Interviews with Ali Pacha: In the Autumn of 1812, with Some Particulars of Epirus & the Albanians of the Present Day

P.O. Brondsted (1780-1842) was the father of classical archaeology in Denmark, and his writings won great acclaim all over Europe. He travelled in Greece from 1810 to 1813 examining the ancient cities of the island of Kea and the sculptures of the Parthenon, and participating in excavations on the island of Aegina as well as in Bassie. In addition to his love for classical Greece, he had a great interest in the Greece of his own time, and in the Greek struggle for independence. These interviews with Ali Pasha show Brondsted’s interest and fascination in the man. The meeting is recounted, and Ali Pasha is shown to be a powerful and controversial despot, with political connections all over Europe. This text is being published by The Danish Institute at Athens to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the Insitute on April 2, 1999.