The historian died yesterday, at the age of 84 Chrysa Maltesea member of Academy of Athenswho had been its director Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice.

Chryssa Maltezou left a “distinct imprint on the study of our medieval history”, while with her many years of research activity she “substantially contributed to the study of Venetian-occupied Hellenism”, the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, said in her condolence message.

Chrysa Maltezou was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1941, where she completed her general education at the Averofeio High School. He received a scholarship from the State Scholarship Foundation and studied at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens. He received a scholarship from the French government and studied at the University of Mediterranean Studies in Aix-en-Provence. As a scholar of the Academy of Athens, he was retrained at the Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice. He received a diploma from the Corso di Perfezionamento of the University of Padua and a degree from the School of Paleography, Archives and Diplomacy of the State Archives of Venice.

From 1969 to 1979 she was a researcher at the Byzantine Research Center of the National Research Foundation and from 1980 to 1994 director of the Byzantine Research Center of the National Research Foundation. Between 1977 and 1982, she worked as a research specialist at the University of Crete, specializing in Byzantine History and the History of the Latin Empire in Greece. From 1982 to 1994 she was a professor of Medieval History at the University of Crete. She also served as director of the Department of Ancient and Medieval History, as well as president of the Department of History and Archaeology, at the same University.

In 1987 he served as a Fellow of the Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, Washington. In 1995 she was appointed professor of History of the Venetian period at the Department of Theater Studies of the University of Athens. In 1998, she was elected by the Academy of Athens as director of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice. In October 2005, within the framework of the program of the Alexandros S. Foundation. Onassis, gave lectures and seminars at American Universities.

He was a member of Greek and foreign scientific associations and societies, took part in numerous Greek and international scientific conferences and organized international scientific meetings, workshops and symposia. Following relevant invitations, he gave lectures and seminar courses at universities and research centers abroad (Collège de France, Sorbonne, Geneva, Association Jean Gabriel Eynard, Bologna, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Warsaw, Moscow, Perth Australia, Ravenna, Fondazione Flaminia Ravenna , Turin, Verona etc.).

As a researcher and the director of the Byzantine Research Center of the National Research Foundation, she carried out research missions in the archives of Italy, in the archives of the Monastery of Agios Ioannis Theologos of Patmos, of the Monastery of Agia Lavra in Kalavryta, in the archives of Corfu, Kythera and the patriarchates Alexandria and Jerusalem. In 1982 she was honored with the prize of the Academy of Athens for her contribution to the rescue and scientific exploitation of the Historical Archive of Kythera, while in 2003 she was honored for her scientific contribution by the president of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, with the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor.

In 2006, under her direction, the Hellenic Institute of Venice was honored with the Onassis International Prize. In 2007 she was honored by the University of Bologna (Pavenna) with the Dante Aligheri Award for her contribution to the preservation and promotion of the cultural assets of Hellenism in Venice. In 2012 he became a regular member of the Academy of Athens. In 2013, a dedicated volume was published in her honor.

Condolence message from L. Mendoni

Informed of the loss of Chryssa Maltezou, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni made the following statement:

“It is with sadness and respect that we say goodbye to Chrysa Maltezou, the eminent historian who leaves a special mark on the study of our medieval history. With her many years of research activity at leading institutions, as well as her decades of teaching at the University of Crete and, later, at the University of Athens, Chryssa Maltezou made a substantial contribution to the study of Venetian-occupied Hellenism, a scientific subject that she essentially co-shaped. Undoubtedly, a special moment of her multifaceted career was her long-term directorship of the Greek Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice, to which she gave new life. The culmination and recognition of her contribution was her election and fruitful tenure at the Academy of Athens.

Chrysa Maltezou leaves behind a voluminous written work, made up of hundreds of contributions, which she harmoniously combined with uninterrupted university teaching. He leaves an outstanding example of a dedicated scientist, with a multifaceted and lasting contribution. I send my sincere condolences to her family and friends.”