One more loss, that was recorded recently, filled the Acropolis family with sadness. As we have been informed, on June 2, 2023, Miriam Caskey passed away, having just recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
Miriam E. Caskey was born in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, in 1923. She developed an early interest in the Humanities, which was expressed in her choice to study Classics and Archaeology at the highly prestigious Bryn Mawr College. Although World War II caused a brief suspension of her studies, she returned soon after with renewed interest to complete her undergraduate (1952) and graduate studies (1954) and, later, her PhD thesis (1973). In 1955, having received a scholarship from Bryn Mawr College, she arrived with her daughter Helen in Greece, a country that was meant to love deeply and honor as her second home. She developed a special bond with Kea, where for years she participated in the excavation of Agia Irini. In 1967, she married John Langdon Caskey. Until recently, Miriam Caskey divided her time between Athens and Kea, actively participating in the academic and social life of both places.
Miriam Caskey has been a collaborator of the Acropolis Restoration Service for 15 years, having undertaken the job of translating in English its annual Newsletter, as well as many other publications and texts until 2015. Meticulous and precise as she was, she approached the texts with care and concern that often surpassed the narrow limits of her professional obligations and indicated a deep love and care for the Acropolis monuments. Those of us who were lucky enough to have worked with her will always remember her unquenchable interest in the Acropolis restoration works, her patience in explaining issues related to archaeology and language, as well as her insistence on correct understanding and translating Greek texts into high-quality English.
Miriam Caskey was characterized by the maturity of her age, without however having lost the enthusiasm, vigor and therefore the joy experienced by a young scholar. This rare combination constitutes Miriam Caskey’s great legacy to the younger generations of professionals involved in the study of antiquity.
