There is no Greek visitor who is not proud of his excavations. Ancient Messina. On the one hand, the wealth of finds (28,000 objects, 900 inscriptions, 8,500 coins) and buildings testifying to his power. On the other hand, a unique way to highlight the latter so that we can present the range, the shape of public buildings, the life of people in a prosperous and flourishing city. It is truly one of the most magical archaeological sites in Greece, and owes its exemplary image to a visionary digger: Petros Temelis.

Further, a few days ago, in a discussion of the honorary professor of classical archeology with Maria Adamopoulou, a good colleague (who also studied archeology), the common assembly hall of the central warehouse Bank of Greece. Archaeologists, artists, scientists, with TtE Commander Giannis Stournaras (who always supports culture) enjoyed a really pleasant conversation about the problems that the stubborn and resilient Temelis had to face in his 35 years of presence in the south of the Peloponnese. .

The theme was “Ancient Messina: the psyche of a lost state” and the evening was the third of this year’s series of events called “Deposits of Culture” organized by the Center for Culture, Research and Documentation of the Bank of Greece, with Panagiotis Panagakis as its active leader. “I would like five more years to complete my vision. To see the completed Messina and return home,” was one of the most touching statements of the 87-year-old Temelis, who truly dedicated his life to this place. Of course, when he first met him in 1986, he was almost heartbroken because the excavations had been stopped since 1975. When Giorgos Mylonas, then secretary of the Archaeological Society in Athens, invited him to host them, the archaeologist was reconsidered. He would have missed the chance of a lifetime, and we would have been deprived of an archaeological “pearl.”

A year later, in 1987, he was ready to begin work that gradually revealed an ancient city larger than even Athens, with a marketplace, three theatres, a stadium, a gymnasium, a palestra and other gleaming public buildings. The strategically located ancient Messina was founded in 369 BC. Theban commander Epaminondas, who freed the Messenians from the Spartans. During these three plus decades, Temelis had to overcome all kinds of obstacles, but he really managed to become a pioneer, picking up ancient fragments from the ground and putting them together, as if assembling a three-dimensional puzzle.

However, the meeting also brought some news, as Temelis advocates for the independence of large museums along the lines of the Acropolis Museum, as long as the selection of those who run them is done on the basis of merit and not “centrally” by the Ministry of Culture.

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