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ΣΥΛΛΟΓΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΩΝ
Ερμού 136, 10553 Αθήνα. Τηλ-Fax.: 2103252214, E-mail:archaeol@otenet.gr, www.sea.org.gr
Αθήνα, 17/5/2021
Αρ. Πρωτ.: 124
Προς:
Τα μέλη του ΣΕΑ
Σταθμός Βενιζέλου/Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης: Να δοθεί πολιτική λύση για να μην καταστραφούν οι αρχαιότητες.
Η διεθνής κινητοποίηση για την σωτηρία των σημαντικών αρχαιοτήτων της βυζαντινής Θεσσαλονίκης, συνεχίζεται. Εν αναμονή της απόφασης του ΣτΕ, και ανεξάρτητα από το περιεχόμενό της που διέρρευσαν κυβερνητικές πηγές, επιφανείς επιστήμονες του εξωτερικού ζητούν από τον Πρωθυπουργό να παρέμβει για να σωθεί ο μοναδικός αρχαιολογικός χώρος.
Ο Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Αρχαιολόγων επισημαίνει, για άλλη μια φορά, ότι στο χρονικό σημείο που βρισκόμαστε, η ίδια η Αττικό Μετρό έχει έμμεσα παραδεχτεί ότι ο Σταθμός Βενιζέλου δεν θα έχει παραδοθεί το 2023.
Ακόμη κι αν υπολογίζει η Αττικό Μετρό ότι η απόφαση του Συμβουλίου της Επικρατείας, θα εκδοθεί ως το τέλος Μαΐου 2021, ακόμη κι αν το έργο της απόσπασης χρειάζεται 5,5 μήνες για να ολοκληρωθεί (με τα πλέον αισιόδοξα σενάρια της ίδιας της Αττικό Μετρό), η ανασκαφική έρευνα στα υποκείμενα στρώματα θα διαρκέσει ένα χρόνο, σύμφωνα πάντα με το χρονοδιάγραμμα που έχει δώσει η Αττικό Μετρό (στο οποίο βέβαια δεν συνυπολογίζουν καν τις νέες συνεδριάσεις του ΚΑΣ που θα χρειαστούν, τις νέες αποσπάσεις και αποδομήσεις αρχαιοτήτων, τον υδράργυρο κλπ) και τους 18 μήνες για την κατασκευή του σταθμού, όπως η ίδια η Αττικό Μετρό έχει ανακοινώσει, φτάνουμε στο Μάιο 2024, χωρίς καν να έχει γίνει η δοκιμαστική λειτουργία των συρμών! Το χρονοδιάγραμμα που ανακοίνωσε ο Πρωθυπουργός το Σεπτέμβρη 2019, ο Ν. Ταχιάος το Δεκέμβριο 2019 και ο Κ. Καραμανλής τον Μάιο 2020, για την παράδοση όλων των σταθμών του Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης τον Απρίλιο του 2023, είναι ήδη στον αέρα!
Είναι σαφές λοιπόν ότι η Αττικό Μετρό θα προχωρήσει σε ολοκλήρωση και δοκιμαστική λειτουργία των 12 σταθμών του Μετρό, χωρίς το Σταθμό Βενιζέλου, αν πραγματικά θέλει να παραδώσει το έργο το 2023. Δεν υπάρχει λοιπόν κανένας λόγος να αποσπαστούν και να καταστραφούν οι αρχαιότητες του Σταθμού Βενιζέλου!
Η Αττικό Μετρό σχεδιάζει να παραδώσει το έργο που η ίδια ονόμαζε «κολοβό», χωρίς τον Σταθμό Βενιζέλου, αφού θα έχει καταστρέψει τις αρχαιότητες! Δεν θα τους αφήσουμε. Ο Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Αρχαιολόγων, με απόφασή του, θα συνεχίσει να παλεύει με κάθε τρόπο για να αποτραπεί αυτή η καταστροφή. Το ΔΣ του ΣΕΑ έχει αποφασίσει ότι θα λάβει τα αναγκαία μέτρα ώστε κανένα μέλος του Συλλόγου μας να μην αναγκαστεί να συμμετάσχει στον τεμαχισμό και την καταστροφή του μοναδικού μνημειακού συνόλου.
Ο Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Αρχαιολόγων επισημαίνει, για άλλη μια φορά, ότι στο χρονικό σημείο που βρισκόμαστε, η ίδια η Αττικό Μετρό έχει έμμεσα παραδεχτεί ότι ο Σταθμός Βενιζέλου δεν θα έχει παραδοθεί το 2023.
Ακόμη κι αν υπολογίζει η Αττικό Μετρό ότι η απόφαση του Συμβουλίου της Επικρατείας, θα εκδοθεί ως το τέλος Μαΐου 2021, ακόμη κι αν το έργο της απόσπασης χρειάζεται 5,5 μήνες για να ολοκληρωθεί (με τα πλέον αισιόδοξα σενάρια της ίδιας της Αττικό Μετρό), η ανασκαφική έρευνα στα υποκείμενα στρώματα θα διαρκέσει ένα χρόνο, σύμφωνα πάντα με το χρονοδιάγραμμα που έχει δώσει η Αττικό Μετρό (στο οποίο βέβαια δεν συνυπολογίζουν καν τις νέες συνεδριάσεις του ΚΑΣ που θα χρειαστούν, τις νέες αποσπάσεις και αποδομήσεις αρχαιοτήτων, τον υδράργυρο κλπ) και τους 18 μήνες για την κατασκευή του σταθμού, όπως η ίδια η Αττικό Μετρό έχει ανακοινώσει, φτάνουμε στο Μάιο 2024, χωρίς καν να έχει γίνει η δοκιμαστική λειτουργία των συρμών! Το χρονοδιάγραμμα που ανακοίνωσε ο Πρωθυπουργός το Σεπτέμβρη 2019, ο Ν. Ταχιάος το Δεκέμβριο 2019 και ο Κ. Καραμανλής τον Μάιο 2020, για την παράδοση όλων των σταθμών του Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης τον Απρίλιο του 2023, είναι ήδη στον αέρα!
