, 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 = , motto = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , established = 1881 , closed = , type = Overseas Research Center / Higher Education , parent = , affiliation = , religious_affiliation = , academic_affiliation = , endowment = , budget = , officer_in_charge = , chairman = , chairperson = , chancellor = , president = , vice-president = , superintendent = , provost = , vice_chancellor = , rector = , principal = , dean = , director = , head_label = , head = , academic_staff = , administrative_staff = , students = , undergrad = , postgrad = , doctoral = , other = , city =

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 ...

, state = , province = , country =

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 ...

, coor = , campus = urban , language = , free_label = , free = , colors = , athletics = , sports = , athletics_nickname = , mascot = , sporting_affiliations = , website = , logo = American School of Classical Studies at Athens Logo.jpg , logo_size = 100px , footnotes = The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) ( el, Αμερικανική Σχολή Κλασικών Σπουδών στην Αθήνα) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in

. It is a member of the

Council of American Overseas Research Centers The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is a private not-for-profit association of centers that research, conserve and record cultural heritage and modern societies. CAORC, founded in 1981, helps arrange research projects that spa ...

(CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federation of independent overseas research centers that promote advanced research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, with focus on the conservation and recording of cultural heritage and the understanding and interpretation of modern societies.

General information

With an administrative base in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and a campus in Athens, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is one of the leading American research and teaching institutions in Greece, dedicated to the advanced study of all aspects of Greek culture, from antiquity to the present. Founded in 1881, the School is a consortium of nearly 200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. It was the first American overseas research center, and today it is the largest of the eighteen foreign institutes in Athens. It also provides the opportunity for students and scholars from around the world to explore the full range of scholarly resources in Greece. The American School operates excavations in the Athenian Agora and Ancient Corinth, two distinguished libraries, an archaeological science laboratory, and a prolific publications department. The School remains, as its founders envisioned, primarily a privately funded, nonprofit educational and cultural institution.

Mission and governance

Attica 06-13 Athens 22 View from Acropolis Hill - Museum of Ancient Agora

The mission of the ASCSA is to advance knowledge of Greece in all periods by training young scholars, sponsoring and promoting archaeological fieldwork, providing resources for scholarly work, and disseminating the results of that research. Founded in 1881 as a platform for facilitating archaeological research of Classical Greece, the ASCSA’s mandate has grown to include all fields of Greek studies from antiquity to the present. Since its inception, the School’s academic programs and research facilities are supervised by an academic advisory body known as the Managing Committee, which consists of elected representatives from a consortium of more than 190 North American colleges and universities. The Board of Trustees, composed of distinguished women and men from the world of business, law, philanthropy, and academia, is responsible for the management of the School’s endowment, finances, and property, and has legal responsibility for the ASCSA.

Resources

Th
Carl W. and Elizabeth P. Blegen Library
'' contains over 105,000 volumes and nearly 700 periodicals, and covers all fields of classical antiquity, including literature, history, art, and archaeology. The Blegen is widely considered to be among the world’s best research collections for the field and hosts not only students and scholars of the ASCSA but also numerous Greek and other foreign scholars. Th
Gennadius Library
'' covers the post-classical Greek world, specializing in the Byzantine, Ottoman, and contemporary periods. At its core is a collection of 26,000 rare books, manuscripts, archives, and works of art, which were presented to the School in 1922 by the diplomat and bibliophile Joannes Gennadius. The Gennadius Library now contains more than 140,000 volumes, including rare books and manuscripts, as well as current research resources. The '
Archives
'' of the ASCSA consist of the School’s administrative records, excavation records from American projects in Greece, and personal papers of eminent American scholars working in Greece. The Archives also curate collections of personal papers that contribute to an understanding of social, literary, historical, and political developments from the 18th to the 20th century in Greece and the Balkans. Collections include the papers of the Nobel prize-winning poets George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis, as well as Heinrich Schliemann and Lord Byron. Th
Athenian Agora
'' and '
Ancient Corinth
'' are the School's two permanent excavation projects. These research facilities house the records as well as the artifacts from these two foundational excavation sites of the School. Both provide scholars with space for research as well as conservation and imaging services. Scholars working on projects related to various historical periods or the early beginnings of democracy often conduct research at these sites. Th
Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science
'' was founded in 1992 to serve the interests of American, Greek and other archaeological scholars working in Greece through long-range, multidimensional research projects focused on human skeletal studies, faunal analysis, and a range of geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental research projects examining sediment, soil, lithic, ceramic, mortar/cement, pollen and palaeobotanical specimens. The geographical range of the research extends across the entire ancient Greek world and adjacent areas. Since it opened, the lab has financially supported and facilitated the independent research of over 100 scholars. Its facilities and equipment were designed to support the widest possible range of basic research consistent with the range of academic interests at the School. In 2016, the lab moved to its new free standing, three-level building which encompasses more than 8,600 square feet. The new lab includes state-of-the-art laboratories (chemistry, osteoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, environmental archaeology, and soil micromorphology) and cutting edge analytical equipment for sampling and analyzing organic and inorganic materials. It is one of the very few labs in Greece that can undertake large scale projects in the various fields of archaeological science and can provide the necessary infrastructure for the completion of these projects, including storage, strewing, working, and office space.

Archaeological projects

The ASCSA has been involved in a large number of archaeological projects, as well as a major program of primary archaeological publications. It is responsible for two of the most important archaeological sites in Greece, the

Athenian Agora The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill ...

and

Ancient Corinth Corinth (American English: ) (British English: ) ; grc-gre, Κόρινθος ; grc, label=Doric Greek, Ϙόρινθος; la, label=Latin, Corinthus) was a city-state (''polis'') on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that jo ...

. The Corinth Excavations commenced in 1896 and have continued to present day with little interruption, and the Athenian Agora excavations first broke ground in 1932. At both sites, the ASCSA operates important museums and extensive facilities for the

study Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawi ...

of the archaeological record. Excavation records and artifacts are made available to wider audiences vi
ASCSA.net

Affiliated projects

Other archaeological projects with ASCSA involvement, past and present, include surveys in the Southern Argolid, in Messenia and at

Vrokastro Vrokastro was an ancient Minoan civilization settlement in the Lasithi regional unit of eastern Crete, Greece. It overlooks the Gulf of Mirabello. The site was a mountain citadel located on a hill 1,5 km east of Priniatikos Pyrgos, another ...

(

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 ...

) and excavations at Olynthus ( Greek Macedonia),

Samothrace Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...

(

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 ...

), the islet of Mitrou (

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 ...

), Halai (

Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...

), Isthmia, Kenchreai,

Nemea Nemea (; grc, Νεμέα; grc-x-ionic, Νεμέη) is an ancient site in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae in ancient Argolis, it is today situated in the regional unit of Corinthia ...

Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...

(all in Corinthia), Lerna,

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 * ...

Franchthi Franchthi Cave or Frankhthi Cave ( el, Σπήλαιον Φράγχθι) is an archaeological site overlooking Kiladha Bay, in the Argolic Gulf, opposite the village of Kiladha in southeastern Argolis, Greece. Humans first occupied the cave during ...

cave and Halieis ( Argolid), Mt. Lykaion (Acadia), Nichoria and the Palace of Nestor at

Pylos Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is th ...

( Messenia), Haghia Irini (

Keos Kea ( el, Κέα), also known as Tzia ( el, Τζια) and in ancient history, antiquity Keos ( el, Κέως, la, Ceos), is a Greece, Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit. Geog ...

), as well as

Azoria Azoria is an archaeological site on a double-peaked hill overlooking the Gulf of Mirabello in eastern Crete in the Greek Aegean. "Azoria" (o Αζοριάς or (c. 1900) Μουρί τ' Αζωργιά) is a local toponym, not apparently an ancient pl ...

, Mochlos,

Gournia Gournia ( el, Γουρνιά) is the site of a Minoan palace complex on the island of Crete, Greece, excavated in the early 20th century by the American archaeologist, Harriet Boyd-Hawes. The original name for the site is unknown. The modern nam ...

Kavousi Kavousi is a historic village in the municipality of Ierapetra in the prefecture of Lasithi in eastern Crete. "Kavousi" in the Cretan dialect means "water source" (Greek: Πηγή). The village is situated 19 km (11.8 mi) northeast of Ie ...

and Kommos on

Publications

ASCSA publishes the peer-reviewed journal '' Hesperia'' quarterly as well as monographs for final reports of archaeological fieldwork conducted under School auspices, supplements to Hesperia, Gennadeion monographs; and miscellaneous volumes relating to the work of the School. These books range in format from large hardbacks to slim paperback guides.

List of directors

* William W. Goodwin (1882 to 1883); first director *

Lewis R. Packard Lewis Richard Packard was an American scholar best known for his work, ‘’Morality and Religion of the Greeks’’. Early life He was born on August 22, 1836 in Philadelphia. His father was Friedrich Adolphus Packard. He graduated from Yale i ...

(1883 to 1884) *

James Cooke Van Benschoten James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1884 to 1885) *

Frederick De Forest Allen Frederic de Forest Allen (1844–1897) was an American classical scholar. Early life Frederick Forest Allen was born in 1844 in Oberlin, Ohio. He graduated at Oberlin College in 1863. Allen taught Greek and Latin at the University of Tennesse ...

(1885 to 1886) *

Martin L. D'Ooge Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

(1886 to 1887) *

Augustus C. Merriam Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

(1887 to 1888) *

Charles Waldstein Sir Charles Waldstein (March 30, 1856 – March 21, 1927), known as Sir Charles Walston from 1918 to 1927, was an Anglo-American archaeologist. He also competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Life Waldstein was born into a Jewish family i ...

(1889 to 1892) * Frank B. Tarbell (1892 to 1893) *

Rufus B. Richardson Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

(1893 to 1903) *

Theodore Woolsey Heermance Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

(1903 to 1905) *

William Nickerson Bates William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

(1905 to 1906); acting *

Bert Hodge Hill Bert Hodge Hill (March 7, 1874 – December 2, 1958) was an American archeologist and the director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens from 1906 to 1926. Early life and education Bert Hodge Hill was born on March 7, 1874 in ...

(1906 to 1926) * Carl Blegen (1926 to 1927); acting *

Rhys Carpenter Rhys Carpenter (August 5, 1889 – January 2, 1980) was an American classical art historian and professor at Bryn Mawr College. Carpenter was unconventional as a scholar. He analyzed Greek art from the standpoint of artistic production and b ...

(1927 to 1932) *

Richard Stillwell Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(1932 to 1935) * Edward Capps (1935 to 1936) *

Charles Hill Morgan Charles Hill Morgan (January 8, 1831 – January 10, 1911) was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, industrialist and President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in the year 1900–01. He is known for his contributions to Worces ...

(1936 to 1938) *

Henry Lamar Crosby Henry Lamar Crosby (May 17, 1880 – March 20, 1954), known as H. Lamar Crosby, was an American classicist who served as dean of the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania. Crosby graduated from high school in San Antonio, Texas and co ...

(1938 to 1939); acting *

Gorham Phillips Stevens Gorham or Goreham may refer to: People *Arthur F. Gorham (1915–1943), American soldier *Benjamin Gorham (1775–1845), American politician *Christopher Gorham (born 1974), American actor *Claire Gorham (born c. 1966), English journalist a ...

(1939 to 1941) *

Arthur Wellesley Parsons Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

(1941 to 1946); on leave for war service *

(1941 to 1947); acting *

(1946 to 1948); not in residence *

Oscar Broneer __NOTOC__ Oscar Theodore Broneer (December 28, 1894 – February 22, 1992) was a prominent Swedish American educator and archaeologist known in particular for his work on Ancient Greece. He is most associated with his discovery of the Temple of Is ...

(1947 to 1948); acting * Carl Blegen (1948 to 1949) *

John Langdon Caskey John Langdon Caskey (1908–1981) was an American archaeologist and classical scholar. He directed the American School of Classical Studies in Athens from 1949 to 1959, and was head of the Classics department at the University of Cincinnati from 19 ...

(1949 to 1959) *

Henry S. Robinson Henry S. Robinson (June 6, 1914 - July 4, 2003 in Eastport, Maine) was an American Classical archaeologist. From 1959 until 1969 he was the Director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and leader of the Corinth Excavations from ...

(1959 to 1969) *

James Robert McCredie James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1969 to 1977) *

(1974); acting * Henry R. Immerwahr (1977 to 1982) *

Stephen G. Miller Stephen Gaylord Miller ( el, Στέφανος Γ. Μίλλερ; June 22, 1942 – August 11, 2021) was a prominent American–Greek archaeologist and Philhellenism, philhellene who devoted over three decades of his career to the excavation and pr ...

(1982 to 1987) *

William D. E. Coulson William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1987 to 1997) *

James D. Muhly James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1997 to 2002) *

Stephen V. Tracy Stephen Victor Tracy (born 1941) is an American scholar of Classics specializing in ancient Greek Epigraphy. Inscriptions are one of the most important classes of primary evidence that comes down to us from antiquity. Tracy is best known for devi ...

(2002 to 2007) *

Jack L. Davis Jack L. Davis (born August 13, 1950) is Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and is a former Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Brief biography Jack L. Davis has direc ...

(2007 to 2012) *

James C. Wright James C. Wright is an American classical archaeologist and academic who specialises in the Aegean civilizations and Ancient Greece. Since 1998, he has been a professor in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology of Bryn Mawr College ...

(2012 to 2017) *

Jenifer Neils Jenifer Neils (born October 16, 1950) is an American classical archaeologist and since July 2017 director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Formerly she was the Elsie B. Smith Professor in the Liberal Arts in the Department ...

(2017 to 2022) *

Bonna Daix Wescoat Bonna Daix Wescoat is an art historian and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Art History at Emory University. Her work focuses on ancient Greek art and architecture, particularly Archaic and Hellenistic architecture and sculpture. Wescoat join ...

(2022 to 2027)

List of Assistant Directors

* Carl Blegen (1920 to 1926) *

Benjamin Dean Meritt Benjamin Dean Meritt (March 31, 1899 in Durham, North Carolina – July 7, 1989 in Austin, Texas) was a classical scholar, professor and epigraphist of ancient Greece. His father was a professor of Greek and Latin at Trinity College (later Duke Uni ...

(1926 to 1928) *

Stephen Luce Stephen Bleecker Luce (March 25, 1827 – July 28, 1917) was a U.S. Navy admiral. He was the founder and first president of the Naval War College, between 1884 and 1886. Biography Born in Albany, New York, to Dr. Vinal Luce and Charlotte Bleecke ...

(1928 to 1929) *

(1931 to 1932) *

(1935 to 1936) *

(1931 to 1941) *

(1948 to 1949) *

(1958 to 1959) *

Nick Blackwell Nick Blackwell (born 27 October 1990) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2016. He won the English middleweight title in 2010, at the age of twenty, becoming the youngest boxer to do so. In 2011 and 2012 he challen ...

(2012 to 2015) *

Dylan K. Rogers Dylan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Bob Dylan (born 1941), American singer and songwriter ** ''Dylan'' (1973 album), a 1973 album by Bob Dylan ** ''Dylan'' (2007 album), a 2007 compilation album by Bob Dylan * Dylan (musician), profes ...

(2015 to 2019) *

Eric W. Driscoll The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ai ...

(2019 to 2021) *

Simone Agrimonti Simone may refer to: * Simone (given name), a feminine (or Italian masculine) given name of Hebrew origin * Simone (surname), an Italian surname Simone may also refer to: * ''Simone'' (1918 film), a French silent drama film * ''Simone'' (1926 fi ...

(2021 to 2022) *

Carolin (Katie) Garcia Fine Carolin is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Carolin Babcock (1912–1987), female tennis player from the United States *Carolin Bachmann (born 1988), German politician * Carolin Fortenbacher (born 1963), German Music ...

(2022 to present)

References

Bibliography

*E. Korka et al. (eds.): Foreign Archaeological Schools in Greece, 160 Years, Athens, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, 2006, p. 18–29. *L. Lord: A History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens: An Intercollegiate Experiment, 1882–1942. *L. Shoe Meritt: A History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 1939–1980.

External links

ASCSA website

AMBROSIA
The Union Catalogue of the Blegen and Gennadius Libraries of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Libraries of the British School at Athens
ASCSA.net
Online database of the ASCSA
ASCSA Publications

The Archivist's Notebook
{{authority control Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Greece American international schools in Greece Classical educational institutes Council of American Overseas Research Centers Greece–United States relations Organizations established in 1881 1881 establishments in Greece