UC Professor of Greek Archaeology Publishes Biography of Legendary UC Archaeologist Carl Blegen

Jack L. Davis, a professor of Greek archaeology in the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati, has recently published a book about Carl Blegen, one of the most influential American archaeologists to ever work in Greece. The biography, titled Carl W. Blegen: Personal and Archaeological Narratives, explores Blegen’s professional research and excavations while also examining his social role in Athens. 

Davis notes the unique position Blegen held in the field of archaeology. “What is particularly interesting about Blegen is that he belonged to several worlds,” says Davis. “Norwegian, American and Greek—and, as such, bridged gulfs between them that could not be bridged by many of his contemporaries.”

The book, compiled in a nontraditional format of interrelated essays and vignettes, draws from a vast range of resources which include correspondence, archival material, diary entries and witness testimonies to unearth details of Blegen’s life. Research was collected from the United States, Greece and England.  

Co-authored and edited by Natalie Vogeikoff-Brogan and Vasiliki Florou, the book is comprised of essays that consider diverse aspects of Blegen’s life, from his birth in 1887 to excavations in Troy and Pylos, and finally his death in 1971. 

Blegen taught at the University of Cincinnati as a professor of classical archaeology from 1927 to 1957. During 1932 and 1938, he directed an excavation on the mound of Hisarlik, Turkey in Troy. There, he and his team made discoveries about the construction, destruction and reconstruction of Troy, the legendary city known for the site of the Trojan War. 

In 1930, Blegen began collecting works that would eventually be housed in Blegen Library, which served as UC’s main library from 1930 until 1978, and is now used as the Archives and Rare Books Library. 

The biography, which is the first ever written on Blegen, focuses heavily on the role of American educational systems in other countries during the early 20th century. Blegen’s involvement in the American School of Classical Studies at Athens provides a microcosm of this development. 

“It serves as a reminder of the enormous impact that the Midwest, even Cincinnati, has had on the development of American graduate education,” Davis says. 

Davis, who serves as UC’s Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology, has also authored and contributed to a handful of other books, including Philhellenism, Philanthropy, or Political Convenience? and Between Venice and Istanbul: Colonial Landscapes in Early Modern Greece.