Chronology

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1. Early twentieth century · 1900–1944

2. 1938
   Life event · Merritt Mill Road, Chapel Hill Daphne Athas's family moves to Chapel Hill

   Athas came to Chapel Hill as a teenager in 1938 with her Greek family, who during the Depression traded a large Massachusetts home for a small house on Merritt Mill Road. She spent most of the rest of her life in Orange County.

3. 1943
   Life event · Chapel Hill Daphne Athas graduates from UNC

   Athas graduated from the university in 1943 after studying writing with Betty Smith and Phillips Russell.

4. Civil rights era · 1945–1975

5. 1968–2009
   Appointment, election or service · Chapel Hill Daphne Athas teaches creative writing at UNC

   Athas taught creative writing at UNC from 1968 until she retired from teaching in 2009. In the 1970s she took over the stylistics course Glossolalia, known for its annual student performances, and her students included Randall Kenan, Michael Parker and Sarah Dessen.

6. 1971
   Publication, speech or performance · Carrboro and Chapel Hill Daphne Athas publishes Entering Ephesus, a novel set in Carrboro and Chapel Hill

   Her coming-of-age novel, set in Carrboro and Chapel Hill during World War II among intellectuals, poor southerners and Greek immigrants, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Time magazine.

7. Recent decades · 1976–2026

8. July 28, 2020
   Life event · Chapel Hill Daphne Athas dies in Chapel Hill

   Athas died in Chapel Hill on July 28, 2020. She had long lived in Carrboro in a small cabin she built with friends and into her late 80s was a familiar sight biking across town.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 2, 2026.