Είναι σαφές λοιπόν ότι η Αττικό Μετρό θα προχωρήσει σε ολοκλήρωση και δοκιμαστική λειτουργία των 12 σταθμών του Μετρό, χωρίς το Σταθμό Βενιζέλου, αν πραγματικά θέλει να παραδώσει το έργο το 2023. Δεν υπάρχει λοιπόν κανένας λόγος να αποσπαστούν και να καταστραφούν οι αρχαιότητες του Σταθμού Βενιζέλου!
Η Αττικό Μετρό σχεδιάζει να παραδώσει το έργο που η ίδια ονόμαζε «κολοβό», χωρίς τον Σταθμό Βενιζέλου, αφού θα έχει καταστρέψει τις αρχαιότητες! Δεν θα τους αφήσουμε. Ο Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Αρχαιολόγων, με απόφασή του, θα συνεχίσει να παλεύει με κάθε τρόπο για να αποτραπεί αυτή η καταστροφή. Το ΔΣ του ΣΕΑ έχει αποφασίσει ότι θα λάβει τα αναγκαία μέτρα ώστε κανένα μέλος του Συλλόγου μας να μην αναγκαστεί να συμμετάσχει στον τεμαχισμό και την καταστροφή του μοναδικού μνημειακού συνόλου.
Για το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο του ΣΕΑ,
Η Πρόεδρος Η Γενική Γραμματέας
Δέσποινα Κουτσούμπα Εύα Γιατρουδάκη
May 13, 2021
Η Πρόεδρος Η Γενική Γραμματέας
Δέσποινα Κουτσούμπα Εύα Γιατρουδάκη
May 13, 2021
To the Prime Minister of Greece
Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis
As Greeks of the diaspora, philhellenes, and students of Ancient and Byzantine culture, we are greatly dismayed by the recent developments jeopardizing the preservation of the important remains of Late Antique and Byzantine Thessaloniki revealed in the course of constructing the city’s metro. Since the emergence of archaeology as a modern academic discipline, this is one of the most spectacular finds from these periods anywhere in the world. The intact road that was uncovered formed the heart of the Late Antique capital and the second most important city of Byzantium such as it was developed between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. Nothing equivalent is known from anywhere else, neither in this considerable territorial and chronological expanse, nor in urban significance. The paramount importance of this finding is such that the city of Thessaloniki can qualify as a primary UNESCO world heritage site (the largest and best preserved Late Antique and Byzantine city anywhere in the world) and be developed as a tourist destination of the first order.
Although it is both appropriate and technologically possible to keep the archaeological complex around the Venizelou metro station in its place, the metro construction company prefers to dismantle it into bits and pieces, temporarily move them to storage outside the city, and place them back after the station’s construction. This procedure not only destroys underlying archaeological strata and exposes the finds to danger but has also proven to fail. Extremely important finds of the same period in the station around the square of Hagia Sophia were dismantled and moved to storage outside the city. However, the effort to put them back in their original place after the metro works were concluded was unsuccessful, since they could no longer fit in the space from which they had been extracted. This procedure threatens the authenticity of this unique complex of monuments, which is one of the criteria used by UNESCO in order to award the characterization “World Heritage Site.”
For this reason, a number of Greek cultural institutions sued in order to prevent this destruction. The case was recently adjudicated by the Greek Council of State (Symvoulio tis Epikrateias) that ruled, with a narrow majority of one vote (13-12) that it is not illegal to dismantle the Venizelou finds for the quick completion of the construction. This ruling gave priority to a fast solution over the preservation of the archaeological finds in their place. The difference of one vote plainly shows that the answer to the question of what is more advantageous is not clear.
We believe that the preservation of the antiquities in their original location is consistent with the Greek state’s obligation to preserve cultural heritage – in this case cultural heritage not only of Greek but of European dimensions – and ultimately more beneficial. In terms of Thessaloniki’s touristic, economic, cultural, and existential future, the preservation of the antiquities in their original location is the only appropriate course of action. The Thessaloniki finds ought to be celebrated as an unprecedented opportunity to honor and showcase the potential of modern Greek archaeology and technology. Instead, their preservation in situ is presented as a luxury that the Greek state cannot afford. Placed together with Thessaloniki’s fifteen World Heritage Monuments, the city can use these unparalleled finds to envision and implement a master plan for future development as a key tourist destination, ensuring economic prosperity. We implore you to intervene in order to prevent the dismantling of this singularly important patrimony and its exposure to danger. In the context of Byzantine archaeology, these monuments are so unique that their displacement/destruction would be a calamity tantamount to Francesco Morosini’s bombardment of the Parthenon in 1687.
Applicable plans that will allow the people of Thessaloniki to enjoy the benefits of a city metro without losing the most important evidence for the continuity of urban life in their city for twenty-four centuries do exist. Now they should be implemented.
Panagiotis Agapitos, Professor of Byzantine Literature, University of Cyprus
Suzanne Akbari, Professor of Medieval Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Michael Alram, Director of the Coin Cabinet of the Vienna Museum of Art; Vice President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Dimiter Angelov, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History; Faculty Affeliate of the Department of Classics , Harvard University
Roderick Beaton, Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature Emeritus, King’s College London; Fellow of the British Academy; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Roger Bagnall, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus and Leon Levy Director Emeritus, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World/New York University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Glen Bowersock, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign Member of the National Academy of the Lincei; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Knight of the Legion of Honor
Peter Brown, Rollins Professor of History Emeritus, Princeton University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Thessaloniki; Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters
Leslie Brubaker, Professor of Byzantine Art, University of Birmingham; Director of the Center of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek Studies; Chair of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
Dame Averil Cameron, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History Emerita, University of Oxford; former Warden of Kable College; Fellow of the British Academy; Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Gold Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic; honorary citizen of Sparta
Angelos Chaniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Doctor honoris causa of the University of the Thessaloniki; Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
John Duffy, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature Emeritus, Harvard University
Denis Feissel, Director of Studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Member of the Academia Europea
Takashi Fujii, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Vincent Gabrielsen, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, University of Copenhagen; Member of the Royal Danish Academy
Thomas W. Gallant, Nicholas Family Endowed Chair in Modern Greek History, Distinguished Professor of History and Archaeology, University of California, San Diego
Patrick Geary, Mellon Professor of Western Medieval History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sharon Gerstel, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archeology, University of California at Los Angeles; George P. Kolovos family Centennial term Chair in Hellenic studies; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Molly Green, Professor of History and Hellenic Studies; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
John Haldon, President of the International Association of Byzantine Studies; Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies Emeritus, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History Emeritus, Princeton University; Correspondin Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Olivier Henry, Professor of Ancient History, University of Lyon-2
Judith Herrin, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies Emerita, King’s College London; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Golden Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Christopher P. Jones, George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics and of History Emeritus, Harvard University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres
Mika Kajava, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, University of Helsinki; former Director of the Finnish Institute in Rome
Ioli Kalavrezou, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Art, Harvard University
Edmund Keeley, Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English Emeritus, Princeton University; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Young Richard Kim, Associate Professor and Head of Classics and Mediterranean Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
Christos Kyriakakis, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California
Thomas W. Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus and Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley; Member of the American Philosophical Society
AnneMarie Luijendijk, Professor of Religion and Head of First College, Princeton University
Peter Mackridge, Professor of Modern Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Christoph Markschies, President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences; Professor of Patristic Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin; former President of the Humboldt University, Berlin; Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Thomas F. Mathews, John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the History of Art Emeritus, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Maria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine Ηistory, Classics, and Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; MacArthur Fellow Class of 2004
Mark Mazower, Ira D. Wallach Professor of History, Columbia University; Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities
Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Art, Architecture and Archaeology, Columbia University; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies
Greg Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Greek Literature, Harvard University; Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies; Foreign Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Alexander Nehamas, Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature, Princeton University; Member of the Academy of Athens; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Robert S. Nelson, Robert Lehman Professor in the History of Art, Yale University
Alexander Nikolov, Professor of Medieval History, Sofia University; Chair of the Bulgarian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Ingela Nilsson, Professor of Greek, University of Uppsala; President of the Swedish Committee of Byzantine Studies
Robert Ousterhout, Professor of History of Art Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Bernhard Palme, Professor of Papyrology, University of Vienna; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Maria Pantelia, Irvine, Professor of Classics, University of California; Director of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae
Christos Papadimitriou, Donovan Family Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University; Member of the National Academy of Sciences; Gödel Prize
Herrmann Partzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation; President of Europa Nostra; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Great Cross of Merit with Star of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Member of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation
Bissera Pentcheva, Professor of Medieval Art, Stanford University
Walter Pohl, Professor of Medieval History; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, University of Vienna
Nicholas Purcell, Camden Professor of Ancient History, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Antonio Rigo, Professor of Byzantine Philology and History of Byzantine Christianity, Ca'Foscari University of Venice; President of the Italian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Christian Robin, Director of Research for Ancient Semitic Studies Emeritus, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Knight of the Legion of Honor; Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Commander of the Order of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Yemen
Bernd Schneidmüller, Professor of Medieval History, University of Heidelberg; President of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
R.R.R. Smith, Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Jean-Michel Spieser, Professor of Early Christian and Byzantine Archaeology Emeritus, University of Fribourg
Ronald Stroud, Klio Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; former Dean of the Faculty of Letters
Guy Stroumsa, Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions Emeritus, University of Oxford; Martin Buber Professor of Comparative Religion Emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Sarah Stroumsa, Alice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies Emerita, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Rector Emerita; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Alice Mary Talbot, Director of Byzantine Studies Emerita, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; former President of the Medieval Academy of America; Doctor honoris causa of the University of St. Andrews
Andrei Timoti, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bucharest; Chair of the Romanian National Committee on Byzantine Studies
Pablo Ubierna, Professor of Medieval History and Researcher of Lsate Antique and Byzantine History, University of Buenos Aires; Chair of the Argentinian National Committee on Byzantine Studies
Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis
As Greeks of the diaspora, philhellenes, and students of Ancient and Byzantine culture, we are greatly dismayed by the recent developments jeopardizing the preservation of the important remains of Late Antique and Byzantine Thessaloniki revealed in the course of constructing the city’s metro. Since the emergence of archaeology as a modern academic discipline, this is one of the most spectacular finds from these periods anywhere in the world. The intact road that was uncovered formed the heart of the Late Antique capital and the second most important city of Byzantium such as it was developed between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. Nothing equivalent is known from anywhere else, neither in this considerable territorial and chronological expanse, nor in urban significance. The paramount importance of this finding is such that the city of Thessaloniki can qualify as a primary UNESCO world heritage site (the largest and best preserved Late Antique and Byzantine city anywhere in the world) and be developed as a tourist destination of the first order.
