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the Cyclades and Samos, where he had his fuse experience of the refugee problem. This experience led directly to his membership in the Refugee Secdemenc Commis­ sion, which supervised, under the auspices of the League of Nations, the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. As Secretary of this Commission, his was a large share of the appallingly difficult cask of providing homes and work for more than a million people, deposited, with the briefest of warnings, upon a small, poor and war-corn country, with itself a population of scarcely over Jive millions. It was while he was serving on the Commission that Adossides for~ his fuse friendships wid1 Americans, deep and lasting friendships on botlr sides. It was these friendships, particularly that with Edward Capps, which led later co his associa­ tion with the American School of Classical Studies. At the inception of the Agora Excavation, Adossides was prevailed upon to accept the onerous position of B usiness Manager, a posicion the chief duties of which were co see co the maintain ing of harmonious relations with the Greek Gov­ ernment and to conduct the often delicate and never very congenial negotiations for the acquisition of property condemned f or the purpose of excavation by the gov­ ernment. No better choice could have been made. ~t is riever easy and never pleas­ ant to dispossess people from their homes, however just the reason for it. Adossides with his tact, his humor, his warm sympathy, his profound and patient humanity, accomplished the task with a minimum of friction and unpleasantness; he succeeded in keeping, in almost all cases, the confidence and even the friendship of those dis­ possessed, who were yet persuaded co sell the property at a price fair to the School. It is often not easy to deal with government officials; his work at the Agora meant for Adossides an incessant series of negotiarions with, at one time or another, almost every ministry under several successive government5, involving an almost countless number of officials. All those with whom he dealt knew what his political sympathies had been, knew him as a former leader of a party which was voted out of power soon after the Agora Excavation had begun; many of them had been, in fact, among his active political opponents in the past. In a land where polit i­ cal feeling runs high and bitter, this might have been a serious handicap; it is an earn­ esc of Adossides' caliber that almost without exception his relations with Greek offi­ cialdom were happy and successful. His prestige came not from his infinite tact and his shrewd diplomacy only, but from the fact that his most bitter enemy knew tllat he could trust Adossides, recognized and respected the personal integrity that was the very foundation of Adossides' character. H is work at the Agora was completed just before the war. The Managing Com­ mittee, reluctant ro lose his services, created for him the position of "Consultant" of the School. It was a most happy decision. Only those, perhaps, whose privilege it was co work with him during those last grim years of war and occupation can truly appreciate how well he served the School. It had been thought that as "Consultant" he would give but a part of his time to the work of the School (and his salary was fixed accordingly). But the time was a critical one; and Adossides' own nature, his loy- 16 alty, his ~onscien.ti~usness, his energy-the driving energy which for years had con­ quered h1s chrome Ill-health-would not let him give less than full time co his work. ~e would nor, despite the protests of his colleagues, spare himself; and during that d1fficult period no decision affecting the welfare of the School was made without his advice and approval. His wisdom, born of long experience, anJ his extraordi­ narily quick and clear grasp of men and of situations solved many of the awkward problems which then faced the School, and on more than one occasion saved the School from serious embarrassment. ~hose who served ~ith him, too, in the disbursing of funds transmitted by the ~encan School .Commmee for Aid co Greece know co how large a degree Ados­ stdes was respons1ble for the success of the Committee's representatives in Greece. Intensely, almost passionately, anxious co be of use when the country was attacked, he ha~ been too long out of public life and was, he felt, roo old to serve in any active capa~Hy. The work of the Committee o ffered the means of practical expression of hts loy~ty, no~ co the School only, but co Greece; it gave him the opportunity co serve aga1n, and m her moment of severest erial, the country which he had already served so Jon~ an? "':ell; to ser:e, moreover, in the way that most appealed to his pro­ found huma~ 1 tana~1sm-by dJCect aid to suffering and needy fellow-beings. Adossi­ ~es threw huns~lf l.nto the work, almost literally, body and soul; his energy and his Judgment were md1spensable to his co-workers; but above all, his own dedication to the cause, was the source from which they drew inspiration. With the ~cupacion of Greece by the Axis forces, the opportunity, though not the need, for relief passed. But there was no respite for Adossides. When most of the staff left for America the whole responsibility for the welfare of the School and ic:' personnel .was his .. That it was a heavy responsibility, and that he so regarded it, h1s letters wrmen dW:mg the fuse tragic winter of occupation, show; but they show, too, to the very end, h1s full acceptance of that responsibility with aU irs implications: from the smallest detail of administration to the grave questions of relations with the occu~ation authorities or the setting up of a scheme for feeding the School personnel, nothmg was neglected, nothing escaped the vigorous mind, the extraordinarily con­ scientious devotion to duty. . But the strain proved finally coo great. The body, long frail, now undernour­ IShed as well, could no longer meet the demands made upon it by the spirit; the great heart at length stopped. With Adossides' death, Greece has lost a great and loyal citi­ zen, the School an able and devoted servant, his friends a true friend. . If this note has scarcely couched on Adossides' p ersonal qualities, his charm, ~~s h.~or, his great c.apacity for friendship, his wide interests, or on his personal l!fe, It ts because nothmg need be added, and nothing should be added here to the beautiful tribute, written by Adossides' friends, which h as appeared rec~ntly in The Philhellene. • Arthur W. Parsons •The Philhellet~-e, Bulletin of the American Friends of Greece, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York. Vol. II, Nos. 3-4, pp. 3-5. 17

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