Carl W. Blegen: Personal and Archaeological Narratives
Carl W. Blegen is the most famous American archaeologist ever to work in Greece, and no American has ever had a greater impact on Greek archaeology. Yet Blegen, unlike several others of his generation, until now has found no biographer. In part, the explanation for this must lie in the fact that his life was so multifaceted: not only was he instrumental in creating the field of Aegean prehistory, but Blegen, his wife, Elizabeth, and their best friends, the Hills (“the family”), were also significant forces in the social and intellectual community of Athens. Authors who have contributed to this book have each researched one aspect of Blegen’s life, drawing on copious documentation in the United States, England, and Greece. The result is a nontraditional biography that sets Blegen and his closest colleagues in the social and academic milieu that gave rise to the discipline of classical archaeology in Greece. The book published by Lockwood Press is available from Amazon ($27), Book Depository (23.86 euros and no shipping charges), and Ian Stevens Distribution. CONTENTS “On His Feet and Ready to Dig”: Carl William Blegen  (Jack L. Davis and Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan) The Life of Carl W. Blegen from a Grass Roots Perspective (Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan) From the Mud of Peirene to Mastering Stratigraphy: Carl Blegen in the Corinthia and Argolid (Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst) The “Govs” of Mycenaean Archaeology: The Friendship and Collaboration of Carl W. Blegen and Alan J. B. Wace as Seen through Their Correspondence (Yannis Fappas) The Blegens and the Hills: A Family Affair (Robert L. Pounder) “Islanders vs. Mainlanders,” “The Mycenae Wars,” and Other Short Stories: An Archival Visit to an Old Debate (Yannis Galanakis) The House at 9 Ploutarchou Street: A Grape Arbor and a Dense Shadow of Beautiful Meetings (Vasiliki Florou) Και εἰς ἀνώτερα: The Govs in the 1930s (Elizabeth W. French) Carl Blegen and Troy (Brian Rose) “His Eyes Took on a Far Away Look When He Spoke of Pylos”: Carl Blegen and the Excavations at the Palace of Nestor as Seen in the Greek and Foreign Press (Nektarios Karadimas) Blegen and the Palace of Nestor: What Took So Long? (Jack L. Davis)