Although it is both appropriate and technologically possible to keep the archaeological complex around the Venizelou metro station in its place, the metro construction company prefers to dismantle it into bits and pieces, temporarily move them to storage outside the city, and place them back after the station’s construction. This procedure not only destroys underlying archaeological strata and exposes the finds to danger but has also proven to fail. Extremely important finds of the same period in the station around the square of Hagia Sophia were dismantled and moved to storage outside the city. However, the effort to put them back in their original place after the metro works were concluded was unsuccessful, since they could no longer fit in the space from which they had been extracted. This procedure threatens the authenticity of this unique complex of monuments, which is one of the criteria used by UNESCO in order to award the characterization “World Heritage Site.”
For this reason, a number of Greek cultural institutions sued in order to prevent this destruction. The case was recently adjudicated by the Greek Council of State (Symvoulio tis Epikrateias) that ruled, with a narrow majority of one vote (13-12) that it is not illegal to dismantle the Venizelou finds for the quick completion of the construction. This ruling gave priority to a fast solution over the preservation of the archaeological finds in their place. The difference of one vote plainly shows that the answer to the question of what is more advantageous is not clear.
We believe that the preservation of the antiquities in their original location is consistent with the Greek state’s obligation to preserve cultural heritage – in this case cultural heritage not only of Greek but of European dimensions – and ultimately more beneficial. In terms of Thessaloniki’s touristic, economic, cultural, and existential future, the preservation of the antiquities in their original location is the only appropriate course of action. The Thessaloniki finds ought to be celebrated as an unprecedented opportunity to honor and showcase the potential of modern Greek archaeology and technology. Instead, their preservation in situ is presented as a luxury that the Greek state cannot afford. Placed together with Thessaloniki’s fifteen World Heritage Monuments, the city can use these unparalleled finds to envision and implement a master plan for future development as a key tourist destination, ensuring economic prosperity. We implore you to intervene in order to prevent the dismantling of this singularly important patrimony and its exposure to danger. In the context of Byzantine archaeology, these monuments are so unique that their displacement/destruction would be a calamity tantamount to Francesco Morosini’s bombardment of the Parthenon in 1687.
Applicable plans that will allow the people of Thessaloniki to enjoy the benefits of a city metro without losing the most important evidence for the continuity of urban life in their city for twenty-four centuries do exist. Now they should be implemented.
Panagiotis Agapitos, Professor of Byzantine Literature, University of Cyprus
Suzanne Akbari, Professor of Medieval Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Michael Alram, Director of the Coin Cabinet of the Vienna Museum of Art; Vice President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Dimiter Angelov, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History; Faculty Affeliate of the Department of Classics , Harvard University
Roderick Beaton, Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature Emeritus, King’s College London; Fellow of the British Academy; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Roger Bagnall, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus and Leon Levy Director Emeritus, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World/New York University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Glen Bowersock, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign Member of the National Academy of the Lincei; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Knight of the Legion of Honor
Peter Brown, Rollins Professor of History Emeritus, Princeton University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Thessaloniki; Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters
Leslie Brubaker, Professor of Byzantine Art, University of Birmingham; Director of the Center of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek Studies; Chair of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
Dame Averil Cameron, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History Emerita, University of Oxford; former Warden of Kable College; Fellow of the British Academy; Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Gold Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic; honorary citizen of Sparta
Angelos Chaniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Doctor honoris causa of the University of the Thessaloniki; Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
John Duffy, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature Emeritus, Harvard University
Denis Feissel, Director of Studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Member of the Academia Europea
Takashi Fujii, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Vincent Gabrielsen, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, University of Copenhagen; Member of the Royal Danish Academy
Thomas W. Gallant, Nicholas Family Endowed Chair in Modern Greek History, Distinguished Professor of History and Archaeology, University of California, San Diego
Patrick Geary, Mellon Professor of Western Medieval History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sharon Gerstel, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archeology, University of California at Los Angeles; George P. Kolovos family Centennial term Chair in Hellenic studies; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Molly Green, Professor of History and Hellenic Studies; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
John Haldon, President of the International Association of Byzantine Studies; Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies Emeritus, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History Emeritus, Princeton University; Correspondin Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Olivier Henry, Professor of Ancient History, University of Lyon-2
Judith Herrin, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies Emerita, King’s College London; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Golden Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Christopher P. Jones, George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics and of History Emeritus, Harvard University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres
