On 10 May 1948 the Swedish Institute at Athens was inaugurated
in the Gennadeion Library of the American School of Classical Studies.
The building on Voukourestiou 29, where the new institute would
be housed was not finished until the end of 1929. This was the time
of the Civil War in Greece and it is rather surprising that Sweden
received a permit to initiate an Archaeological School at the time.
Two factors were decisive: Swedish archaeological fieldwork between
the wars and the Red Cross relief work in the Second World War.

Heinrich Schliemann’s excavations at Tiryns, Mycenae and Troy
made it very clear to Swedish scholars that nobody could study ancient
cultures without studying the archaeological remains. Thus Classical
scholars began traveling to the Mediterranean and getting in contact
with the excavators of for instance Greece. The most important Swedish
scholars to travel in the country at the end of the 19th century
are: Einar Löfstedt Sr., Julius Centerwall and Johan Bergman.
Einar Löfstedt visited Greece and Asia Minor 1876–1877.
He participated in the German excavations at Olympia and saw Schliemann
unearth the gold from the shaft graves in the Grave Circle A at
Mycenaen. Löfstedt was professor of ancient Greek at Uppsala
and upon his return lectured vividly on his experiences to his students.
Ten years later Centerwall did approximately the same journey. He
was a teacher and became the head master of a high school at Söderhamn
in central Sweden. He was also a Member of Parliament. In the controversy
between Schliemann and his opponents Centerwall took nobody’s
side. He made Schliemann’s discoveries known to the broad Swedish
public. He wrote an interesting book on his travels to Greece and
Asia Minor; Från Hellas and Levanten (From Hellas and
the Levant), which appeared in 1888.
Johan Bergman was also a teacher and an MP. He came to Greece in
the 1890’s and was of the opinion that Sweden must not only
contribute to the research into ancient Greek culture but also found
an institute in the country.

This is the background against which we must view the first Swedish
archaeological excavations in Greece in the Poseidon Sanctuary at
Kalaureia (Poros) in 1894. Almost thirty years would pass before
there was a continuation. In the meantime, in 1909, the two first
chairs of Classical Archaeology were created at the universities
of Lund and Uppsala. The basis for a greater involvement in Greece
was laid.

During the 1920’s and 1930’s several large field projects
were carried out in Greece: Asine, Dendra/Midea, Berbati, The Swedish
Messenia Expedition, Asea. Still it was not in Athens but in Rome
that a Swedish archaeological institute was founded. The reason
for this was that Latin was a more important subject than ancient
Greek in Swedish high schools and it was through the Roman culture
that Greek culture was transmitted to our country. We know that
Sweden would have been welcome to open an institute in Greece at
the time, but it did not happen until after the War.

Two businessmen took the initiative of the founding of the institute:
The chairman of the board of the Swedish Orient Line, Herbert Jacobsson,
and its representative in Greece, Consul General Eugenios Eugenides.
These two gentlemen contacted professor Axel Boëthius at Göteborg
and together they approached the Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, the
initiator of the Asine excavations. The Swedish Institute at Athens
was thereafter constituted on 25 April 1946 at the Royal Palace
in Stockholm. Due to the Civil War in Greece and the Greek archaeological
authorities, who wanted no more permits issued to archaeological
institutes, it would last two years before the inauguration could
take place.

What about the Red Cross? During the German occupation of Greece
the International Red Cross, after some time, managed to obtain
permission to distribute food to the starving population. As Switzerland
and Sweden did not participate in the War, they handled the distribution.
Several of the Swedish delegates were the archaeologists who had
worked for years in Greece, knew Greek and knew their way around
the country. The most famous of them was Axel W. Persson, who had
led the excavations at Asine, Dendra/Midea and Berbati. He lived
for two years in Tripolis in Arcadia together with his wife who
was a doctor and passing by Tripolis became a ’’must’’
for every new Swedish delegate to take up his post in Greece.

Until 1976 the institute was housed in two apartments in Voukourestiou
29. Then it moved to the neo-classical building in Mitseon 9, where
it is today. The first Director of the institute was named Directeur
d’Études. The Swedish government gave its first grant
to the institute in 1959 and in 1966 it could institute its first
yearly scholarship. In 1987 the position of Assistant Director was
created. However, it was not until ten years later that this position
became a regular one through a budget raise.

The list of Directors is as follows:

Erik J. Holmberg 1947–1948
Åke Åkerström 1948–1956
Arne Furumark 1956–1957
Paul Åström 1958–1963
Carl-Gustaf Styrenius 1963–1971
Åke Åkerström 1971–1972
Pontus Hellström 1972–1976
Robin Hägg 1976–1994
Berit Wells 1994–2003
Ann-Louise Schallin 2004-