My name is Athena Lioliou and I have been living in Rhodes since 1999, when I came for my undergraduate studies at the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean. Only enthusiasm and excessive interest could characterize my years of study in the Department that pushed me to dedicate myself to exploring human behavior throughout the year. The general knowledge base given to me in three scientific fields of the Humanities, Archeology, Linguistics and International Relations, laid the foundations for me to be able to develop a broad perceptual ability. Upon completion of my undergraduate studies and with specialization in Archeology, I received recommendations from my professors, and I especially want to thank Mrs. M. Panagiotaki for this, who recommended me to the Antiquities Service of the Dodecanese, as a reliable collaborator in research archaeological programs. This way, I was given the opportunity to let the Archaeological Department of the Ministry of Culture in the Dodecanese know the quality of my work and subsequently start working as an archaeologist in many projects in the Dodecanese. At the same time, I proceeded to postgraduate studies in the field of Classical Archeology and Museology at the Universities of Crete and the Aegean respectively.
Professionally at present, with several years of work in archeological projects as an archaeologist at the Ministry of Culture but also as an administrative staff member, supporting Postgraduate Programs in the Department of Mediterranean Studies, I teach the subject of Classical Archeology at the School of Tour Guides of the Ministry of Tourism in Rhodes while studying at an undergraduate Program at the Law School of Paphos in Cyprus, going into greater depth in fields that I had studied during my first years of study at the Department of Mediterranean Studies.
Finally, it is obvious that the Department of Mediterranean Studies with the pluralism of knowledge in matters of tangible and intangible Cultural Heritage offers academic breath for the Dodecanese and strengthens in practice the presence of the Greek state in the eastern borders of the country. The contribution of the Department is therefore multilevel and certainly valuable and I am grateful for the imprint left on my personality by attending it.
