The American School

Abstract

This chapter begins by examining Gilbert’s classmates at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, in 1890–1891—Carleton Brownson, Andrew Fossum, John Pickard—and their professor, Annual Director Rufus Richardson of Dartmouth College. It then proceeds to examine Gilbert’s living accommodations at the American School’s new building on the eastern outskirts of Athens. From there, it paints a portrait of the city of Athens in 1890, highlighting the contrasts between old and new in the rapidly growing city. The chapter introduces Greek minister Michael Demetrius Kalopothakes and his Canadian-born wife Margaret who welcomed Gilbert and other Americans to their church and home in central Athens. It also introduces US consul Irving Manatt, a classical scholar who was an avid booster of the American School. Through the lenses of the Kalopothakes family and Manatt, the reader learns more about the politics, culture, and society of Greece in 1890 and gains a better understanding of how Gilbert experienced Greece.