Margie Mile at Nafpaktos, in a Venetian castle above the harbor. Photo: B. Tsakirgis
Margaret M. Miles starts her 3-year term as Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Classical Studies this year. Margie is on leave from the University of California at Irvine, where she is Professor of Art History, Classics, and Visual Studies in the School of Humanities.
Q: What is your past relationship with the School? Were you a Member?
A: My first visit to Greece and the ASCSA was in 1974, as a member of Alan Boegehold’s Summer Session. I had just completed my first year of graduate work at Princeton, and it was wonderful to see the monuments we had studied—the Summer Session confirmed my interest in Greek architecture! I was then a Regular Member in 1976-77, when Colin Edmonson was the Mellon professor, and the visiting professors were A.E. Raubitschek and W.K. Pritchett. I learned to excavate from Charles Williams and Nancy Bookidis during the full season at Corinth at the end of that year. I then stayed on at the School an additional two years, working on the Temple of Nemesis at Rhamnous and other Attic temples. After I finished my dissertation I was a staff excavator for the Agora for three summers before I began teaching in the U.S. During my time in the Agora, I began working on the City Eleusinion, which had been excavated in the 1930s and 1950s, but needed more attention.
Q: How has the School changed since you were here?
A: The School is much bigger now, its libraries, the Wiener Lab, the staff and the numbers of people around have all expanded, and Greece has changed too, but there are elements that seem timeless, like the custom of taking tea in Loring Hall.
Q: Your last book, Art as Plunder, The Ancient Origins of Debate About Cultural Property is a very timely topic. What can the past teach us about this subject?
A: Like many other archaeologists, I’m concerned about the theft of antiquities, and about both the authenticity and the legitimacy of what we see in American museums, and the problems surrounding the private collecting of ancient art. Cicero is among the first to comment on the problems of collecting, and the ownership of art, indirectly, in his indictment of Gaius Verres, the Roman governor of Sicily. Cicero’s arguments were revived in the late 18th and early 19th century, and I was able to trace their impact in the more recent period. This also gave me a chance to write a bit about the Duke of Wellington, whom I greatly admire. One of the things I enjoyed most about the research for that book was visiting the Wellington Archives at the University of Southampton, and holding his letters in my hands!
Q: What else are you currently researching?
A: I’m returning to my interests in Greek architecture and religion. I’m writing a book on fifth century religious architecture that will include the Greek world beyond Athens (especially Sicily, where I’ve done architectural fieldwork). I hope to present a history of the temples that will be interesting to read (not just endless details about guttae and Doric feet), and will include the religious purposes and contexts of the temples and their decoration. Greek architecture is a part of our field rich with potential for future study—there is still a huge amount of work to be done. Also the whole study of Greek religion has changed in recent decades, and those newer views need to be taken into account by architectural historians.
Q: What do you hope students learn from their year at the School?
A: I’m hoping students in the program will get a broad overview of sites in Greece, and an in-depth appreciation of the material remains and how they may be evaluated. I want students to look at things closely, how buildings go together, the topography of battle sites, details on pots and sculpture in museums. I want them to build mental files of first-hand visual memories of the sort you can’t get in a seminar room. This is truly important for everyone interested in history and literature, not just archaeologists. We need to know the visual environment of the past. Also the visual environment contributes to continuity (and some obvious discontinuities) through the whole history of Greece, up to the present. I’m also expecting to learn from the students and their observations and questions—often their points are superb and stimulate my own research!
Q: Are you here with family? If so, with whom and what will they be doing while here?
A: I come from a large family, and I’m expecting my siblings to be visiting me during my stay here. One of my sisters just came this summer, and traveled with me to Macedonia and Thrace on my scouting trip, preparation for the first School trip this fall. We had a great time, and she was an excellent navigator, even though she doesn’t know Greek! She was especially impressed by Samothrace and the Meteora. I’m sure her photos will entice the others to come too.