Mika Kajava, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, University of Helsinki; former Director of the Finnish Institute in Rome
Ioli Kalavrezou, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Art, Harvard University
Edmund Keeley, Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English Emeritus, Princeton University; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Young Richard Kim, Associate Professor and Head of Classics and Mediterranean Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
Christos Kyriakakis, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California
Thomas W. Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus and Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley; Member of the American Philosophical Society
AnneMarie Luijendijk, Professor of Religion and Head of First College, Princeton University
Peter Mackridge, Professor of Modern Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Christoph Markschies, President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences; Professor of Patristic Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin; former President of the Humboldt University, Berlin; Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Thomas F. Mathews, John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the History of Art Emeritus, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Maria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine Ηistory, Classics, and Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; MacArthur Fellow Class of 2004
Mark Mazower, Ira D. Wallach Professor of History, Columbia University; Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities
Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Art, Architecture and Archaeology, Columbia University; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies
Greg Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Greek Literature, Harvard University; Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies; Foreign Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Alexander Nehamas, Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature, Princeton University; Member of the Academy of Athens; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Robert S. Nelson, Robert Lehman Professor in the History of Art, Yale University
Alexander Nikolov, Professor of Medieval History, Sofia University; Chair of the Bulgarian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Ingela Nilsson, Professor of Greek, University of Uppsala; President of the Swedish Committee of Byzantine Studies
Robert Ousterhout, Professor of History of Art Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Bernhard Palme, Professor of Papyrology, University of Vienna; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Maria Pantelia, Irvine, Professor of Classics, University of California; Director of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae
Christos Papadimitriou, Donovan Family Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University; Member of the National Academy of Sciences; Gödel Prize
Herrmann Partzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation; President of Europa Nostra; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Great Cross of Merit with Star of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Member of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation
Bissera Pentcheva, Professor of Medieval Art, Stanford University
Walter Pohl, Professor of Medieval History; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, University of Vienna
Nicholas Purcell, Camden Professor of Ancient History, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Antonio Rigo, Professor of Byzantine Philology and History of Byzantine Christianity, Ca'Foscari University of Venice; President of the Italian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Christian Robin, Director of Research for Ancient Semitic Studies Emeritus, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Knight of the Legion of Honor; Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Commander of the Order of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Yemen
Bernd Schneidmüller, Professor of Medieval History, University of Heidelberg; President of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
R.R.R. Smith, Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Jean-Michel Spieser, Professor of Early Christian and Byzantine Archaeology Emeritus, University of Fribourg
Ronald Stroud, Klio Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; former Dean of the Faculty of Letters
Guy Stroumsa, Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions Emeritus, University of Oxford; Martin Buber Professor of Comparative Religion Emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Sarah Stroumsa, Alice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies Emerita, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Rector Emerita; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Alice Mary Talbot, Director of Byzantine Studies Emerita, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; former President of the Medieval Academy of America; Doctor honoris causa of the University of St. Andrews
Andrei Timoti, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bucharest; Chair of the Romanian National Committee on Byzantine Studies
Pablo Ubierna, Professor of Medieval History and Researcher of Lsate Antique and Byzantine History, University of Buenos Aires; Chair of the Argentinian National Committee on Byzantine Studies
Ως Έλληνες της διασποράς, φιλέλληνες και μελετητές του αρχαίου και βυζαντινού πολιτισμού, εκφράζουμε την απογοήτευσή μας για τις πρόσφατες εξελίξεις που θέτουν σε κίνδυνο τα σημαντικά ευρήματα της υστερορωμαϊκής και βυζαντινής Θεσσαλονίκης, τα οποία ήρθαν στο φως κατά την κατασκευή του μετρό της πόλης. Συγκαταλέγονται στα εντυπωσιακότερα ευρήματα αυτών των περιόδων, οπουδήποτε στον κόσμο, από την εποχή που η αρχαιολογία αναδύθηκε ως σύγχρονο επιστημονικό αντικείμενο. Η σχεδόν άθικτη οδική αρτηρία που ανακαλύφθηκε είναι η καρδιά της πρωτεύουσας της Ύστερης Αρχαιότητας και δεύτερης σε σημασία πόλης του Βυζαντίου, όπως διαμορφώθηκε από τον 4ο έως τον 12ο αιώνα. Δεν είναι γνωστό από οπουδήποτε αλλού κάτι ανάλογης σπουδαιότητας, ούτε σε εδαφική και χρονική έκταση, ούτε σε σημασία για τον αστικό ιστό μιας πόλης. Είναι τέτοια η σπουδαιότητα αυτού του ευρήματος που η πόλη της Θεσσαλονίκης να μπορεί να διεκδικήσει την ιδιότητα του εξαιρετικού χώρου παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς της ΟΥΝΕΣΚΟ (ως η μεγαλύτερη και καλύτερα διατηρημένη πόλη που σώζεται από την ύστερη αρχαιότητα και τη βυζαντινή περίοδο οπουδήποτε στον κόσμο) και να αναπτυχθεί ως τουριστικός προορισμός πρώτης τάξεως.
