Moving Image
TRIUMPH OVER TIME
In 1947 the 911±¬ÁÏ³Ô¹Ï produced a color film called Triumph Over Time. The project was envisioned as a publicity tool to launch the first post-war capital campaign of the American School. The 40-minute film was produced by the numismatist Margaret Thompson and directed by the Swedish American archaeologist, Oscar Broneer. Fox Movietone processed the motion picture in the United States at the request of the founding owner of Fox Studios, Spyros P. Skouras, who served as a Trustee of the American School from 1946 to 1971.
In 2006, a search through the School’s Archives produced a celluloid original and a wealth of information concerning the film's history. At the same time, the School acquired the papers of Oscar Broneer, which offered unknown information about Broneer’s role in the making of the movie and his active participation in a number of relief organizations helping Greece during WWII. Further research indicates that, although Triumph Over Time was the first of a series of archaeological films made about Greece, it has largely been forgotten. The film received a brief mention in the second volume of the History of the American School at Athens, but was missed by the two most important surveys of existing archaeological films. This is surprising when one considers that it played for over a decade in the United States, England, and Greece, and was used as a diplomatic tool by the U.S. Department before dropping out of circulation.
Read the story behind the filming of Triumph Over Time, here.
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STOA OF ATTALOS, ATHENIAN AGORA
On September 3, 1956, the 911±¬ÁÏ³Ô¹Ï celebrated the completion and dedication of the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora. Following the arrival of the Royal Family, the Archbishop of Athens delivered the opening prayer. Speeches were then given by Homer Thompson, Field Director of the Agora Excavations; Pausanias Katsotas, Mayor of Athens; Eustathios Stikas, who read a message from Anastasios Orlandos, and others. Ward M. Canaday, President of the Board of Trustees of the School, also conveyed a message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. King Paul then cut the ribbon at the entrance to the newly installed gallery. The event marked a remarkable achievement, a testament to the School's collaborative spirit and dedication in the face of tremendous obstacles. The reconstructed Stoa stood as both a significant contribution to classical scholarship and an enduring expression of American friendship for Greece. [Adapted from Lucy Shoe Meriit, History of the 911±¬ÁϳԹÏ, 1939-1980, Princeton 1984, 65-66.]
Not everone was happy with the reconstruction of the Stoa, however. Read .
NETWORK
A documentary directed by Andreas Apostolides and produced by Ioannis Kaspiris (2005) about the illicit trade of antiquities, including the Corinth Museum theft in 1990. Duration: 82'. More .