John R. Hale (archaeologist)

John R. Hale (born 1951) is an American archaeologist and historian.[1] He was a highly regarded professor [2] and field archeologist, and was Director of the Liberal Studies Program at the University of Louisville.[3] He lectures widely for the public on topics in classicism, ancient history, and archeology [4] and his archeological fieldwork has been featured in a number of documentary films for the Discovery Channel and the History channel.[5]

Early life and education

edit

Born and raised in New Albany, Indiana, Hale earned his B.A. undergraduate degree in Archaeology at Yale, where he rowed for four years on the Lightweight Crew rowing team,[6] and also rowed in his Senior year in the 1973 Yale-Harvard race at New London, Connecticut, the oldest intercollegiate sporting event in American history. During his studies at Yale, John Hale was profoundly influenced by military historian Donald Kagan.[7][8] He earned his PhD at Cambridge, where his dissertation was on the Bronze Age ancestors of the famous Viking longships.[9][10]

The Oracle at Delphi

edit

He is an expert [11] on the ancient religion and modern science of geological fumes [12] at the ancient site of the Delphic Oracle[13] in Greece, and has spoken on the topic widely.[14][15] His research, along with that of geologist Jelle Zeilinga de Boer,[16][17] has demonstrated that the psychoactive gas ethylene[18] seeped from under the oracular site, and would have led to an "altered mental status" by the Pythia, the prophetess-priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.[12][19][20][21] Later research has further supported the geological fumes theory.[22][23]

Professor Hale's research on the geological fumes theory is recounted in The Oracle: Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi,[24] by science writer William Broad. It was also featured in the August 2003 issue of Scientific American magazine.[25][26]

Books and other writing

edit

John Hale has authored a number of books. His book on the Athenian navy and the birth of classical democracy was well reviewed in both popular and academic press.[1][27][28][29][30][31][32] It is entitled Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy [33] (2009).

He has written a number of articles for Scientific American, including about the Viking Longship,[34] and the technology of ancient Greek rowing.[35] and has published widely in academic journals.

Video Lecture Series

edit

Professor Hale has created numerous well-reviewed [36] long-form lecture series for audio and video with The Great Courses. These include:

  • Greek and Persian Wars (24 lectures) [37]
  • Classical Archaeology of Ancient Greece and Rome (36 lectures) [38]
  • Art of Public Speaking: Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History (12 lectures) [39]
  • Exploring the Roots of Religion (36 lectures) [40]
  • Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul (24 lecturers) [41]

These lecture series are available both on DVD and CD,[42] and two of them are available through "The Great Courses Plus" streaming service.[43]

Archeological Travel Tours

edit

Professor Hale has conducted numerous archeological tours, for academic and travel institutions such as the Archaeological Institute of America,[5] Thalassa Journeys,[44] and Yale Educational Travel.[45] His tours cover extensive geography, including Northern Greece and Albania.[46]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Garner, Dwight (6 August 2009). "Rowing to Democracy (book review)". New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. ^ "John Hale at University of Louisville - RateMyProfessors.com". www.ratemyprofessors.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  3. ^ "About Dr. John Hale — Liberal Studies - The Individualized Major Program". louisville.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  4. ^ "SOLD OUT – Cleopatra: An Archaeological Perspective on Egypt's Last Pharaoh –– Minneapolis Institute of Art". new.artsmia.org. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  5. ^ a b "John R. Hale". Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  6. ^ Broad, William J. (2007-01-30). The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets. Penguin. ISBN 9781440649349.
  7. ^ Garner, Dwight (2009-08-06). "Rowing to Democracy: 'Lords of the Sea,' by John R. Hale". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  8. ^ "Yale Alumni Magazine: Donald Kagan, Lion in Winter (April 02)". archives.yalealumnimagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  9. ^ "Genius and Terror on the High Seas". louisville.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  10. ^ "John Hale". Archaeological Institute of America. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  11. ^ Hale, John (2000). "The Geological Origins of the Oracle at Delphi, Greece" (PDF). Geological Society of London. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Broad, William J. (2002-03-19). "For Delphic Oracle, Fumes and Visions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  13. ^ "The Delphic Oracle: Ancient Religion, Modern Science by John R. Hale". Vimeo. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  14. ^ rogueclassicist, David Meadows ~ (2010-04-10). "John Hale Talk on the Delphic Oracle". rogueclassicism. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  15. ^ "Stanford welcomes Prof. John Hale on Mysteries of the Delphic Oracle". aia-stanford.org. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  16. ^ "The Oracle of Delphi—Was She Really Stoned?". Biblical Archaeology Society. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  17. ^ Donald Munro, The Fresno Bee. "In Delphi, a mysterious past provokes navel gazing". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  18. ^ "The Ancients Were Right - Delphi Was A Gas!". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  19. ^ "Delphi Oracle". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  20. ^ Krajick, Kevin (2018-05-17). "The Scientific Detectives Probing the Secrets of Ancient Oracles". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  21. ^ "A High Calling for Priestesses at Delphi". Los Angeles Times. 2002-02-07. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  22. ^ "The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  23. ^ "A Reconstruction of the Oracle's Chambers in Apollo's Temple at Delphi – Ancient Art". ancientart.as.ua.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  24. ^ Broad, William J. (2006). The oracle : the lost secrets and hidden message of ancient Delphi. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 1594200815. OCLC 62326880.
  25. ^ "Delphi's oracle was just stoned". The Age. 2003-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  26. ^ Hale, J. R.; De Boer, J. Z.; Chanton, J. P.; Spiller, H. A. (2003). "Questioning the Delphic Oracle: Overview / An Intoxicating Tale". Scientific American. 289 (2): 66–73. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0803-66. PMID 12884540. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  27. ^ Dubail, Jean (2009-08-10). "John R. Hale delights with 'Lords of the Sea,' a lifetime of scholarship sprung from an oar". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  28. ^ "Hale Explores the Athenian Voyage to Democracy | Arts | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  29. ^ Lewis, John (2010). "Review of: Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  30. ^ Horne, Ryan. The History Teacher, vol. 43, no. 1, 2009, pp. 146–147. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40543364.
  31. ^ Potts, Samuel (5 August 2010). "Lords of the Sea: The Triumph and Tragedy of Ancient Athens (book review)_". Times (of London). ProQuest 761029171.
  32. ^ Whitewright, Julian. Journal of Maritime Archaeology, vol. 6, no. 2, 2011, pp. 151–153. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43551349.
  33. ^ Hale, John R., 1951- (2009). Lords of the sea : the epic story of the Athenian navy and the birth of democracy. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670020805. OCLC 276819722.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ Hale, John R. (1998). "The Viking Longship". Scientific American. 278 (2): 56–63. Bibcode:1998SciAm.278b..56H. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0298-56. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  35. ^ Hale, John R. (1996). "The Lost Technology of Ancient Greek Rowing". Scientific American. 274 (5): 82–85. Bibcode:1996SciAm.274e..82H. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0596-82. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  36. ^ "Search results for: 'John Hale'". www.thegreatcourses.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  37. ^ "Greek and Persian Wars". English. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  38. ^ "Classical Archaeology of Ancient Greece and Rome". English. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  39. ^ "Art of Public Speaking: Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History". English. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  40. ^ "Exploring the Roots of Religion". English. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  41. ^ "Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul". English. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  42. ^ "Professor Bio Page". www.thegreatcourses.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  43. ^ Plus, The Great Courses. "John R. Hale". The Great Courses Plus. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  44. ^ "Meet the Expert Lecturers - Thalassa Educational Journeys to Greece". www.thalassajourneys.com. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  45. ^ "Yale Educational Travel". ivy.yale.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  46. ^ "Yale Educational Travel - Program Detail". ivy.yale.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-21.