Page 168 - GREC14N_CHQ_01

John
Pendlebury and, in some ways, he always was. Everyone became his dominating haunt.
is an almost connected with ancient or modern Greece, He was on excellent [...] terms
with Sir Arthur Evans but, when
and not only his fellow archaeologists,
mythical knew all about him. He was born in 1904. he was away from Knossos [...],
In addition to his classical triumphs at
he was constantly on the move.
figure now, Winchester and Cambridge, a dazzling He got to know the island inside
out. No peak was too high or
athletic fame had sprung up. He broke a
50-year record at the high jump by clearing canyon too deep for him to
the equivalent of his own height of six feet claw his way up or down. He
and flew over hurdles with the speed of a cheetah. His classical passion spent days above the clouds and
was humanised by a strong romantic bent; he revelled in novels about walked over 1,000 miles in a
knights and castles and tournaments. And all suspicion of being a single archaeological season. His
reclusive highbrow was scattered by his love of jokes and his enjoyment companions were shepherds and
of conviviality. A strong vein of humour leavened all. mountain villagers. His brand of
The British School of Archaeology was his Athens anchor and wide toughness and style and humour
learning, flair and imagination led him to many finds [...], but Crete was exactly right for these

L a wr e n c e o f

“Pendebury – Pedeboor Pembury – however it was indestructible men. He knew
pronounced, eyes kindled at the sound,” remembers all their dialects and rhyming
couplets. Micky Akoumianakis,
Patrick Leigh Fermor with emotion, talking about his the son of Sir Arthur’s overseer,
fellow countryman. told me he could drink everyone
«Πέντμπιουρι, Πέμπιουρι, όπως κι αν προφερόταν το under the table and then stride
όνομά του, πολλά μάτια άστραφταν σαν το άκουγαν», across three mountain ranges
θυμάται με συγκίνηση ο Πάτρικ Λη Φέρμορ μιλώντας without turning a hair. [...]
[His] knowledge of the island
για το συμπατριώτη του. was unique, and when, in the
end, he managed to convince
by Patrick Leigh Fermor the sluggish military authorities,
he was sent to England,
C r e te branch of military intelligence
commissioned as a captain in a
and then sent back [...] as the
British vice-consul in Heraklion.

168 GREC14N 2018