Nikos Stampolidis is an eminent archaeologist and the first General Director of the Acropolis Museum. He was interviewed by Eri Vardaki for 'To Vima' about his vision for the the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures and also about his relationship with the President of the Museum, Dimitris Pantermalis.
Nikos Stampolidis acknowledges the challenges he has to face with regards to the continued division of the sculptures from the Parthenon and adds: "The Parthenon is a global symbol. It is the material imprint of the classical world from where Western civilization came, we would say the home of all the states of Europe, of all humanity. (…) Is it not the body of a divine communion from which everyone should partake? It is a whole born in a specific time, space and environment, under a specific light. And all people under this light and the air and the environment should visit the Parthenon and be baptized again in their roots."
On September 15, Nikos Spampolidis was sworn in as the first General Director of the Acropolis Museum, one of the most important museums in the world. Eri Vardaki describes the space of Nikos Stampolidis as simple and unpretentious and bathed in the Greek light that gave birth to the Parthenon. He spent the last days at the helm of the Museum of Cycladic Art, feverishly organizing the majestic exhibition “Beauty. The Supreme Beauty” which opens on September 29 and with which he bid farewell to the museum in which he was director for 25 consecutive years.
Nikos Stampolidis unanimous election last June to the post of Director General of the Acropolis Museum was made after an international competition. This position had remained unfulfilled since the museum opened 12 years ago, for a number of bureaucratic reasons.
The seven-member international committee, chaired by Professor Dimitris Pantermalis included Academy of Athens Member Professor Manolis Korre, the academic and former Director of the Louvre Museum Alain Paske, the Professors of Archaeology Petros Themelis and Vassilis Lambrinos, the General Director of the Museums of Berlin Dr. Andreas Sol and the General Director of the Museums of Italy, Dr. Massimo Osana. They all evaluated Nikos Stampolidis' work, his experience and his personality and awared him with top marks.
Nikos Stampolidis is the archaeologist who has identified his name with the great excavation in the ancient city and the necropolis of Eleftherna, and is also the creator of the archaeological park and its museum. Nikos Stampolidis was the Professor who with his many years of teaching at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Crete formed generations of archaeologists. And whilst he was Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, he organized rare exhibitions not only archaeological with universal themes but also exhibitions for the Renaissance, as well as combinations of ancient and modern art, utilizing a wide network of interpersonal relationships, bringing to Greece for the first time findings and works of art which they had never been seen outside the museums where they are housed.
'Perhaps his teacher, Manolis Andronikos, when he wrote that "if I had to choose only one of my students, I would choose him", in the letter of recommendation given to him as a passport for his postgraduate studies, foresaw the bright future of his student at that time' concludes Eri Vardaki's article.
To read it the original article in Greek, follow the link here.
Professor Anthony Snodgrass, Hon President of BCRPM, wrote a welcoming letter to Nikos Stampolidis, to read the letter, follow the link here.
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