Pierre Amandry

Pierre Amandry was a French hellenist, especially interested with ancient Greece and its relationships with the Orient. 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, of which he was secretary general from 1941-1948 and director from 1969-1981.

He joined the École Normale Supérieure in 1933, become a professor in 1937, and was member of the French School at Athens 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 oriental art and, in general, in the relationships between occidental and oriental artistic production, notably in architecture and jewelry. 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 in favor of a more prosaic function of the Delphic oracle.

He is the author of a number of articles concerning the monuments at Delphi, in particular the temple.

He was elected to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 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.

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