Michael Basil Cosmopoulos (Greek:Μιχαήλ Βασιλείου Κοσμόπουλος; born 1963) is Professor of Greek History and Archaeology with the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology; and Holder of the Endowed Professorship in Greek Studies at theUniversity of Missouri–St. Louis.^[1] He is a Fellow of theSt. Louis Academy of Science,^[2] a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,^[3] a member of the Athens Academy of Arts and Sciences,^[4] of theEuropean Academy of Sciences and Arts,^[5] and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2022 he was decorated by the president of Greece with the Gold Cross of the Order of Phoenix.

He was born in Athens in 1963 and graduated from theAnavryta Magnet High School. He studied archaeology,Ancient History, Anthropology, and Classical Languages at theUniversity of Athens (B.A., summa cum laude, 1981), theUniversity of Sorbonne-Paris IV (D.E.U.G., 1983), andWashington University in St. Louis (M.A. 1986, Ph.D. 1991), where he was taught byGeorge E. Mylonas, the excavator ofEleusis.^[6] He also holds a Diploma inUnderwater Archaeology from theCouncil of Europe (1984).

In 1989, at the age of 26, he was appointed assistant professor ofClassical Studies andAnthropology at theUniversity of Manitoba inWinnipeg,Canada, where he taught a wide range of subjects and received two teaching awards.^[7] At the University of Manitoba he founded the Center for Hellenic Civilization.^[8]

In August 2001 he moved to St. Louis to take up theHellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation EndowedProfessorship ofGreek Studies as Professor ofHistory andArchaeology with the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

He has excavated at variousarchaeological sites inGreece andUkraine, includingMycenae,Epidavros,Ancient Corinth,Naxos,Ithaca,Oropos andOlbia (now Berezan) in theBlack Sea. He is the director of Archaeological Research inEleusis and since 1999 he directs the excavations of theArchaeological Society of Athens atIklaina Messenia (IK.A.P.: Iklaina Archaeological Project^[9]) nearPylos. His excavations in Iklaina brought to light an important center ofMycenaean civilization withCyclopean walls,frescoes, paved streets, and the oldest record ofLinear B ofMainland Greece.^[10]

Cosmopoulos has been actively involved in thedissemination ofGreek Studies inNorth America. In Canada, in addition to the Hellenic Center at the University of Manitoba, he founded the Pan-Macedonian Association of Manitoba,^[11] and the Canadian Committee for the Restitution of theParthenon Marbles.^[12]

In theUnited States, he created theUniversity of Missouri–St. Louis Greek Studies Program, with annual enrollments of 300 students and one of the few Degrees of Greek Studies in North America.^[13][14] He also founded the Nicholas and Theodora Matsakis Center for Hellenic Culture.^[15] He has organized many international conferences, public lectures, and events to inform the Canadian and US public on issues ofGreek culture. He has given hundreds of lectures on Greek archaeology issues inCanada,United States,Greece,Germany, and theUK.

For his research accomplishments he has been awarded the Canada Rh Award for Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship and Research in theHumanities. He has also received numerousteaching awards, including the Archaeological Institute of America Award for Excellence in Teaching.^[16]

Cosmopoulos has published 16 books and more than 100articles and scholarly papers on the archaeology, culture, and socio-political history ofancient Greece. His books include:

• 2018: Iklaina. The Monumental Buildings.ISBN 978-618-5047-39-9.
• 2016: The Political Geography of a Mycenaean District. The Archaeological Survey at Iklaina.ISBN 978-618-5047-27-6.
• 2015: Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.ISBN 9781107010994.
• 2014: The Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis. The Bronze Age, Vols. I-II. Library of the Athens Archaeological Society 295–296, Athens.ISBN 9786185047153.
• 2007: Experiencing War: Trauma and Society in Ancient Greece and Today. Ares Publishers, Chicago.^[17]ISBN 978-0056064973.
• 2004: The Parthenon and Its Sculptures. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge^[18]ISBN 978-0521836739.
• 2004: Η Νάξος και το Κρητομυκηναϊκό Αιγαίο. Στρωματογραφία, Κεραμική και Οικονομική Οργάνωση του Υστεροελλαδικού Οικισμού στη Γρόττα. Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Δημοσιεύματα Περιοδικού Αρχαιογνωσία, Αρ. 3 ([2])ISBN 9789608313583
• 2003: Greek Mysteries. The Archaeology and Ritual of Greek Secret Cults. Routledge, London and New YorkISBN 978-0415248730. Greek translation: Ελληνικά Μυστήρια. Αρχαιολογία και Τελετουργικό των Αρχαίων Ελληνικών Μυστηριακών Λατρειών, Eκδόσεις Ενάλιος, Αθήνα 2007ISBN 978-960-536-277-5
• 2001: The Rural History of Ancient Greek City-States: the Oropos Survey Project. British Archaeological Reports-International Series 1001, OxfordISBN 9781841712826
• 2001–2008: Journal of Modern Hellenism (co-editor, with A. Gerolymatos, H. Psomiades, C. Ioannides)
• 1992: Macedonia. An Introduction to its Political History. Manitoba Studies in Classical Civilization. WinnipegISBN 978-0969669104.
• 1991: The Early Bronze 2 in the Aegean. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology XCVIII. Jonsered.ISBN 978-9170810190.
• 1984: Νεολιθική Μικρά Ασία. Αθήνα
• 1982: Αρχαικα Εργαστήρια Γλυπτικής. Η Σάμος. Αθήνα
• 1981: Υστεροελλαδικοί Θαλαμωτοί Τάφοι. Αθήνα
• 1979: Περικλής. Εκδόσεις Παπαδήμα. Αθήνα.

• University of Missouri page
• Michael Cosmopoulos Home Page
• University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
• University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA
• Greek Professorship University of Missouri
• Archaeological Project of Iklaina, Pylos, Messinia
• Article about Naxos in the Oxford Journal of Archeology
• "The Future of the Greek Language in America" (op-ed in the Greek daily newspaper "TO BHMA" 04.11.2007)

• Archaeologists from Athens
• Living people
• 1963 births
• University of Paris alumni
• National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
• Washington University in St. Louis alumni
• Greek emigrants to the United States
• People from Athens
• Greek expatriates in France
• University of Missouri–St. Louis faculty

• CS1 Greek-language sources (el)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2023
• Articles containing Greek-language text