Menelaos Markides (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Μενέλαος Μαρκίδης) (1878,
Nicosia - 1942) was a Cypriot archaeologist and the first curator of the
Cyprus Museum (1912-1931).
Early life and education
He was born in Nicosia in 1878 and graduated from the Pancyprian Didaskaleion, a two year college for school teachers. Later he earned his PhD in Philology from the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
in 1899. In 1897 he volunteered during the
Greco-Turkish war. After returning to Cyprus he worked as a professor of history at the
Pancyprian Gymnasium
The Pancyprian Gymnasium (Greek: Παγκύπριον Γυμνάσιον) is the oldest still operational high school in Cyprus, founded in 1812.
History
In the same location as the current school there was an older school established in 1753 kn ...
, as well as schools in
Limassol
Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
,
Port-Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
,
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 ...
and
Caesarea.
Archaeological career
In 1909 he was sent with a scholarship from the
Committee of the Cyprus Museum to the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where he studied under
John Myres, as well as in Germany to study
Classical archaeology.
Upon his return in 1911 he was appointed as the curator of the
Cyprus Museum, a position he weld for two decades. Markides organised the Museum in a systematic basis.
In 1912 he invited his former tutor John Myres to excavate with him in Cyprus, they excavated together in
Idalion
Idalion or Idalium ( el, Ιδάλιον, ''Idalion'') was an ancient city in Cyprus, in modern Dali, Nicosia District. The city was founded on the copper trade in the 3rd millennium BC. Its name in the 8th century BC was "Ed-di-al" as it appears ...
. Between 1913 and 1917 Markides along with John Myres and
Leonard Halford Dudley Buxton conducted systematic excavations on behalf of the Cyprus Museum at the Early-Middle Bronze Age site ''Vrysi tou Barba'' in
Lapithos
Lapithos or Lapethos ( el, Λάπηθος; tr, Lapta) is a town in Cyprus. ''De facto'', it is under the control of Northern Cyprus.
Archeologists claim that Lapithos was founded by the Achean brothers Praxandros and Cepheus.
According to Stra ...
. Their excavations were among the first excavations in Cyprus that followed some scientific methods.
Additionally, Markides excavated at Arpera,
Skouriotissa,
Katydhata, and in 1917, he excavated an Iron Age sanctuary at
Arsos which was later published by the
Swedish Cyprus Expedition, more specifically A. Westholm, due to his ill health. In 1916 and 1918, he excavated 50 tombs at
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
. He also excavated at
Enkomi and Golgoi. He studied and published Cypriot sculpture.
In the 9 of April 1932 he retired as curator of the Cyprus Museum and he was appointed as an honorary member of the
Committee of the Cyprus Museum.
Porphyrios Dikaios
Porphyrios Dikaios (Greek: Πορφύριος Δίκαιος) FSA (16 August 190423 August 1971) was a Greek Cypriot archaeologist born in Nicosia.
He studied archaeology in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the British ...
succeeded him as curator.
Publications
* Markides, M. (1912)
A Mycenaean Bronze in the Cyprus Museum ''The Annual of the British School at Athens'', 18, 95-97.
*Markides, M. (1913)
A Marble Head from Cyprus ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', 33, 48-49.
*Markides, M. (1916). Excavations at Skouriotissa and Katydhata. ''Annual Report of the Curator of Antiquities for 1915'', ''15''.
*Markides, M. (1916)
Rapport du conservateur des antiquités à Chypre pour l'année 1914 ''Revue Archéologique'', 4,157-162.
* Markides, M. (1917). Excavations at Skouriotissa and Katydhata. ''Annual Report of the Curator of Antiquities for 1916'', 4-20.
See also
*
Department of Antiquities, Cyprus
*
Rupert Gunnis
Rupert Forbes Gunnis (11 March 1899 – 31 July 1965) was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'', which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, pr ...
*
Hector Catling
Hector William Catling, CBE, FSA (26 June 192415 February 2013) was a British archaeologist who served as director of the British School at Athens between 1971 and 1989.
Early life
Catling was born on 26 June 1924. He was educated at Bristol ...
References
Greek Cypriot people
1878 births
1942 deaths
Cypriot archaeologists
20th-century archaeologists
19th-century Cypriot people
20th-century Cypriot people
People from Nicosia District
People from Nicosia
{{archaeologist-stub
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni