Pierre Amandry was a French

hellenist 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 ...

, especially interested in

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 ...

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 site of Delphi, excavated by the

French School at Athens 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, Greece. History ...

, of which he was secretary general from 1941 to 1948 and director from 1969 to 1981.

Career

He joined the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in 1933, become a professor in 1937, and was member of the

from 1937 to 1941. During this time, he carried out excavations in the sanctuary of Delphi, where he discovered treasure of gold and ivory under the sacred way. The study of these objects led him to be interested in south-west Asian art. From 1951 to 1969, he taught at the University of Strasbourg. His thesis on ''La mantique apollinienne à Delphes'' (The Apollonic Divination at Delphi) refuted the romantic image of the consultation of the

Pythia Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...

in favor of a more prosaic function of the Delphic oracle. He wrote a of articles concerning the monuments at Delphi, in particular the temple. He was elected to the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

in 1972. Aside from his work on ancient Greece, he was equally interested in modern Greece and in travelers. He translated "Christ recrucifié", written by Nikos Kazandzaki (1955), into French.

Publications

*1939. "Rapport préliminaire sur les statues chryséléphantines de Delphes" (in Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique). *1939. "Convention religieuse conclue entre Delphes et Skiathos" (ibid.). *1940-1941. "La colonne dorique de la tholos de Marmaria" (en collaboration avec J. Bousquet; in Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique). *1944-1945. "Statuette d'ivoire d'un dompteur de lion" (in Syria). - 1946. Ilias Vénézis. Terre éolienne (traduction). *1950. La mantique apollinienne à Delphes, Essai sur le fonctionnement de l’oracle (thèse principale). *1952. "Observations sur les monuments de l’Héraion d’Argos" (in Hesperia). *1953. Fouilles de Delphes. II, Topographie et architecture. La colonne du Sphinx des Naxiens et le portique des Athéniens (thèse complémentaire). *1953. Collection Hélène Stathatos. I, Les bijoux antiques. *1956. "Chaudrons à protomes de taureau en Orient et en Grèce" (in The Aegean and the Near East. Studies presented to Hetty Goldman). *1958. "Objets orientaux en Grèce et en Italie aux VIIIe et VIIe siècles avant Jésus-Christ" (in Syria). *1959. "Toreutique achéménide" (in Antike Kunst). *1960-1961. " Thémistocle : un décret et un portrait" (in Bulletin de la Faculté des Lettres de Strasbourg). *1961. "Athènes au lendemain des guerres médiques" (in Revue de l’Université de Bruxelles). *1963. Collection Hélène Stathatos. III, Objets antiques et byzantins. *1963. "Plaques d'or de Delphes" (in Athenische Mitteilungen. Festschrift Emil Kunze). *1965. "Un motif ‘

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor mac ...

’ en Iran et en Grèce" (in Journal of Near east Studies. Erich F. Schmidt Memorial). *1968. "La Grèce d'Asie et d' Anatolie du VIIIe au VIe siècle avant Jésus-Christ" (in Anatolica). *1969. "Notes de topographie et d’architecture delphiques : V, Le temple d’Apollon" (in Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique). *1976-1977. "Trépieds d’Athènes. I, Dionysies. II, Thargélies" (ibid.). *1977. "Notes de topographie et d’architecture delphiques. VI, La fontaine Castalie" (ibid., suppl. IV). *1977. "Statue de taureau en argent" (ibid.). *1978. "Notes de topographie et d’architecture delphiques. VII, La fontaine Castalie (compléments)" (ibid.). *1980. "Sur les concours argiens" (ibid., suppl. VI). *1981. "L’Antre corycien dans les textes antiques et modernes" (ibid., suppl. VII). *1981. "L’Antre corycien. L’exploration archéologique de la grotte" (ibid., suppl. VII). - 1981. "Chronique delphique (1970-1981)". *1987. "Trépieds de Delphes et du Péloponnèse" (ibid.). *1990. "La fête des Pythia" (in Praktika tês Akademias Athenôn). *1992. "Delphes oublié" (in CRAI). *1992. "Fouilles de Delphes et raisins de Corinthe : histoire d’une négociation" (in La redécouverte de Delphes). *1995. " Schliemann, le 'trésor de Priam' et le musée du Louvre" (in Dossiers d’archéologie). *1997. "Propos sur l’oracle de Delphes" (in Journal des Savants). *1997. "Monuments chorégiques d’ Athènes" (in Bulletin de Correspondance hellénique). *1998. "Notes de topographie et d’architecture delphiques. X. Le 'socle marathonien' et le trésor des Athéniens" (ibid.). {{DEFAULTSORT:Amandry, Pierre French hellenists People from Troyes 1912 births 2006 deaths École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the French School at Athens Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy