To Wake the Dead: A Renaissance Merchant and the Birth of Archaeology (review)

Cyriacus of Ancona, a Renaissance merchant, is recognized as the father of classical archaeology for his meticulous documentation of ancient sites, including those no longer intact. His detailed topographic information and transcribed inscriptions, such as Hadrian's temple at Cyzicus and the Olympeion in Athens, remain valuable to modern archaeologists. Cyriacus' method involved consulting ancient texts and triangulating locations based on distances from nearby towns, which has been instrumental in dating structures like the Little Metropolis in Athens. His contributions extended beyond documentation; he influenced Renaissance artists such as Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Mantegna, and Raphael by introducing classical imagery into European culture. Despite his advocacy for preserving antiquities, some were relocated far from their original sites.

(Ed.). (2010). To Wake the Dead: A Renaissance Merchant and the Birth of Archaeology (review). Classical World, 103(2), 276–277. https://doi.org/10.1353/clw.0.0172