Αν και η διατήρηση του αρχαιολογικού συγκροτήματος της Βενιζέλου στη θέση του είναι και πρέπουσα και τεχνολογικά εφικτή, η κατασκευαστική εταιρεία του μετρό προτιμά να το αποσυναρμολογήσει σε κομμάτια, να τα μεταφέρει προσωρινά σε αποθήκη εκτός της πόλης και να τα ανατοποθετήσει μετά το κατασκευή του σταθμού. Αυτή η διαδικασία και καταστρέφει τα υποκείμενα αρχαιολογικά στρώματα και εκθέτει τα ευρήματα σε κίνδυνο· επιπλέον, έχει αποδειχθεί αποτυχημένη στην πράξη. Ευρήματα εξαιρετικής σημασίας της ίδιας περιόδου στον σταθμό κοντά στην πλατεία της Αγίας Σοφίας αποσυναρμολογήθηκαν και μεταφέρθηκαν σε αποθήκη έξω από την πόλη. Ωστόσο, η προσπάθεια επαναφοράς τους στην αρχική τους θέση μετά την ολοκλήρωση των έργων του μετρό ήταν ανεπιτυχής, καθώς δεν μπορούσαν πλέον να χωρέσουν στον χώρο από τον οποίο είχαν εξαχθεί. Αυτή η διαδικασία απειλεί την αυθεντικότητα αυτού του μοναδικού συγκροτήματος μνημείων, κάτι που αποτελεί ένα από τα κριτήρια της UNESCO για την απονομή του χαρακτηρισμού «Χώρος Παγκόσμιας Κληρονομιάς».
Για τους παραπάνω λόγους, ελληνικά πολιτιστικά ιδρυμάτα κινήθηκε δικαστικά προκειμένου να αποτρέψουν την καταστροφή. Η υπόθεση κρίθηκε πρόσφατα από το Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας που αποφάσισε, με οριακή πλειοψηφία μιας ψήφου (13-12) ότι δεν είναι παράνομο να αποσυναρμολογηθούν τα ευρήματα του σταθμού Βενιζέλου προκειμένου να ολοκληρωθεί γρήγορα η κατασκευή. Αυτή η απόφαση έδωσε προτεραιότητα στη γρήγορη λύση παρά στη διατήρηση των αρχαιολογικών ευρημάτων στη θέση τους. Η διαφορά μίας ψήφου δείχνει ξεκάθαρα ότι δεν είναι σαφές τι προσφέρει μεγαλύτερα πλεονεκτήματα.
Πιστεύουμε ότι η διατήρηση των αρχαιοτήτων στην αρχική τους θέση και συνάδει με την υποχρέωση του ελληνικού κράτους να διαφυλάσσει την πολιτιστική κληρονομιά – στην περίπτωση αυτή πρόκειται για πολιτιστική κληρονομιά όχι μόνο ελληνικών αλλά πανευρωπαϊκών και παγκοσμίων διαστάσεων - αλλά και είναι τελικά η πιο ευεργετική. Όσον αφορά το τουριστικό, οικονομικό, πολιτιστικό και υπαρξιακό μέλλον της Θεσσαλονίκης, η διατήρηση των αρχαιοτήτων στην αρχική τους θέση είναι η μόνη σωστή λύση. Τα ευρήματα της Θεσσαλονίκης πρέπει να χαιρετισθούν ως μια άνευ προηγουμένου ευκαιρία να τιμηθούν και να αναδειχθούν οι δυνατότητες της σύγχρονης ελληνικής αρχαιολογίας και τεχνολογίας. Αντ᾿ αυτού, η διατήρησή τους επί τόπου παρουσιάζεται ως μια πολυτέλεια που δεν μπορεί να αντέξει το ελληνικό κράτος. Σε συνδυασμό με τα 15 μνημεία που έχουν ήδη χαρακτηριστεί μνημεία παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς της ΟΥΝΕΣΚΟ η Θεσσαλονίκη μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει τα άνευ προηγουμένου ευρήματα ως βάση κατάρτισης ενός γενικότερου σχεδίου που θα την καταστήσει βασικό τουριστικό προορισμό, εξασφαλίζοντας οικονομική ευημερία. Σας εκλιπαρούμε να παρέμβετε προκειμένου να αποτρέψετε την αποδόμηση αυτής της μοναδικής πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς και την έκθεσή της σε κίνδυνο. Στα πλαίσια της βυζαντινής αρχαιολογίας, τα συγκεκριμένα μνημεία είναι τόσο μοναδικά που ο εκτοπισμός ή η καταστροφή τους θα ήταν καταστροφή ισοδύναμη με τον βομβαρδισμό του Παρθενώνα από τον Francesco Morosini το 1687.
Υπάρχουν εφαρμόσιμα σχέδια που επιτρέπουν στους Θεσσαλονικείς να απολαύσουν τα πλεονεκτήματα του μετρό χωρίς να στερηθούν ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά τεκμήρια της αδιάλειπτης συνέχειας του αστικού βίου στην πόλη τους επί 24 αιώνες. Είναι ώρα αυτά τα σχέδια να υλοποιηθούν.
