Photo: ΤΕΙ Καβάλας, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons²⁰

Helene Ahrweiler

Greek Byzantinologist (1926–2026)

Hélène Glykatzi-Ahrweiler (French: [elɛn aʁvɛlɛʁ]; Greek: Ελένη Γλύκατζη-Αρβελέρ; 29 August 1926 – 16 February 2026) was a Greek-French academic Byzantinologist. She was also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Greece.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Helene Ahrweiler (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Aug 29, 1926, died Feb 16, 2026.¹

Companies

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-SorbonneChair 1976 to 1981¹⁹

Early life and education

1960Faculty of Arts of Paris doctorate in France³
1966Faculty of Arts of Paris doctorate in France³
Date not recordedNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens Bachelor of Philosophy; philosophy³

Career

Occupation: professeur des universités, Byzantinist, historian.¹⁰

1993 to 1997President of the Comité d'éthique du CNRS⁶
1989 to 1991President, Centre Georges Pompidou⁶
1982 to 1989Rector of the Academy of Paris⁶
1976 to 1981Président d'université, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne^{6 7}
1976 to 2026Member of the Athens Academy^{6 8}
1976 to 1981Chair, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne⁹
Date not recordedWorked at Faculty of Arts of Paris⁴
Date not recordedWorked at University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne⁴
Date not recordedWorked at National Center for Scientific Research⁴
Date not recordedBoard member, Greece 2021⁵

Eleni Glykatzi was born in Athens on 29 August 1926, to a family of Greek refugees from Bursa, the Istanbul hinterlands. She grew in the region of Vyronas. She graduated from high school in Athens and studied history and archaeology at the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens. During the Axis occupation of Greece she was a member of EPON. After working in the Center for Asia Minor Studies, she moved to Paris in 1953 to continue her studies in the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) where she obtained her doctorates in History and Classics. In 1955, she started working as a researcher in the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and on 7 November 1958, she married the French Army officer Jacques Ahrweiler (1918–2010). In 1960, she completed her PhD in History from the University of Paris (Sorbonne). In 1964, she became the director of the CNRS, and two years later, in 1966, she completed her second PhD in Philology. She became a professor at the Sorbonne in 1967.

By becoming Deputy Principal from 1970 to 1973 and then Principal of the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1976 to 1981, Glykatzi-Ahrweiler became the first woman to hold this position in the 700-year history of the Sorbonne, and the first woman in the world to serve as the head of a world-renowned university.

In 1982, French President François Mitterrand named her as Rector of the Academy of Paris and Chancellor of the Universities of Paris, a post she held until 1989. From February 1989 to August 1991, she was president of the Centre Georges Pompidou. She was also the Principal at the University of Europe in Paris, President of the Ethics Committee of the National Centre of Scientific Research in France, President of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi in Greece, and Honorary President of the International Committee of Byzantine Studies. French president Jacques Chirac offered her the Medal of the Battalion Commander of the Legion of Honor (one of the highest awards of the French Republic), thus honoring her scientific work and directorship in various French universities as well as at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. In 2007, she received the title of Honorary Doctor of the Media Studies Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Ahrweiler died on 16 February 2026, at the age of 99.

From Wikipedia’s article on Helene Ahrweiler (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

BornAug 29, 1926, Athens^{11 12}
DiedFeb 16, 2026, Athens¹³
CitizenshipFrance, Greece¹⁴
SpouseJacques Ahrweiler 1958 to 2010¹⁵
Children1¹⁶

Awards

2012Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit¹⁷
1994Commander of the National Order of Merit¹⁷
1984Silver Olympic Order¹⁷
Date not recordedCommander of the French Order of Academic Palms¹⁷
Date not recordedCommander of the Legion of Honour¹⁷
Date not recordedCommandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎¹⁷
Date not recordedFellow of the British Academy¹⁷
Date not recordedGrand Officer of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria¹⁷
Date not recordedHonorary doctor of the University of Fribourg¹⁷
Date not recordedhonorary doctor of Harvard University¹⁷
Date not recordedhonorary doctorate of Haifa University¹⁷

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler on Wikidata
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WikipediaHelene Ahrweiler on Wikipedia
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: Worked at Faculty of Arts of Paris, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: Board member, Greece 2021, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: Président d'université, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, on Wikidata
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WikidataPrésident d'université, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, as reported by Le Monde
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WikidataMember of the Athens Academy, as reported
9
WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: Chair, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: occupation, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: place of birth, on Wikidata
12
Wikidataplace of birth, as reported by Integrated Authority File
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: place of death, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: spouse, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: number of children, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: award, on Wikidata
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WikidataHelene Ahrweiler: IMDb, on Wikidata
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WikidataUniversity of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, Chair
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Wikimedia CommonsHelene Ahrweiler photo by ΤΕΙ Καβάλας, Attribution