In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Erik Østby

Dear colleagues and friends,

On behalf of the Norwegian Institute at Athens, we are deeply saddened to share the news that Professor Emeritus Erik Østby passed away last Wednesday evening.

Professor Østby was a pioneer of Norwegian archaeology in Greece, leaving an indelible mark through his methodical and systematic fieldwork at Tegea and beyond, as well as through his enduring contribution to the Institute as its second director. An accomplished scholar and a dedicated colleague and friend, he consistently offered thoughtful advice and generous guidance to all of us at the Institute. His presence, collegiality, and intellectual generosity profoundly shaped our community.

He will be deeply missed and long remembered. In recognition of his friendship, his commitment to archaeology, and his lasting dedication to the Norwegian Institute at Athens, the Institute will honor his memory and legacy in a manner befitting his contribution in due course.

Below, please find a note from Dr. Tzortzaki on this occasion.

A personal note

It is with great sadness that I am writing those lines. My relation to Erik has been purely personal within the framework of my appointment to the Norwegian Institute at Athens. It was not hammered in the archaeological field nor fostered in libraries and field trips. It grew at the headquarters of the NIA, soon after I joined in 2013. During those first years I was an executive officer dealing with administrative tasks distant from my own profession, and Erik was a legend. A UiB professor towards retirement, coming in and out of the Institute any time during the day, finding refuge at his little office -a kind of a period room- where he knew he could retreat when in Athens, several times a year that is. He would then settled at his desk again, next to the rare books on the shelves, testimonies to his prolific writing. In late afternoons, before leaving the premises Erik would come by my office, sit at the other side of the desk and talk in length about how we could build a stronger Institute, how we could facilitate and secure a new storeroom in Tegea, how we could surpass issues of bureaucracy and find dedicated people to the cause among the Greek officials. I remember taking trips to Tegea and coming back with good news about possible plots in the area. His face, tense by decades of rigorous academic writing, would lighten up, and he would impatiently ask about the trip and its potential outcome. Every discussion ended in the same way, namely how encouraged, positive and hopeful he felt about the whole Tegea endeavour. Erik was the strong liaison with the Ephors, Erik would sit over manuscripts together with our printer, the late Sofia Argyropoulou and edit the Tegea I and II volumes, for weeks-on-end during 2013-2014. Often, he would discuss health matters and be open and frank about life. And just like that, he would switch to recount a good story or laugh wholeheartedly by a remark I might have made. May he rest in peace.

Athens, 3.12.2025

Dr. Delia TzortzakiLeader of the NIA – UiB Representative in Greece