesser extent, archaeological; that archaeological fieldwork requires determination, application, cultural sensitivity and a skill set (in excavation and stratigraphy) that few classicists possess. --James Whitley, Cardiff University, Journal of Hellenic Studies Effectively illustrated with photographs and drawings, this book illuminates the interpersonal and professional relationships of Blegen and his associates and provides insights important for both students and scholars. --Mary C. Sturgeon, American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 121, No. 4 (October 2017) This is more than a festschrift compiled by former students (indeed none of the editors were taught by [Blegen]). It is a reflection about the social and cultural context of classical archaeology during a major period of its growth and development. Strongly recommended. --TIm Murray, Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 27(1)

Author Information

Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan is Doreen Canaday Spitzer Archivist at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Jack L. Davis is Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati. Vasiliki Florou is Administrative Officer at the General Management of Alpha Bank.

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