Eurydice Kefalidou

Eurydice Kefalidou is an Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, specializing in pottery and iconography of the Archaic and Classical periods (7th-4th century BC). She is affiliated with the Department of History and Archaeology within the School of Philosophy, where she focuses on the archaeology of ancient Greek life and culture with particular emphasis on material culture analysis.

Dr. Kefalidou earned her undergraduate degree in History and Archaeology and her PhD in Classical Archaeology from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Prior to her current position, she worked at the Greek Ministry of Culture from 1993-2012 and taught at the Hellenic Open University from 2002-2020. She joined the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2013.

Her research interests span multiple dimensions of Classical Archaeology, with particular expertise in pottery analysis, iconography, and the cultural practices of ancient Greece during the Archaic and Classical periods. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Aegean Thrace, focusing on the interactions between Greek colonists and indigenous Thracian populations. Her scholarly work also encompasses experimental archaeology, landscape studies, environmental archaeology, and the archaeology of religion, athletics, and theater. She has made significant contributions to understanding ancient Greek mythology as reflected in material culture.

Analysis of her publication record reveals a consistent scholarly trajectory focused on pottery studies, particularly Attic and regional Greek ceramics, with increasing attention to landscape archaeology and colonial interactions in Thrace. Her recent work demonstrates sophisticated integration of environmental studies with traditional archaeological approaches, particularly through her leadership of major survey projects in the Xanthi region. The interdisciplinary nature of her research is evident in publications spanning art history, cultural studies, environmental science, and social anthropology.

Dr. Kefalidou has established herself as a leading scholar through her substantial publication record, including three authored books, over fifty articles in Greek and international archaeological journals, and co-editorship of five volumes on Greek Archaeology. Her academic recognition is further evidenced by her leadership roles in major archaeological projects.

She currently serves as co-director of the Archaeological Program of Abdera and Xanthi (APAX), an extensive systematic survey of the Xanthi region in Aegean Thrace that began in 2015, and as director of the TRAASH Project (Tracing Re-cycling: Archaeological and Anthropological Survey in the Habitat of Xanthi Region-Thrace), which she assumed leadership of in 2019. Through these projects, she has secured significant research funding and mentored numerous students and junior researchers in field archaeology methodologies.

Her work with regional museums, including curation of permanent and temporary exhibitions both in Greece and abroad, demonstrates her commitment to public archaeology and making scholarly research accessible to broader audiences. She has co-organized archaeological conferences and experimental archaeology workshops that have fostered international scholarly collaboration.