Αν και η διατήρηση του αρχαιολογικού συγκροτήματος της Βενιζέλου στη θέση του είναι και πρέπουσα και τεχνολογικά εφικτή, η κατασκευαστική εταιρεία του μετρό προτιμά να το αποσυναρμολογήσει σε κομμάτια, να τα μεταφέρει προσωρινά σε αποθήκη εκτός της πόλης και να τα ανατοποθετήσει μετά το κατασκευή του σταθμού. Αυτή η διαδικασία και καταστρέφει τα υποκείμενα αρχαιολογικά στρώματα και εκθέτει τα ευρήματα σε κίνδυνο· επιπλέον, έχει αποδειχθεί αποτυχημένη στην πράξη. Ευρήματα εξαιρετικής σημασίας της ίδιας περιόδου στον σταθμό κοντά στην πλατεία της Αγίας Σοφίας αποσυναρμολογήθηκαν και μεταφέρθηκαν σε αποθήκη έξω από την πόλη. Ωστόσο, η προσπάθεια επαναφοράς τους στην αρχική τους θέση μετά την ολοκλήρωση των έργων του μετρό ήταν ανεπιτυχής, καθώς δεν μπορούσαν πλέον να χωρέσουν στον χώρο από τον οποίο είχαν εξαχθεί. Αυτή η διαδικασία απειλεί την αυθεντικότητα αυτού του μοναδικού συγκροτήματος μνημείων, κάτι που αποτελεί ένα από τα κριτήρια της UNESCO για την απονομή του χαρακτηρισμού «Χώρος Παγκόσμιας Κληρονομιάς».
Για τους παραπάνω λόγους, ελληνικά πολιτιστικά ιδρυμάτα κινήθηκε δικαστικά προκειμένου να αποτρέψουν την καταστροφή. Η υπόθεση κρίθηκε πρόσφατα από το Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας που αποφάσισε, με οριακή πλειοψηφία μιας ψήφου (13-12) ότι δεν είναι παράνομο να αποσυναρμολογηθούν τα ευρήματα του σταθμού Βενιζέλου προκειμένου να ολοκληρωθεί γρήγορα η κατασκευή. Αυτή η απόφαση έδωσε προτεραιότητα στη γρήγορη λύση παρά στη διατήρηση των αρχαιολογικών ευρημάτων στη θέση τους. Η διαφορά μίας ψήφου δείχνει ξεκάθαρα ότι δεν είναι σαφές τι προσφέρει μεγαλύτερα πλεονεκτήματα.
Πιστεύουμε ότι η διατήρηση των αρχαιοτήτων στην αρχική τους θέση και συνάδει με την υποχρέωση του ελληνικού κράτους να διαφυλάσσει την πολιτιστική κληρονομιά – στην περίπτωση αυτή πρόκειται για πολιτιστική κληρονομιά όχι μόνο ελληνικών αλλά πανευρωπαϊκών και παγκοσμίων διαστάσεων - αλλά και είναι τελικά η πιο ευεργετική. Όσον αφορά το τουριστικό, οικονομικό, πολιτιστικό και υπαρξιακό μέλλον της Θεσσαλονίκης, η διατήρηση των αρχαιοτήτων στην αρχική τους θέση είναι η μόνη σωστή λύση. Τα ευρήματα της Θεσσαλονίκης πρέπει να χαιρετισθούν ως μια άνευ προηγουμένου ευκαιρία να τιμηθούν και να αναδειχθούν οι δυνατότητες της σύγχρονης ελληνικής αρχαιολογίας και τεχνολογίας. Αντ᾿ αυτού, η διατήρησή τους επί τόπου παρουσιάζεται ως μια πολυτέλεια που δεν μπορεί να αντέξει το ελληνικό κράτος. Σε συνδυασμό με τα 15 μνημεία που έχουν ήδη χαρακτηριστεί μνημεία παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς της ΟΥΝΕΣΚΟ η Θεσσαλονίκη μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει τα άνευ προηγουμένου ευρήματα ως βάση κατάρτισης ενός γενικότερου σχεδίου που θα την καταστήσει βασικό τουριστικό προορισμό, εξασφαλίζοντας οικονομική ευημερία. Σας εκλιπαρούμε να παρέμβετε προκειμένου να αποτρέψετε την αποδόμηση αυτής της μοναδικής πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς και την έκθεσή της σε κίνδυνο. Στα πλαίσια της βυζαντινής αρχαιολογίας, τα συγκεκριμένα μνημεία είναι τόσο μοναδικά που ο εκτοπισμός ή η καταστροφή τους θα ήταν καταστροφή ισοδύναμη με τον βομβαρδισμό του Παρθενώνα από τον Francesco Morosini το 1687.
Υπάρχουν εφαρμόσιμα σχέδια που επιτρέπουν στους Θεσσαλονικείς να απολαύσουν τα πλεονεκτήματα του μετρό χωρίς να στερηθούν ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά τεκμήρια της αδιάλειπτης συνέχειας του αστικού βίου στην πόλη τους επί 24 αιώνες. Είναι ώρα αυτά τα σχέδια να υλοποιηθούν.
