Prince Peter and the Beginnings of Anthropology in Greece

Abstract

The article discusses the life and career of Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark who is considered the first professional anthropologist in Greece. Having studied under Bronislaw Malinowski at the London School of Economics in the 1930s, Prince Peter embarked on a life-long journey into anthropology which became his enduring passion and personal quest. This journey, however, was full of obstacles and was complicated by his being a member of the royal family, participation in World War II, as well as vicissitudes of his private and public life. Nevertheless, he left an important legacy behind, both as an outstanding fieldworker with an impressive record of ethnographic research in Asia, and as an activist who was a forerunner in understanding anthropology’s potential for building a modern liberal society and fighting fascist ideology. The article draws on archival research and unique sources some of which have never been published before.