Obituary John Michael FOSSEY (1945–2024)

Abstract

Teiresias Journal Online is saddened to announce the passing of John Fossey on December 1 2024. John has been the co-founder of the Teiresias enterprise. He has served as co-editor of the journal from 1971 until 1979, co-editor of the first supplement volumes (1972 and 1979), and co-editor of the epigraphic appendices (1976 to 1980). Beyond Teiresias, he was the editor of five volumes of Boeotia Antiqua (1989-1996), a lively set that was published through the series “McGill University Monographs in Classical Archaeology and History”. The contribution to Boiotian Studies for which he will no doubt be remembered most was, however, the landmark monograph “The Topography and Population of Ancient Boiotia” (2 vols., 1988).

A PhD from Lyon II (1976) and specialist in Greek archaeology, epigraphy and topography, John has taught at McGill University for 32 years, where he has created and supervised several archaeology programs. His archaeological interests went far beyond the Greek mainland, with field work in the Black Sea, focusing his efforts in Bulgaria and Georgia. Research engagement in these areas is captured in “Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Hellenic Diaspora from Antiquity to Modern Times” (2 vols., 1988). In 2000, he was elected into the Royal Society of Canada.

From the 1990s, John’s academic interests gradually steered him away from Boiotia and its community of scholars. After his retirement from McGill in 2001 he started a new career as museum curator in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and as independent consultant. He did publish two further volumes on the field, “Epigraphica Boeotica II. Further Studies on Boiotian Inscriptions” (2014, Teiresias 2014.441.1.03) and “Boiotia in Ancient Times. Some Studies of Its Topography, History, Cults and Myths” (2019, Teiresias 2020.501.1.04). The latter, based on research mostly carried out in the 1970s, was announced in the preface as John’s very personal swansong in Boiotian studies.

John Fossey is survived by three children and eight grandchildren.

The TJO Editors