The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is pleased to announce that Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University’s prestigious research institute in Washington, D.C., has been selected as the recipient of the 2027 Gennadius Prize.

Established by the Board of Overseers of the Gennadius Library in 2016, the Gennadius Prize honors individuals and institutions whose work has advanced knowledge of post-antique Greece. Previous recipients include the A. G. Leventis Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Lloyd Cotsen, Professor Curtis Runnels, Professor Mark Mazower, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Dumbarton Oaks is a Harvard University research institute dedicated to supporting research and learning through its premier programs in Byzantine, Garden and Landscape, and Pre-Columbian Studies. Through its fellowships, collections, publications, exhibitions, and academic meetings, it has shaped generations of scholars and advanced the study of the Byzantine world. The Gennadius Prize honors its preeminent contributions to Byzantine Studies and to the advancement of knowledge of post-antique Greece.

The Dumbarton Oaks main building in Washington, D.C., home to one of the world's leading centers for Byzantine scholarship

The relationship between Dumbarton Oaks and the Gennadius Library reflects a shared commitment to advancing scholarship on the Greek and Byzantine worlds. Scholars affiliated with both institutions have benefited from their complementary collections, research opportunities, and vibrant intellectual communities, strengthening the study of Greek and Byzantine civilization across generations.

“At the Gennadius Library, we think often about continuity, how ideas, texts, objects, and traditions travel across centuries and find new meaning in each generation,” reflected Dr. Maria Georgopoulou, Director of the Gennadius Library. “Dumbarton Oaks has done extraordinary work in sustaining that kind of inquiry for Byzantine Studies. Its influence lies not only in the resources it preserves, but in the scholars it gathers and the questions it encourages. We are delighted to honor Dumbarton Oaks with the 2027 Gennadius Prize.”

The Gennadius Library, welcoming generations of scholars to the heart of Athens

About the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is the leading American research and teaching institution in Greece dedicated to the advanced study of all aspects of Greek culture from prehistory to the present. Founded in 1881 as the first American overseas research center, the School is a consortium of nearly 200 universities, colleges, and other academic institutions in the United States and Canada, centered in Athens with an administrative base in Princeton, NJ. Today the School is the largest of the 19 foreign research institutes in Greece.

Its facilities, programs, and resources include excavations in the Athenian Agora and Ancient Corinth; two distinguished libraries, the Blegen and the Gennadius; a department of Archives and Personal Papers; the Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science; and an award-winning publications program. The School offers students and scholars wide-ranging opportunities to engage in research initiatives centered on Greek history and culture.

In addition, the School fosters a dynamic environment through exhibitions, lectures, and concerts that encourage the exchange of knowledge and promote interaction across many audiences. As its founders envisioned, the School remains a privately funded, nonprofit educational and research center.

About the Gennadius Library

The Gennadius Library is one of Greece’s national treasures. In 2026, it celebrated the centennial of its opening, marking 100 years as one of the country’s most distinguished centers of scholarship and culture. Founded in 1926 with the collection of diplomat and bibliophile Joannes Gennadius, the Library now holds more than 150,000 volumes, including rare books and fine bindings, research materials, manuscripts, and works of art that illuminate Hellenism, Greece, and neighboring civilizations from antiquity to the modern era. In addition to serving as an internationally renowned library and center for research, the Gennadius plays an active role in the cultural life of Athensand the wider international community through its public lectures, seminars, concerts, exhibitions,and publications.