Philippe Jockey

 

The Ecole Française d’Athènes (French School of Athena) was founded in 1846 upon a decree by King Louis Philip, and is the oldest scientific establishment of Greece. Its importance is underlined in the report by the 1996 visit of then-PM of France, Alain Juppé, to celebrate the school’s 150^th anniversary. The foundation came shortly after the independence of Greece in 1830 following eight years of revolution. The newfound Greek liberty must accommodate the archeological thirst of the great European nation who championed its freedom and who, under the apparent control of national authorities, went ahead and cut up the most famous sites of ancient Greece. The Greek state could only arbitrate the game and encourage the bidding war between the Germans and French who were fighting over the site of Delphi in Phocis. The Germans already had installed themselves at Olympia in the Peloponnese since 1875 and were digging through the temple of the First Olympian, Zeus. The French aspired to get their hands on one of the most famous oracle temples of Apollo in the Greek world. They finally got the spot in 1892 after bitter negotiations with the Greek government. This victory over the German “enemy” in 1870 would spur an unprecedented archeological dig, commonly referred to by archeologists as the Great Dig. Between 1892 and 1903, this dig mobilized hundreds of workers who had to use mine wagons to evacuate the thousands of cubic meters of daily rubble. Besides the principal temple of Apollo, the French Archeological School also undertook a dig in a smaller, lesser-known sacred space, dedicated to Athena, downhill from the other temple, on the Marmaria terrace. The site takes its name from the disorderly accumulation of marble from the ruins. Many digs were undertaken in successive years on the site and uncovered the foundation of five edifices including the famed marble Tholos mentioned in the documentary. Dating back to the fourth century BC, its function remains unknown to archeologists who see it as a temple or a prestigious armory. The report reminds us of the anastylosis since 1938; the report shows a former principal of the French School of Athena, the late Pierre Amandry, a specialist on the history and architecture of Delphi. The spectacular anastylosis, technically resetting a column straight on its base, soon became a political and scientific issue. It is the only monument in the Marmaria, thus giving it its identity and is costly, requiring the help of sponsors or public institutions. In the eyes of the Greek state, it represents the goodwill of its owner, the French School of Athena and, consequently, of the French state itself. A series of spectacular images are added to the documentary after the mention of a new type of anastylosis sixty years later –the digital version, generously offered by a foundation. It reintroduced a verticality that was often lost onsite. It also shows the introduction of new powers, economic powers, into the core issues of archeology. TV was still, at the dawn of the web revolution, the vector of choice. Bibliography :

Coll., La redécouverte de Delphes (1992).

Coll., Marmaria. Le sanctuaire d’Athéna à Delphes (1997).