Younger, John G.

English

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American Journal of Archaeology 108 (2004)■■–■■1Paul Rehak, 1954–2004JOHN G. YOUNGERPaul Rehak, AssociateProfessor of Classics, Uni-versity of Kansas, died on5 June 2004, of complica-tions from a heart attackaggravated by a long strug-gle living with AIDS. Hewas born 8 March 1954 inAnn Arbor, Michigan,where he also attendedthe University of Michiganand received his B.A. cumlaude in Classical Studiesand Classical Archaeologyin 1976, and, a year later, ateaching certificate in Lat-in from the School of Edu-cation. From Bryn MawrCollege he obtained hisM.A. in 1980, writing onMycenaean shrines under Machteld Mellink, andPh.D. in 1985, this time writing on Roman sculp-ture under Brunilde Ridgway. During this period,too, Paul was a John Williams White Fellow at theAmerican School of Classical Studies in Athens(1980–1981), the architect on site at the ApolloHylates sanctuary at Kourion in Cyprus (1981,1982), and a fellow at the Villa Messenzia in Rome(1983–1984). He was thus fluent in Modern Greekand Italian.It is appropriate that Paul’s first and last teach-ing posts were at the University of Kansas, where hefirst filled in for Elizabeth Banks on sabbatical(1986–1987) and then, when she retired in 2001,he was appointed to her position. In between, hetaught one-year stints at the College of Wooster(1987–1988) and the American University of Paris(1988–1989), where he learned fluent French. Hethen taught at Loyola University of Chicago (1989–1995), where he was denied tenure but promotedto associate professor. From 1995 to 2000, Paul wasa visiting assistant professor at Duke University forboth the departments of classics and art history. Hewas immensely popular at Duke as an out activistfor gay and lesbian rights, a teacher (he led stu-dents around Rome in the summers and initiateda sold-out “Myth and Film” seminar for freshmen),and advisor and mentor—many of his students havegone on in classics and ar-chaeology. In March, justbefore his death, the Uni-versity of Kansas tenuredhim and promoted him toassociate professor.Paul’s research inter-ests were broad, extend-ing from prehistoric andclassical Greece to impe-rial Rome; in the last 15years he added ancientgender and sexuality tohis bibliography (e.g., hisarticles on women in theThera frescoes and theiruse of saffron). Because ofhis constantly fresh takeson old subjects, he couldstartle scholars who hadbecome complacent; when he observed that the Ae-gean “Priest” on a sealstone from the Vapheio tho-los (CMS 1.223) was himself wearing a sealstone,the present author at first denied it fiercely untilhe was forced to see it with his own eyes. Many ofPaul’s numerous publications are thus important:to name just two, his edited volume, The Role of theRuler in the Prehistoric Aegean (Liège 1995), ques-tioned the masculinist assumption that only mengoverned Minoan Crete, and his recent article, “Ae-neas or Numa? Rethinking the Meaning of the AraPacis Augustae” (The Art Bulletin 83.2 [June 2001]190–208), broke new ground in Augustan studies.He leaves behind him several major works inprogress, including two book manuscripts, Imperi-um and Cosmos on Augustus’s building program, andAegean Women in the Bronze Age—both will be pub-lished shortly.In 1992, Paul met his partner, the present authorJohn Younger, at the “Eikon” conference in Tasma-nia (for whose publication he restored an inge-nious “Kangaroo Gate” at Mycenae); over the yearsthe two of us traveled and worked together. Thenext year, 1993, was especially rewarding. Asked towrite the “Review of Aegean Prehistory 7” on Neopa-latial, Final Palatial, and Postpalatial Crete for theAJA (102 [1998] 91–173; reprinted in Aegean Prehis-tory, edited by T. Cullen [Boston 2001] 383–473),2 JOHN G. YOUNGER, PAUL REHAK, 1954–2004we set about conducting research in Crete in theearly summer. When we visited Pyrgos one earlymorning in June, Paul found, lying at his feet, aMinoan Linear A roundel on the top of the excavat-ed site; this led to our reinvestigation of the site in1994 (under the direction of the original excava-tor, Gerald Cadogan)—no more documents werefound, much to our disappointment. In July, thetwo of us were permitted to examine the architec-tural sculptures of the Temple of Zeus at Olympiain the Olympia museum; we had to remove ourshoes so we could walk more sensitively within thecramped installation, though that did not preventPaul, at 6' 2", from occasionally getting stuck amongthe modern tenons. Nonetheless, we were able tomake numerous observations concerning the orig-inal installation and post-installation repairs to thesculptures—these, too, need a final publication.Paul was very active in the Archaeological Insti-tute of America, serving on many committees (wherehe was known for his passion and candor), travel-ing to the local societies that appreciated his hu-morous lectures, and acting as president and vice-president of three local societies (Chicago, NorthCarolina, and Kansas City). At the time of his deathhe was co-editor for book reviews for the AJA andsecretary of the Alumni/ae Association of the Amer-ican School of Classical Studies at Athens. Therewill be several memorials in his memory, at theAmerican School and for its students and at theUniversity of Kansas.Paul was famously generous to his friends. In thepast he stood loyally by them when they went throughrough times. This past summer in 2003, when hewas studying at the American School, it was charac-teristic of him to meet his students at the airportwhen they flew in for excavations on the islandsand to turn his apartment over to them when theypassed through Athens. In his early days, Paul wasan ardent swimmer, easily swimming out to the isletat Amnisos and then around it several times (hereferred to himself as a special type of fish, a “pav-lópsaro”). He read voraciously (he was rereadingthe Narnia series by C.S. Lewis and Atlas Shruggedwhen he died); he was a gifted linguist, would readnovels in Greek, and could recite (at the drop of ahat) poems in French and Greek (ancient andmodern; Sikelianos and Elytes were favorites). Alsoa talented artist, he leaves behind a large numberof pen and ink sketches and watercolors of roman-tic ruins, Byzantine churches, and flowers. Clearlyin the majority, however, are his many, and oftenhumorous, sketches of his dogs. Over the years heacquired quite a few: shelties, labradors, and shep-herd mutts; at the archaeological sites he wouldalways befriend the guard dogs, who would trotalong after him and whom he would invariably wantto take home.Paul is survived by his partner, his parents, andfour siblings, but he is especially survived by the myr-iad students whom he taught and from whom helearned: he always considered his research and histeaching intertwined, carefully noting his students’observations in class and on site that would spur himon to fresh thoughts and new endeavors. For his in-sights into ancient art, and for his generosity, pas-sion, and the doting care he lavished on his friendsand students, Paul Rehak will be long remembered.department of classics, and program inhumanities and western civilization1445 jayhawk blvd, 2110 wescoeuniversity of kansaslawrence, kansas 66045

Paul Rehak 1954-2004

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Paul Rehak 1954-2004

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