Spyridon Marinatos

Infobox_Scientist
name = Spyridon Marinatos


caption =
birth_date = birth date|1901|11|4|mf=y
birth_place = Kefalonia, Greece
death_date = death date and age|1974|10|1|1901|11|4|mf=y
death_place = Santorini, Greece
residence = Athens
nationality = flag|Greece
field = Archaeology
known_for = Santorini excavation and his theory on the Volcanic Destruction of Minoan Crete

Spyridon Nikolaou Marinatos (Greek: "polytonic|Σπυρίδων Νικολάου Μαρινᾶτος", November 4, 1901 – October 1, 1974) was one of the premier Greek archaeologists of the 20th century. Marinatos began his career in Crete as director of the Herakelion museum in 1929 where he met Sir Arthur Evans. He conducted several excavations on Crete at Dreros, Arkalochori, Vathypetro and Gazi, all of which resulted in spectacular finds. In 1937 he became director of the Antiquities service in Greece for the first time. Shortly afterwards, he became professor at the University of Athens. He turned his attention to the Myceaneans next, regarding them as the first Greeks. He excavated many Mycenaean sites in the Peloponnese, including an unplundered royal tomb at Routsi, near Pylos. He also dug at Thermopylae and Marathon uncovering the sites where the famous battles had occurred.

His most notable discovery was the site of Akrotiri, a Minoan port city on the island of Thera. The city was destroyed by a massive eruption which buried it under ashes and pumice. The tsunamis created by the eruption destroyed coastal settlements on Crete as well. This event is linked by popular writers and the media to the myth of Atlantis. Marinatos began excavations in 1967 and died at the site in 1974, after suffering a massive stroke.

He was director-general of antiquities for the Greek Ministry of Culture during the autocratic rule of the colonels. The acquaintance he cultivated with the colonels who were in power in Greece, especially the widely-despised Georgios Papadopoulos, was ideologically based. Marinatos was committed to a vision of a well-ordered patriotic country, which he hoped the regime would build. His political affiliation created controversy among his academic peers.

His "Crete and Mycenae" was originally published in German in 1960. ["Kreta und das Mykenische Hellas ( Spyridon Marinatos, 1960] His most important article was about "the volcanic destruction of Minoan Crete" [Antiquity 1939] . His excavations at Thera have been published in six slender volumes (1968-74). "Life and Art in Prehistoric Thera" was one of his last publications in 1972. ["Proceedings of the British Academy", vol. 57 (1972)] .

His name is mentioned in the video game "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis", which also features a plot involving Thera and the legendary underwater lost city.

Archaeological sites

Marinatos was responsible for excavations at:
* Akrotiri (Santorini), Thera
* Amnisos
* Vathypetro

See also

* National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Notes

External links

* [http://www.travel-to-santorini.com/place.php?place_id=40 Archaeological site of Akrotiri Thera] :

Persondata
NAME= Marinatos, Spyridon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Greek archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH= November 4, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH= Paliki, Greece
DATE OF DEATH= October 1, 1974
PLACE OF DEATH= Santorini, Greece