It begins, as many academic journeys do, with a moment of quiet fascination.

For Professor Tamar Hodos, it was not a dig site or a lecture hall, but a car ride. As a child, she would sit with her father, listening to a radio broadcast of The Odyssey, so captivated that they would sometimes stay parked outside their home just to hear the end. Years later, in a university archaeology class, that fascination crystallised into something more profound.

“That [archaeology] lecture was an absolute epiphany,” she recalls. “It made it real. These weren’t just stories. These were objects, things that real people made and used.” 

That moment set Professor Hodos on a path that would take her across continents and disciplines, ultimately positioning her as one of the leading voices in Mediterranean archaeology today. Her work is distinctive for its breadth and ambition. Where others have traditionally studied ancient cultures in isolation, Professor Hodos has spent her career breaking down those silos, tracing the complex web of interactions between Greeks, Phoenicians and other Mediterranean societies. 

Rather than focusing solely on artefacts or artistic traditions, Professor Hodos examines identity, migration and cultural exchange, drawing on modern theories of globalisation to reinterpret the past. Her work reveals a world far more interconnected than previously imagined, one that mirrors our own.

That connection between past and present sits at the heart of her work today as Director of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA).

From her base in Athens, Professor Hodos leads one of a number of foreign archaeological institutes operating in Greece. These institutes play a crucial role in enabling research, acting as the legal gateway through which international scholars gain access to excavation permits, collections and fieldwork opportunities.

With a dual presence in Australia and Greece, the AAIA serves as both a national research centre and an international hub, supporting scholars across Australia and New Zealand. Under Professor Hodos’ leadership, its remit has expanded well beyond traditional archaeology to encompass the full breadth of the humanities, from ancient history to modern Greek studies, and even creative practice.

“We support artists and poets and painters as well,” she says. 

This broad, inclusive vision reflects a deeper belief in the enduring relevance of the humanities. In a world increasingly shaped by technology and immediacy, Professor Hodos argues that understanding the past is more important than ever. 

“Western civilisation is predicated on the Greco-Roman world,” she says. “It is all around us.” 

From political systems to architecture, the echoes of ancient Greece continue to shape modern life. But beyond cultural inheritance, archaeology also offers practical insights into contemporary challenges. Professor Hodos points to her own fieldwork on the island of Kythera into ancient water management systems as an example of how historical knowledge can inform more sustainable futures.

“If we can understand how people managed resources in the past, we can develop better solutions today,” she says.