__NOTOC__ Oscar Theodore Broneer (December 28, 1894 – February 22, 1992) was a prominent

Swedish American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

educator and archaeologist known in particular for his work on

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

. He is most associated with his discovery of the

Temple of Isthmia The Temple of Isthmia is an ancient Greek temple on the Isthmus of Corinth dedicated to the god Poseidon and built in the Archaic Period. It is about east of ancient Corinth, at the site of ancient Isthmia. It appears to have been constructed in ...

, an important Panhellenic shrine dating from the seventh century B.C.

Biography

Broneer was born in the parish of Bäckebo in

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. G ...

, Sweden. Broneer was the youngest son of a rural farm family. He left Sweden in 1913 for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He first studied at Augustana College and then attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

where it took Broneer only two years to earn both an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Broneer was professor of

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 landsca ...

, classical languages and literature at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

from 1949 until his retirement in 1960. He also served as director of the university excavations at Isthmia. Additionally he held visiting professorships at the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and Stanford University. Broneer taught at the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , m ...

and worked for years at the

Corinth Excavations The Corinth Excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens began in 1896 and have continued with little interruption until today. Restricted by the modern village of Ancient Corinth, which directly overlies the ancient city, t ...

. In the late 1930s, he worked in Northern Greece and described the re-erection of the monumental Lion of Amphipolis in the book ''The Lion of Amphipolis'' published in 1941. He returned to an impoverished Greece after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as a member of the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

. In 1947, he also directed ''Triumph Over Time'', a documentary short film issued as a fundraiser by the

American School of Classical Studies , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

in Athens. While working at

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

he also developed the first systematic typology of ancient terracotta lamps. In 1952, Broneer famously discovered the temple of Poseidon at Isthmia on the very first day of the excavation. He published his findings in a series of three volumes: ''Isthmia, Vol. 1, Temple of Poseidon'' (1971), ''Isthmia, Vol. 2, Topography and Architecture'' (1973) and ''Isthmia, Vol. 3, Terracotta Lamps'' (1977). Broneer became the field director at Isthmia in 1952 and remained in charge until 1967. He died in

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 ...

and was buried in Hagia Anna cemetery beside his first wife, Verna Anderson, who died in 1948. The papers of Oscar Broneer are maintained at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Honors

In 1962, the Greek government honored him with the honorary command of the Royal Hellenic Order of the Phoenix. He received the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America in 1969. He was honorary vice president of the Archaeological Association of Greece and an honorary member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. He was awarded membership in the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

and the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.

Selected works

*''A critical interpretation of Plato's Republic, II 357A-362C'' (1922) *''Corinth IV, ii: Terracotta Lamps'' (1930) *''Corinth X: The Odeum'' (1932) *''Acrocorinth: excavations in 1926'' (1930) *''Corinth I, iv: The South Stoa and Its Roman Successors'' (1954) Note: His full bibliography can be found in '' Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens'' Volume 43, Issue 4 (1974).

Gallery

Image:Lion of Amphipolis early excavations.jpg, Early excavations for the Lion of Amphipolis Image:Lion of Amphipolis - view of the fragments before restoration.jpg, view of the fragments before restoration Image:Lion of Amphipolis - part of the lion's head before restoration 01.jpg, Part of the lion's head before restoration Image:Plaster model of the lion of Amphipolis 1937.jpg, The imposing size of the lion in an early picture following its restoration Image:Lion of Amphipolis view of the base during reconstruction.jpg, View of the base during reconstruction Image:Lion of Amphipolis works on the lion's base.jpg, Works conducted on the lion's base Image:Lion of Amphipolis reconstructed statue in 1937.jpg, Reconstructed statue in 1937

References

External links