Emmanuel Voutiras - Biography #

I was born in Thessaloniki on 24 Deccember, 1951. I graduated from high school (Anatolia College, Thessaloniki) in 1969. In that same year I was admitted at the Uni¬versity of Thessaloniki, where I studied one year law and four years archaeology and classical philology. My professors were: in archaeology M. Andronicos, G. Despinis, D. Pantermalis, N. Platon; in classical philology N. Hourmouziades, D. Maronitis, G. Sifakis, K. Tsantsanoglou. In 1975 I went to the University of Bonn, where I continued my studies in classical archaeology, classical philology and ancient history as a graduate student and obtained my PhD in December 1979. My professors were: in classical archaeology N. Himmelmann (thesis supervisor) and H. Gabelmann; in classical philology H. Erbse and A. Köhnken; in ancient history H. H. Schmitt. The subject of my PhD thesis refers to Greek portraits of the classical period. From 1976 through 1979 I held a German scholarship from DAAD.

In 1982 I started working on a research program funded by the Greek National Research Foundation (E.I.E.) whose aim was to collect all available testimonies on religious cults in ancient Macedonia. This ambitious project was not completed, but I have not lost sight of it and it is underlying part of my current research. In 1984 I was appointed lecturer of classical archaeology at the University of Thessaloniki; in 1988 I became assistant professor, in 1993 associate professor and in 2000 full professor at the same University. Since 1984 I have taught various courses in classical archaeology to undergraduate and graduate students. The main subjects of my teaching were: ancient Greek sculpture, ancient Greek religion, Greek epigraphy and introduction to Greek and Roman archaeology. I participated in the supervising boards of several PhD theses. In the spring of 1997 I was invited to teach as visiting professor (professore a contratto) at the University of Perugia.

From September 1990 through May 1991 I was a junior fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. During this period I was able to pursue my research on the religious cults in ancient Macedonia and to complete the study of a very interesting curse tablet found at Pella. From July through December 1991 and again from October 1998 through February 1999 I worked at the University of Bonn as a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. I have participated in the LIMC and ThesCRA projects and was responsible for the chapter “Greek Prayer” in ThesCRA.

I am a member of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in London, of the Centre International d'Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique (C.I.E.R.G.A.) in Brussels (president since 2009), of the Archaeological Society in Athens and a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin.