49
The Parthenon’s full significance has been ob-
scured until now owing in no small part, Connelly
argues, to the frieze’s dismemberment. And so,
her investigation concludes with a call to reunite
the pieces, in order that, what is perhaps the great-
est single work of art surviving from antiquity,
may be viewed more accurately to its makers’
intention. Marshalling a breath-taking range of
textual and visual evidence, full of fresh insights
woven into a thrilling narrative that brings the dis-
tant past to life,
The Parthenon Enigma
is sure to
become a landmark in our understanding of the
civilization fromwhich we claim cultural descent.
Joan Breton Connelly
Joan Breton Connelly is a classical archaeolo-
gist who has excavated at Kourion, the Tombs of
the Kings, Ancient Marion, and Yeronisos off Cy-
prus where, since 1990, she has directed the NYU
Yeronisos Island Excavations and Field School. She
has alsoworked at Nemea, Corinth and theAthenian
Agora in Greece, as well as on the island of Failaka
off Kuwait. Connelly is Professor of Classics and
Art History at New York University and an honor-
ary citizen of Peyia Municipality in Cyprus.
In 1996, Connelly was awarded a MacArthur
Foundation “Genius Award” for her work in
Greek art, myth and religion. Her book,
Portrait of
a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece
was named a “Notable Book of the Year” by the
New York Times
Book Review, won the Archaeo-
logical Institute of America’s James R. Wiseman
BookAward, and was named Best Scholarly/Pro-
fessional book in Classics andAncient History by
the Association of American Publishers.
From 2003 to 2011, Prof. Connelly served on the
Cultural Property Advisory Committee, Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Depart-
ment of State. Here she
deliberated on thirteen
Memoranda of Understanding between the U.S.
and nations whose cultural heritage is at risk, in-
cluding Cyprus, Greece and Italy.
Connelly has held visiting fellowships at All Souls
College, Magdalen College, New College and
Corpus Christi College at Oxford University, the
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard
University, and has been a member of the Institute
forAdvanced Study in Princeton. She has received
the Archaeological Institute of America’s Excel-
lence in Undergraduate TeachingAward.
Joan Connelly majored in Classics at Princeton
University and received her PhD in Classical and
Near EasternArchaeology at Bryn Mawr College
where she later served as Assistant Dean and as a
member of the Board of Trustees.
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