Panagiotis Agapitos, Professor of Byzantine Literature, University of Cyprus
Suzanne Akbari, Professor of Medieval Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Michael Alram, Director of the Coin Cabinet of the Vienna Museum of Art; Vice President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Dimiter Angelov, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History; Faculty Affiliate of the Department of Classics, Harvard University
Roderick Beaton, Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature Emeritus, King’s College London; Fellow of the British Academy; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Roger Bagnall, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus and Leon Levy Director Emeritus, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World/New York University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Glen Bowersock, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign Member of the National Academy of the Lincei; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Knight of the Legion of Honor
Amelia Brown, Senior Lecturer in Greek History and Language; Chair of the Australian National Committee on Byzantine Studies; University of Queensland
Peter Brown, Rollins Professor of History Emeritus, Princeton University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Thessaloniki; Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters
Leslie Brubaker, Professor of Byzantine Art, University of Birmingham; Director of the Center of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek Studies; Chair of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
Dame Averil Cameron, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History Emerita, University of Oxford; former Warden of Kable College; Fellow of the British Academy; Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, Cambridge University; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Gold Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic; honorary citizen of Sparta
Angelos Chaniotis, Professor of Ancient History and Classics, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Doctor honoris causa of the University of the Thessaloniki; Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
John Duffy, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Philology and Literature Emeritus, Harvard University
Denis Feissel, Director of Studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Member of the Academia Europea
Cornell Fleischer, Kanuni Suleyman Professor of Ottman and Modern Turkish Studies, University of Chicago
Takashi Fujii, Associate Professor of Ancient History, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Vincent Gabrielsen, Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, University of Copenhagen; Member of the Royal Danish Academy
Thomas W. Gallant, Nicholas Family Endowed Chair in Modern Greek History, Distinguished Professor of History and Archaeology, University of California, San Diego
Patrick Geary, Mellon Professor of Western Medieval History Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sharon Gerstel, Professor of Byzantine Art and Archeology, University of California at Los Angeles; George P. Kolovos family Centennial term Chair in Hellenic studies; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Molly Green, Professor of History and Hellenic Studies; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
John Haldon, President of the International Association of Byzantine Studies; Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies Emeritus, Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History Emeritus, Princeton University; Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Olivier Henry, Professor of Ancient History, University of Lyon-2
Judith Herrin, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies Emerita, King’s College London; Member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles; Golden Cross of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Christopher P. Jones, George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics and of History Emeritus, Harvard University; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Foreign member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres
Mika Kajava, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, University of Helsinki; former Director of the Finnish Institute in Rome
Ioli Kalavrezou, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine Art, Harvard University
Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantus Professor of Modern Greek, University of Sydney
Edmund Keeley, Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English Emeritus, Princeton University; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens; Commander of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic
Young Richard Kim, Associate Professor and Head of Classics and Mediterranean Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
Christos Kyriakakis, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California
Thomas W. Laqueur, Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus and Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley; Member of the American Philosophical Society
AnneMarie Luijendijk, Professor of Religion and Head of First College, Princeton University
Peter Mackridge, Professor of Modern Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Christoph Markschies, President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences; Professor of Patristic Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin; former President of the Humboldt University, Berlin; Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Thomas F. Mathews, John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the History of Art Emeritus, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Maria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine Ηistory, Classics, and Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley; MacArthur Fellow Class of 2004
Mark Mazower, Ira D. Wallach Professor of History, Columbia University; Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities
Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Art, Architecture and Archaeology, Columbia University; Director of the Program in Hellenic Studies
Greg Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Greek Literature, Harvard University; Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies; Foreign Member of the Academy of Athens; Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic
Alexander Nehamas, Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature, Princeton University; Member of the Academy of Athens; Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Robert S. Nelson, Robert Lehman Professor in the History of Art, Yale University
Alexander Nikolov, Professor of Medieval History, Sofia University; Chair of the Bulgarian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Ingela Nilsson, Professor of Greek, University of Uppsala; President of the Swedish Committee of Byzantine Studies
Robert Ousterhout, Professor of History of Art Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Bernhard Palme, Professor of Papyrology, University of Vienna; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; Doctor honoris causa of the University of Athens
Maria Pantelia, Irvine, Professor of Classics, University of California; Director of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae
Christos Papadimitriou, Donovan Family Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University; Member of the National Academy of Sciences; Gödel Prize
Herrmann Partzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation; President of Europa Nostra; Member of the American Philosophical Society; Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Great Cross of Merit with Star of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Member of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation
Bissera Pentcheva, Professor of Medieval Art, Stanford University
Walter Pohl, Professor of Medieval History; Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, University of Vienna
Nicholas Purcell, Camden Professor of Ancient History, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Claudia Rapp, Professor of Byzantine Studies, University of Vienna; Fellow of the British Academy; President of the Austrian Association of Byzantine Studies
Antonio Rigo, Professor of Byzantine Philology and History of Byzantine Christianity, Ca'Foscari University of Venice; President of the Italian National Committee of Byzantine Studies
Christian Robin, Director of Research for Ancient Semitic Studies Emeritus, École Pratique des Hautes Études; Knight of the Legion of Honor; Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres; Commander of the Order of Culture and Arts of the Republic of Yemen
Bernd Schneidmüller, Professor of Medieval History, University of Heidelberg; President of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
R.R.R. Smith, Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art, University of Oxford; Fellow of the British Academy
Jean-Michel Spieser, Professor of Early Christian and Byzantine Archaeology Emeritus, University of Fribourg
Ronald Stroud, Klio Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; former Dean of the Faculty of Letters
Guy Stroumsa, Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions Emeritus, University of Oxford; Martin Buber Professor of Comparative Religion Emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Sarah Stroumsa, Alice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies Emerita, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Rector Emerita; Member of the American Philosophical Society
Alice Mary Talbot, Director of Byzantine Studies Emerita, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection; former President of the Medieval Academy of America; Doctor honoris causa of the University of St. Andrews
Andrei Timoti, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bucharest; Chair of the Romanian National Committee on Byzantine Studies
Pablo Ubierna, Professor of Medieval History and Researcher of Lsate Antique and Byzantine History, University of Buenos Aires; Chair of the Argentinian National Committee on Byzantine Studies