Laudator Temporis Acti

E.N. Borza, "Nicholas Hammond, CBE, DSO, FBA," in Ian Worthington, ed., Ventures into Greek History (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), pp. xv-xviii (at xvi):

Hammond's emphasis on historical geography, topography, and autoptic knowledge of the countryside is legendary. (Like Polybius, he has little patience for those who do their fieldwork from the comfort of their libraries.) His insistence on understanding the countryside will have set the standard for generations of scholars to come. One evening in 1986 Hammond and I and our wives drove out of central Athens to the northern suburb of Kifissia for dinner at Miltos Hatzopoulos' home. Once we left the main road we plunged into darkness. Not only was Kifissia without street lights but also it lacked street signs and house numbers. I was driving and Nick was seated beside me acting as guide to our host's home, which he had visited before. We promptly lost our way. A quarter-hour of aimless wandering passed, and Margaret Hammond gently suggested that Nick ask for directions. He refused; I suspect it was a matter of honour. After all, how complex could modern Kifissia be to one who had led reconnaissance patrols along goat paths through the mountains of Thessaly and Macedonia? Another quarter-hour passed, and we were no nearer our objective. Margaret now insisted firmly, and we stopped at a small store where Nick asked directions. Within minutes we found our destination and were only fashionably late for dinner—in good Athenian style.