Manolis Andronikos

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Manolis Andronikos bigraphy, stories - Archaeologists

Manolis Andronikos : biography

October 23, 1919 – March 30, 1992

The Golden Larnax, at the Archaeological Museum of [[Vergina, may contain the remains of King Philip II.]]

Manolis Andronikos () was a Greek archaeologist and a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was born on October 23, 1919 at Bursa (). Later, his family moved to Thessaloniki.

He studied philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and in 1952 became a professor of Classical Archeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Later he continued his studies at Oxford University with the professor Sir John D. Beazley (1954–1955). He came back to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1957 where he taught Archeology first as instructor and later (1964) as professor.

He was married to the school teacher Olympia Kakoulidou and loved reading poetry, especially Palamas, Seferis and Elitis. He was the founder of a local cultural group named Art ().

Manolis Andronikos conducted archaeological research in Veroia, Naousa, Kilkis, Chalkidiki and Thessaloniki, but his main research was done in Vergina, where his teacher, professor K. Rhomaios had founded in 1937 the Aristotle University Excavation at Vergina. The greatest moment of his life took place on November 8, 1977, when he made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: he found the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina in the prefecture of Imathia. The tomb he identified as Philip’s was unplundered and contained many invaluable items, such as the Golden Larnax (). The finds from this tomb were later included in the travelling exhibit "The Search for Alexander" displayed at four cities in the United States from 1980 to 1982. While the discovery is of great archeological importance, the identification of the tomb with Philip has been disputed by certain archaeologists. Ironically enough however tried to disassociated the findings of the tomb and its findings from Alexander’s father despite the support from the literature.N.G.L. Hammond, Philip’s tomb in historical context, GRBS 19 (1978) 331-50

Andronikos was a member of the Archaeological Council (1964–1965), the Athens Archaeological Association, the Macedonian Studies Association, the Association Internationale des Critiques d’ Art and the German Archaeological Institution at Berlin. He lived permanently in Thessaloniki on Papafi Street and died on March 30, 1992.