The French School at Athens (french: École française d’Athènes, EfA; el, Γαλλική Σχολή Αθηνών ''Gallikí Scholí Athinón'') is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

History

Founded in 1846, the EfA is the oldest foreign institute in Athens. Its early foundation, still a source of considerable prestige, is to be seen culturally connected with French

philhellenism Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

and politically with the French East Mediterranean strategy of the time.

Facilities

It operates an active programme of research in all fields of Greek studies, but primarily in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

and

Classical Studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. The EfA conducts an extensive programme of scholarships and bursaries. Its library holds 80,000 volumes, 550,000 photographs and 35,000 maps.

Educational institution

Unlike most of the other foreign institutes, the EfA has a status more akin to a university graduate school than a simple research institute. Its formal status is referred to as an ''

Établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel In French law, ''établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel'' (EPSCP; English: public scientific, cultural or professional establishment) is a formal category of more than one hundred and thirty public higher educa ...

'' in the French education system. Some of its sought-after scholarships are renewable for periods up to four years, providing students with the opportunity to conduct most or all of their PhD research in Athens.

Archaeological fieldwork

Since its foundation, the EFA has been involved in many important archaeological projects in Greece, including the

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

Dikili Tash Dikili Tash (also known as Dikilitaş) is a prehistoric tell settlement rising 16 m above the Drama plain in Eastern Macedonia, c. 1.5 km east of ancient Philippi. It is about 4.5 hectares. The tell is a major Neolithic and Bronze Age site ...

(both in

Greek Macedonia Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...

),the

Samothrace temple complex The Samothrace Temple Complex, known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods (Modern Greek: Ιερό των Μεγάλων Θεών ''Ieró ton Megalón Theón''), is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of S ...

and

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...

(in the

North Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

(

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

(

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

(

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

), Malia and

Itanos Itanos ( el, Ίτανος) is a municipal unit (demotike enoteta) of the municipality (demos} Siteia in the Lasithi regional unit, eastern Crete, Greece. A former municipality itself, it was included in Siteia as part of the 2011 local governme ...

(

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

), as well as

Amathus Amathus or Amathous ( grc, Ἀμαθοῦς) was an ancient city and one of the ancient royal cities of Cyprus until about 300 BC. Some of its impressive remains can be seen today on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about west of ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Directors

Amédée Daveluy Amédée is a French masculine forename. Notable people with the forename include: Persons * Amédée, stage name of Philippe de Chérisey (1923-1985), French writer, radio humorist, surrealist and actor *Amédée Artus (1815-1892), French condu ...

1846-1867 *

Émile-Louis Burnouf Émile-Louis Burnouf (; 26 August 1821, in Valognes – January 1907, in Paris) was a leading nineteenth-century Orientalist and racialist author of Aryanism. He was a professor at the ''faculté des lettres'' at Nancy University, then princi ...

1867-1875 * Albert Dumont 1875-1878 *

Paul Foucart Paul-François Foucart (15 March 1836, Paris – 19 May 1926) was a French archaeologist, known for his research involving the Eleusinian Mysteries. He was the father of Egyptologist Georges Foucart. Beginning in 1855 he studied at the École N ...

1878-1890 *

Théophile Homolle Jean Théophile Homolle (19 December 1848, Paris – 13 June 1925, Paris) was a French archaeologist and classical philologist. Biography From 1869 he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, receiving his agrégation for history in 1 ...

1890-1903 *

Maurice Holleaux Maurice Holleaux (15 April 1861 – 21 September 1932) was a 19th–20th-century French historian, archaeologist and epigrapher, a specialist of Ancient Greece. Biography Années de formation Admitted in the École normale supérieure in 18 ...

1903-1912 * Gustave Fougères 1913-1919 *

Charles Picard Charles Picard (7 June 1883 – 15 December 1965) was a prominent Classical archaeologist and historian of ancient Greek art. He is best known for his multi-volume, monumental survey, ''Manuel d'archéologie grecque: La sculpture.'' Volume I (7- ...

1919-1925 *

Pierre Roussel Pierre Roussel (1723 - 7 June 1782) was a successful but somewhat pedestrian cabinetmaker (''ébéniste'') of Paris. He was joined in his extensive business by his two sons, Pierre-Michel (master in 1766) and Pierre le jeune (master in 1771). Ro ...

1925-1935 *

Robert Demangel The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

1936-1950 *

Georges Daux Georges Daux (21 September 1899 – 23 December 1988) was a French archaeologist and a leading scholar of Greek inscriptions.{{Cite journal , last=Jameson , first=Michael H. , date=March 1995 , title=Georges Daux (21 September 1899-23 December 1988) ...

1950-1969 *

Pierre Amandry Pierre Amandry was a French hellenist, especially interested in ancient Greece and its relationships with south-west Asia. He was born at Troyes on December 31, 1912, and died in Paris on February 21, 2006. A large part of his work was on the sit ...

1969-1981 *

Olivier Picard Olivier Picard (4 March 1940, Bernay) is a French Hellenist. He was director of the French School at Athens and is a member of the Institut de France. Biography A student at the École normale supérieure (1960), Olivier Picard obtained his a ...

1981-1992 *

Roland Étienne Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

1992-2001 *

Dominique Mulliez Dominique Mulliez (1952, Roubaix), is a French epigrapher and Hellenist, head of the French School at Athens from 2002 to September 2011. Biography After he was admitted at the École normale supérieure in 1974, he obtained an agrégation in c ...

2002-2011 *

Alexandre Farnoux Alexandre Farnoux is a French historian, a specialist on the Minoan civilisation and Delos. Career Alexandre Farnoux studied at the French School at Athens, he became director of this institute in September 2011. He is professor of Greek ar ...

2011-2019 * Véronique Chankowski 2019-2023

Notable alumni

Many important archaeologists, classicists and epigraphers from France and elsewhere throughout a century and a half have been members of the EfA: *

Alexandre Bertrand Alexandre Louis Joseph Bertrand (11 June 1820 – 1902) was a French archaeologist born in Rennes. Life He was the son of physician Alexandre Jacques François Bertrand (1795-1831) and elder brother to mathematician Joseph Louis Franço ...

(1849) *

Edmond About Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

(1851) * Numa-Denis Fustel de Coulanges (1853) *

Léon Heuzey Léon Heuzey (1 December 1831, Rouen – 8 February 1922, Paris) was a noted French archaeologist and historian. Life and career In 1855 Heuzey went to Greece as a member of the École française d'Athènes, and for the next two years traveled ex ...

(1854) *

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