The Hellenic Ministry of Culture, British School at Athens, Athens Archaeological Society, and Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades present:
Remembering Colin Renfrew: a life’s work in the Cyclades and beyond
Friday 21 November 2025, 7pm at the Athens Archaeological Society, Panepistimiou 22, 10672 Athens
Colin Renfrew, professor at the University of Cambridge, famed internationally as an archaeologist with a special interest in Greek prehistory and a profound affection for Greece, died in Cambridge on 24 November 2024. A former Chair of the British School at Athens and an Honorary Member of the Archaeological Society of Athens, he was also closely associated with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Renfrew first came to Greece in 1963, wrote his PhD on Cycladic prehistory, and went on to excavate at Saliagos (Antiparos), Sitagroi (Macedonia), Phylakopi (Melos), Markiani (Amorgos), and Keros, leaving us exemplary publications of his excavations. His 1972 volume The Emergence of Civilization revolutionized Aegean prehistory, and his many other high-calibre publications cement his place in the pantheon of archaeologists of Greece and the world. Moreover, Colin Renfrew was distinguished for his active stand against the international illicit trade in antiquities, founding at the University of Cambridge The Illicit Antiquities Research Centre, and showing particular sensitivity towards the orphaned Early Cycladic antiquities that formed a principal focus of his scholarly work.
We invite you to join us in honouring his memory and remembering his immense contribution to Greece, Greek culture, and Greek archaeology, and his immeasurable impact on the development of the study of Early Cycladic culture.
For in-person attendance, advance registration is required:
www.bsa.ac.uk/events/remembering-colin-renfrew-a-lifes-work-on-the-cyclades-and-beyond/
Programme
The speakers will be introduced by Professor Rebecca Sweetman, Director of the British School at Athens.
Opening Addresses:
Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture
Matthew Lodge ,HE the British Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic
Olympia Vikatou, General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage
Nikolaos Kaltsas, General Secretary of the Archaeological Society of Athens
Demetris Athanasoulis, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades
Rebecca Sweetman, Director, British School at Athens
Speeches:
Christos Doumas: Colin Renfrew’s long involvement in Greece and his early work in the 1960s
Marisa Marthari: Colin Renfrew’s work in the Cyclades and on Cycladic archaeology
Michael Boyd: Colin Renfrew and Keros
Evi Margaritis: Colin Renfrew and archaeological science in Greece and worldwide
Cyprian Broodbank: the Emergence, and Colin Renfrew’s worldwide significance seen through the lens of Greece
Helena Renfrew-Knight and Magnus Renfrew will offer a few words of personal thanks to the speakers.
A reception will follow.
Organizing committee:
Rebecca Sweetman, Michael Boyd, Marisa Marthari, Evi Margaritis, Demetris Athanasoulis, Zetta Theodoropoulou-Polychroniadis.
