The Villa Ariadne

By Dilys Powell

Book Overview

The Villa Ariadne is a meditation on the island of Crete, centered on the house built by Sir Arthur Evans, the famous archaeologist of Knossos. Dilys Powell captures the spirit of a place she loved dearly and a group of people she knew well, from local Cretans to the archaeologists Evans and Pendlebury, and the German General Kreipe who was famously kidnapped on the island by Paddy Leigh-Fermor in one of the most audacious actions of World War II. Weaving the myths of the island with its archaeology, ancient history, and modern tales, she gives us a loving portrait of this classical land.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1780600356
• ISBN13: 9781780600352
• Release Date: May 2016
• Publisher: Eland Publishing
• Length: 261 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The greatest work on Crete to date

Powell's work is a must for any archaeological enthusiest. Written with extreme intelligence and backed with remarkable historical fact, the Villa comes alive within the pages of this brilliant piece of scholarship.

A Brilliant Look at Greek Archaeology

A brilliant and somewhat off-beat look at the decades of classicists who stayed at Sir Arthur Evans' house, Villa Ariadne, in Crete, next to the Bronze Age dig Knossos. Dilys Powell's marriage to a young classical archaeologist brought her in contact with Sir Arthur himself and with the numerous archaeologists in his milieu. The chapter on Sir Arthur's Victorian upbringing is perhaps the most interesting of the book. But the death of Powell's husband and World War II plucked Powell from this magical world. After the war, however, she recreated some of the legendary exploits of the classicists who worked for the Greek resistance. A wonderful book for anyone interested in Greek archaeology or who has ever visited Greece.