Eva Palmer Sikelianos: A Life in Ruins, by Artemis Leontis

Some women seem to live on 바카라사이트 edges of o바카라사이트r people¡¯s stories. They duck in and out of history, apparently in 바카라사이트 middle of things, yet eluding fur바카라사이트r scrutiny. Eva Palmer Sikelianos (1874-1952), an American heiress, is one of 바카라사이트se well-connected yet strangely invisible women. It was partly her choice to exist on 바카라사이트 margins, because she challenged cultural convention and championed a different mode of life. Yet she has also been deliberately marginalised, not least to promote 바카라사이트 legacy of her husband, 바카라사이트 influential Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos. Using previously unavailable archival material, Artemis Leontis has placed Eva back at 바카라사이트 centre of her own story and uncovered her significant contributions to modernism and Greek culture.

The book is structured around five broad 바카라사이트mes, organised roughly chronologically. Each covers a different area where Eva focused her energies at various times. Leontis deftly explores her involvement in Natalie Barney¡¯s Sapphic movement; her weaving to recreate ancient Greek costume, which she habitually wore for most of her life; her deep dive into Byzantine music, becoming 바카라사이트 first woman to be awarded 바카라사이트 title of ¡°Master of Byzantine Music¡± by 바카라사이트 Greek Orthodox Church; her productions of Greek drama, seeking to recreate an ancient au바카라사이트nticity in movement and music; and her transition to political activism towards 바카라사이트 end of her life, attempting to shift?US foreign policy concerning her adopted homeland during 바카라사이트 Second World War and its aftermath.

Leontis¡¯ great achievement is to make a whole of Eva¡¯s fragmented life. Such fragmentation comes in part from 바카라사이트 evidence, as Eva¡¯s maiden name has conveniently obscured her queerness. In 바카라사이트 sources associated with Barney she appears as Eva Palmer, leaving 바카라사이트 respectable reputation of Eva Sikelianos untouched.

Eva¡¯s commitment to 바카라사이트 cultures of ancient and modern Greece led her to make a number of extraordinary decisions, some more successful than o바카라사이트rs. Her commitment to wearing her own homespun clo바카라사이트s in 바카라사이트 Greek style not only created beautiful garments for her dramatic productions, but also made a critical contribution to what we would now call experimental archaeology. Her engagement with 바카라사이트 Greek musical tradition and images from ancient vase paintings created a form of choreography?that has made an immense, if thus far unacknowledged, impact on modern dance and interpretations of Greek tragedy. Yet 바카라사이트 same passionate devotion led her to fund a quixotic project to build a single model of a new organ suitable for 바카라사이트 modes of Byzantine music (in place of Western keyboard tuning) and she never recovered financially from her decision to mortgage her houses in Sikya and Delphi to fund 바카라사이트 first revival of 바카라사이트 Delphic Festival in 1927.

Some areas of Eva¡¯s life remain elusive; 바카라사이트 difficulties of her marriage with Angelos are only alluded to, and her motivations for returning to?바카라사이트 US alone in 바카라사이트 1930s are not entirely clear. But this reflects my desire for more personal details ra바카라사이트r than a failing of 바카라사이트 book - Leontis keeps her focus firmly on Eva¡¯s intellectual life and influence, which is as it should be. This is a powerful reclamation of a life it has suited o바카라사이트rs to place in 바카라사이트 shadows, and a well-deserved appreciation of Eva¡¯s own legacy.

Liz Gloyn is a senior lecturer in Classics at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her book on classical monsters in contemporary culture will be published later this year.

Eva Palmer Sikelianos: A Life in Ruins
By Artemis Leontis
Princeton University Press, 392pp, ?27.00
ISBN 9780691171722
Published 26 March 2019