About the speaker

Dr Dr Alicia Maravelia started her career with a BSc in Physics (University of Thessaloniki, 1988), with a Diploma Thesis in Nuclear Astrophysics (nucleosynthesis in stars). She obtained her 1st PhD Degree in Extragalactic Astronomy (University of Athens, 1997), studying the Stellar Complexes of the LMC (~ Shapley “constellations”), through star counts and spectral classification of stars on UKST plates in order to define their boundaries and nature as regions of recent star formation. However, her —as of her childhood— love for ancient Egypt and the hieroglyphic script shifted her interest to Egyptology. She has obtained her 2nd PhD Degree from the University of Limoges (France) in 2004 studying comparatively the astronomical elements of the ancient Egyptian funerary texts (mainly Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and partially Book of the Dead) with those of the ancient Hellenic Orphic Hymns, proposing a dating for the latter. She has managed to reconstruct ancient Egyptian skyscapes, interpreting the astronomical and cosmographic allegories of the ancient Egyptian texts, through the archaeoastronomical analysis of their content. She has published more than 140 papers, books and articles on several topics, including the astronomical orientation of ancient Egyptian monuments (Theban Temples, Great Temple at Abu Simbel, & c.), as well as the orientation of the Mycenaean Tholos Tombs. After collaborating with CES/RAS (2004-2010) as a Research Associate), she has founded in 2011 in Greece the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology (being its President), a Research and Educational Institute, initially under the auspices of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, whose scope is to raise funds for educational and research purposes. Currently the Institute runs, in collaboration with national and international scholars, the following projects:  1. Athens Mummy Project;  2. DCSAEAT = Digitization and Complete Study of the Ancient Egyptian Astronomical Texts;  3. Project KYPHI;  4. Project EGYPT/HERBAL.  5. The Egyptological Seminar of the Institute. She is teaching in the Seminar and (occasionally) in the Centre for Life-Long Learning of the Hellenic Open University and at the People’s University of Athens. She is the Executive Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology (JHIE), and Member of the Scientific Committee of peer-reviewing scholarly journals (Abgadiyat, The Oriental Studies, Limina, RAST, & c.). She is Member of the International Association of Egyptologists, IAU, Archaeological Society of Alexandria, ISAAC, SAF, Hellenic Society for Aesthetics, Association of Greek Women Scientists, and of many others.