Classical Spies: American Archaeologists with the OSS in World War II Greece

by Susan Heuck Allen

“Classical Spies will be a lasting contribution to the discipline and will stimulate further research. Susan Heuck Allen presents to a wide readership a topic of interest that is important and has been neglected.”
—William M. Calder III, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Classical Spies is the first insiders’ account of the operations of the American intelligence service in World War II Greece. Initiated by archaeologists in Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, the network drew on scholars’ personal contacts and knowledge of languages and terrain. While modern readers might think Indiana Jones is just a fantasy character, Classical Spies discloses events where even Indy would feel at burying Athenian dig records in an Egyptian tomb, activating prep-school connections to establish spies code-named Vulture and Chickadee, and organizing parachute drops.
Susan Heuck Allen reveals remarkable details about a remarkable group of individuals. Often mistaken for mild-mannered professors and scholars, such archaeologists as University of Pennsylvania’s Rodney Young, Cincinnati’s Jack Caskey and Carl Blegen, Yale’s Jerry Sperling and Dorothy Cox, and Bryn Mawr’s Virginia Grace proved their mettle as effective spies in an intriguing game of cat and mouse with their Nazi counterparts. Relying on interviews with individuals sharing their stories for the first time, previously unpublished secret documents, private diaries and letters, and personal photographs, Classical Spies offers an exciting and personal perspective on the history of World War II.

Genres: Nonfiction, World War II, History, Greece, Archaeology

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2011

Reviews

[Jeanne Adamek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am dnfing this on pg. 163. Unfortunately this hasn't the read that I was expecting, not the authors fault, but I realized that if I forced myself to finish the experience would be so awful that I would end up giving a bad review. And hate doing that when I know that it was just because it didn't live up to what I thought I was going to read.

[Liz V.]

This was an interlibrary loan, and I could say truthfully that I ran out of time, but only because I kept picking up other books.

A confluence of Greece, archaeology, espionage and WWII should make for a fascinating read, but Classical Spies is a textbook, and a tedious one at that--300 pages of text and 130± pages of footnotes and index. This requires altogether too much effort for me at this point, although eventually I may try again.

In truth, I was aggravated from p. 8, where the author states "Greece's fascist dictator, General Ioannis Metaxas, had just declared war," albeit noting on p. 11 that Metaxas responded "Okhi" to an ultimatum. A more accurate rendition would have noted that, after months of provocation, the Italian ambassador appeared at 3 a.m. and announced war would exist as of 6 a.m., unless Greece allowed Italian troops to occupy key areas. Metaxas responded "Alors. C'est le guerre." The Italian troops crossed the border at 5:30 a.m. Granted, Greece annually celebrates Oxi Day, but I regard it as misleading to ascribe the declaration of war to other than Italy.

Furthermore, dictator though Metaxas was, I am unconvinced that he was a "fascist", mindful of Mary Stewart's observation that, with two Greeks at a table in a cafeion, at least three political parties are represented. The Greeks invented masks and, with thousands of years of occupation, became past masters at presenting a placating face. How much Metaxas genuinely admired fascism is open to dispute.

Also, the author notes that the King left the country. So did the monarchs of at least three other countries--with far less reason. The head of the Greek army surrendered his troops, without informing Metaxas or the King, and agreed to lead a collaborationist government with the Germans. The King couldn't stay.

I may yet talk myself out of ordering the book again.

[K]

Giving up on this at page 135. This concept is so good, and yet this book is SO dry. Allen clearly had access to some amazing sources, and I wish the focus was more on the Archaeologists and less on the recitation of facts about the timelines of war.

[Trina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wanted to give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ since my great-uncle Rodney is the star of it. A classical archeologist - or so we always thought! - Rodney Young leads the secret intelligence service in WWII out of the Cairo office. This is when the Allies thought a huge German invasion was coming down through Greece. Too bad it turned out to be Italy. He'd be been hero of the hour! As it is, he and the other American archeologists-turned-spies remain lesser known scholarly figures despite the author's efforts to rescue them from the dustbin of history.

[Greer Andjanetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book rates 4 stars for the extremely detailed and thorough research done to write it. Not an exciting read by any means, more like an academic treatise. With copious references and footnotes the book gives an almost day-by-day account of the OSS activities in Greece during the last few years of WW II. Scholars of the topic will find this an invaluable source of information, especially as it is readable and an interesting story.