Pierre Amandry

Pierre Amandry was a French hellenist, especially interested in ancient Greece and its relationships with south-west Asia.

A large part of his work was on the site of Delphi, excavated by the French School at Athens, of which he was secretary general from 1941 to 1948 and director from 1969 to 1981.

He joined the École Normale Supérieure in 1933, become a professor in 1937, and was member of the French School at Athens from 1937 to 1941.

During this time, he carried out excavations in the sanctuary of Delphi, where he discovered treasure of gold and ivory under the sacred way.

His thesis on La mantique apollinienne à Delphes (The Apollonic Divination at Delphi) refuted the romantic image of the consultation of the Pythia in favor of a more prosaic function of the Delphic oracle.