Exeter alumna Professor Teresa Shawcross awarded prestigious Lykourgeio Prize

We are delighted to share that Professor Teresa Shawcross (1999, MPhil Byzantine Studies; 2001, DPhil Medieval and Modern Languages) has been awarded the Lykourgeio Prize by the Academy of Athens, Greece’s national academy of arts, sciences and letters, at its annual awards ceremony on 18 December 2025.

The prize recognises work of outstanding scholarly merit, particularly in history, letters and the arts, that offers fresh insight into Greek culture or national heritage. This year’s award, in the field of Arts and Letters, was given for her acclaimed book Wisdom’s House, Heaven’s Gate: Athens and Jerusalem in the Middle Ages (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

In its citation, the Academy highlighted Professor Shawcross’s outstanding contribution to advancing understanding of the history and geography of the Mediterranean, alongside the philosophy, theology, and social life of the peoples around it – praising her work as both wide-ranging and deeply insightful.

Professor Shawcross was profoundly touched by the honour, describing the recognition as “hard to imagine a greater honour.”

Professor Shawcross is Associate Professor of History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University and a Senior Member of Robinson College, University of Cambridge. Her research explores the dynamic intersections of Byzantium, Islam and the Latin West in the medieval Mediterranean world.

You can read more about Wisdom’s House, Heaven’s Gate and purchase a copy here.