Nemea 100: From Blegen to Berkeley and Beyond
Special Exhibit Now Open!
Visiting Nemea this summer? Don’t miss our special exhibit.
Our temporary exhibit, “Nemea 100: from Blegen to Berkeley and Beyond,” was unveiled and presented to the public for the first time on Monday, June 3, 2024. It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first excavation at Nemea AND the 50th anniversary of UC Berkeley’s involvement at the site. The exhibit features images, artifacts, and anecdotes from the first 100 years of archaeological work at the Sanctuary of Zeus.
Thank you to all of the wonderful people who helped make the opening celebration a resounding success. In particular, we extend our gratitude to Christos Dimas (Ministry of Culture), Panagiota Kassimi (Ephorate of Antiquities of the Korinthia), Konstantinos Frousios (Mayor of Nemea), Carolin Fine (American School of Classical Studies at Athens), the staff of the Archaeological Museum at Ancient Nemea, and Kostas Chronis.
In addition to an address by Nemea Center Director, Dr. Kim Shelton, the ceremony featured guest speakers, live entertainment, and refreshments. Members of our community from far and wide came together to share stories about their experiences of life and work in Ancient Nemea (and beyond). Thank you for sharing this with us!
The exhibit follows the recent international conference held at the University of California, Berkeley in April 2024 (see below).
Photos by Ilias Karatzoulis (Ilias Kapa).
“Bringing the past to the present and Nemea to the world.” From left: Jon Frey, Jim Wright, Stephanie Kimmey, David Romano (back), Kim Shelton (front), Jorge Bravo, Effie Athanassopoulos, Jack Davis, Mary K. Dabney, Lynne Kvapil, and Sophie Cushman.
Thank you to our conference organizers and participants!
The Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology would like to thank whole heartedly the many distinguished speakers (who participated both in-person and virtually), colleagues, students, and friends who made our international conference a special and informative event. The conference took place on April 15 and 16, 2024 and commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first excavation at Nemea AND the 50th anniversary of UC Berkeley’s involvement at the site. The conference brought together speakers from the United States and Greece who have a history of interest and expertise in the archaeology of Nemea and its surrounding region.
Presentation highlights included archival anecdotes from the University of Cincinnati archive, early excavation photos and info from the early years of work under Stephen G. Miller, fun stories about digging wells and laying the museum’s foundations, more stories and jaw-dropping photos from excavations at the stadium, insight into the history and myth of Nemea (and other panhellenic sanctuaries), and SO MUCH MORE. We hit all the highlights of the Nemea Valley from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period. The Ephorate of Antiquities shared heart-warming pictures from the beautiful community programming they have established at Nemea where they are training the next generation of cultural-heritage stewards! They also teased us with hints about exciting upgrades and updates to the museum in the near future.
Speakers included: Jack L. Davis, James C. Wright, Kim S. Shelton, Panagiota Kassimi, Evan Vance, Jesse Obert, Jorge Bravo, Jon M. Frey, Effie Athanassopoulos, Stephanie Kimmey, David Gilman Romano, Mary K. Dabney, and Lynne Kvapil.
We laughed, we cried, we ate, we drank, and we can’t wait to see you on June 3 in Ancient Nemea for the opening of our special exhibit!
*This conference was sponsored by the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology and the Townsend Center for Humanities.
