Valerios Stais ( el, Βαλέριος Στάης; b.

Kythira Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...

1857 – d.

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

1923) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

archaeologist. He initially studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

but later switched to

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

obtaining his Doctorate from the University of Halle (Saale) in 1885. He worked for the National Archaeological Museum of Athens since 1887, eventually becoming Director of the Museum, a post he held until his death. During that period he organized or participated in excavations in Epidaurus,

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the ...

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

Dimini Dimini ( el, Διμήνι; older form: ''Diminion'') is a village near the city of Volos, in Thessaly (central Greece), in Magnesia. It was the seat of the municipality of Aisonia. The name Aisonia dates back to ancient times and it is the wes ...

Antikythera Antikythera or Anticythera ( ) is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. In antiquity the island was known as (). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kythira isl ...

and elsewhere. He wrote a lot on archaeological matters, published several papers, mainly in ''Archeologiki Efimeris'' (''Αρχαιολογική Εφημερίς'' "Archaeological Newspaper"), and many books. Valerios Stais also became the first to study the

Antikythera mechanism The Antikythera mechanism ( ) is an Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. It could also be used to track the four-yea ...

from the lumps of archaeological material which was retrieved from a wreck found near the coast of Antikythera in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

.D. J. de Solla Price, "An ancient Greek computer", ''Scientific American'' June 1959: 60-67 . In some later publications in that context, his name has been confused with that of

Spyridon Stais Spyridon Stais ( el, Σπυρίδων Στάης, 1859–1932) was a Greek politician from the island of Kythera. He studied physics and mathematics and served as a teacher in gymnasia (secondary schools) of Greece. He became active in politics i ...

, a politician.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stais, Valerios 1857 births 1923 deaths People from Kythira Archaeologists from Athens 19th-century archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists University of Halle alumni Museum directors