French School at Athens
Encyclopedia
The French School at Athens is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens
, Greece
.
and politically with the French East Mediterranean strategy of the time.
, epigraphy
and Classical Studies. The EfA conducts an extensive programme of scholarships and bursaries. Its library holds 80,000 volumes, 550,000 photographs and 35,000 maps.
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.
, Dikili Tash
(both in Greek Macedonia),the Samothrace temple complex
and Thasos
(in the North Aegean
), Delphi
(Central Greece
), Argos
(Peloponnese
), Delos
(Cyclades
), Malia
and Itanos
(Crete
), as well as Amathus
in Cyprus
.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
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 philhellenismPhilhellenism
Philhellenism was an intellectual fashion prominent at the turn of the 19th century, that led Europeans like Lord Byron or Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire...
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 archaeologyArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, epigraphy
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
and Classical Studies. 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 professionnelÉtablissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel
In French law, Établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel refers to a formal category including more than one hundred and thirty public higher education institutes in the field of sciences, culture and professional education...
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
In the 161 years since its foundation, the EFA has been involved in many important archaeological projects in Greece, including the excavations at PhilippiPhilippi
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest...
, Dikili Tash
Dikili Tash
Dikili Tash is a prehistoric tell settlement rising 16m above the Drama plain, in Eastern Macedonia, and located about 1.5 km east of ancient Philippi....
(both in Greek Macedonia),the Samothrace temple complex
Samothrace temple complex
The Samothrace Temple Complex, known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods , Greek Hieron ton Megalon Theon , is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of Samothrace within the larger Thrace...
and Thasos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
(in the North Aegean
North Aegean islands
The North Aegean islands are a number of disconnected islands in the north Aegean Sea, also known as the Northeast Aegean islands, belonging to Greece and Turkey. The islands do not form a physical chain or group, but are frequently grouped together for tourist or administrative purposes...
), Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
(Central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
), Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
(Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
), Delos
Delos
The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece...
(Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
), Malia
Malia (city)
Malia is a coastal town and a former municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Hersonissos, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies 34 km east of Heraklion, the Cretan capital city. The town was the...
and Itanos
Itanos (city)
Itanos was an ancient Greek city in Crete. Its ruins are now visible in Erimopolis, in the modern district of Itanos.Herodotos is the first Greek historian we know who mentioned Itanos....
(Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
), as well as Amathus
Amathus
Amathus was one of the most ancient royal cities of Cyprus, on the southern coast in front of Agios Tychonas, about 24 miles west of Larnaca and 6 miles east of Limassol...
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Notable alumni
Many important French archaeologists, classicists and epigraphers throughout a century and a half have been members of the EfA:- Edmond About (1851)
- Victor Bérard (1887)
- Alexandre BertrandAlexandre BertrandAlexandre Louis Joseph Bertrand was a French archaeologist who was a native of Rennes. He was the son of physician Alexandre Jacques François Bertrand and elder brother to mathematician Joseph Louis François Bertrand .Bertrand studied at Ecole Normale Superieure de la rue d'Ulm, and after a...
(1849) - Jean Bingen (1952)
- Georges Daux (1920)
- Michel Debidour (1972)
- Charles DiehlCharles DiehlCharles Diehl was a French historian who was a native of Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history....
(1883) - Jean-Yves EmpereurJean-Yves EmpereurJean-Yves Empereur is a French archeologist and egyptologist. He studied classic literature in the University Paris IV Sorbonne ....
(1978) - Numa-Denis Fustel de Coulanges (1853)
- Léon HeuzeyLéon HeuzeyLéon Heuzey was a noted French archaeologist and historian.In 1855 Heuzey came to Greece as a member of the École française d'Athènes, and for the next two years traveled extensively in Macedonia and Akarnania. The record he kept of his journey, "Le Mont Olympe et l'Acarnanie", was published in...
(1854) - Paul LemerlePaul LemerlePaul Lemerle was a French Byzantinist.Lemerle taught at the École française d’Athènes , at the Faculté des Lettres of the University of Burgundy at Dijon , at the École Pratique des Hautes Études , at the Sorbonne and at the Collège de France...
(1931) - Pierre Lévêque (1947)
- Edmond LévyEdmond Lévy-Biography:Originally a pupil of École normale supérieure , an aggregate of letters, he was a pupil of École française d'Athènes, a school where the French language is educated to students mainly from France in Athens, Greece. He is a specialist in Greek history, he is a retired professor at...
(1963) - Jean Marcadé (1946)
- Roland Martin (1938)
- André Plassart
- Jean Pouilloux (1945)
- Louis RobertLouis RobertLouis Robert was a professor of Greek history and Epigraphy at the Collège de France, and author of many volumes and articles on Greek epigraphy , numismatics, and the historical geography of Greek lands...
(1927) - Paul Vidal de la BlachePaul Vidal de la BlachePaul Vidal de la Blache was a French geographer. He is considered to be the founder of the modern French geography and also the founder of the French School of Geopolitics...
(1867) - Ernest Will (1935)