From September 29^th to October 2^nd, Athens welcomes the largest gastronomical event in Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center!

Taste of Athens, brings the best restaurants, food and drink brands of the city together and invites its guests to get to discover them through immersive experiences. From cooking lessons by world-class chefs, to wine tastings and cocktail preparation classes, Taste of Athens offers numerous experiences that inspire, educate and entertain.

Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of a luxurious picnic that will mark the end of the summer on the calendars of foodies everywhere.

A rare exhibition on China's Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) is going on display at the Acropolis Museum, with a first time presentation to the public of remarkable artifacts representing over 100 years of Chinese culture of the 18th century.

One of the most renowned emperors in Chinese history, Qianlong (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) is the Emperor who reformed China,doubled its size and population, tended to the well-being of its citizens and nurtured the arts and letters with passion. He remained on the throne for sixty years (1736-1795) leaving his personal mark on the art of China.

This Acropolis Museum exhibition design was inspired directly by the buildings, colors and forms of the Palaces of the Forbidden City. The exhibition boasts 154 exquisite works of art, ceremonial robes, furniture and functional objects from the Emperor's private apartments in the Palace of Many Splendors (Chonghua Gong) where, as he himself wrote, he spent his youth and drew inspiration for his subsequent plans for the successful management of his vast country.

On first entering the exhibition the visitor meets the Emperor's embroidered gold ceremonial attire and the huge portrait that depicts Him immediately after his ascent to the throne. The Empress’ impressive ritual dress follows, and immediately after, the complete presentation of the Imperial throne with all its accompanying furniture and accessories. A next display presents the tea services used by the Emperor and his guests, his poetic texts and theatrical costumes from the private performances held at the Palace.

The Room of Fragrant Orchids that follows reveals the heated bed of the Imperial couple, wall screens with rare floral decoration and ornamental works of art of the Emperor’s personal choice. Two large exhibits, a second brocaded throne with accessories and the Emperor's study decorated with white jade plaques come after, and it at this desk that the gifted leader spent many hours of his day writing texts about his country's beauties, human relationships and the proper exercise of royal powers.

The exhibition ends with exceptional Buddhist artworks of precious materials: ritual vessels, tributes and great proverbs, but dominating are the statues of the young Buddha, the third Dalai Lama and a Buddhist missionary, demonstrating the predominant role of Buddhism in the Emperor's life.

The exhibition “from the forbidden city: imperial apartments of Qianlong” is organized in cooperation with the Palace Museum in Beijing as part of the cultural program set forth by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture for the “Year Greece-China”.

The exhibition aims to draw the western world closer to a deeper appreciation of Chinese culture, revealing its distinctive qualities during the glorious period of Emperor Qianlong's reign.

This educational video from National Geographic details Greece's impression on world history, explaining why Greek and Roman gods share many similarities, how the alphabet got its name, and how the legacy of Ancient Greece has evolved over thousands of years. Watch the video below!

According to TripAdvisor's 2018 Traveler's Choice Awards, the Acropolis was listed as the 6th best museum in the world. TripAdvisor gave a brief description of the Acropolis, saying, "The brand new building is as stunning as the treasures it houses. A clear glass walkway reveals the ruins and current excavations...”

The Acropolis Museum opened to the public in 2009 and has since welcomed thousands of visitors and won numerous awards. The museum covers about 14,000 square meters of space and is home to nearly 4,000 objects.

Also featured in the top spots for the top 25 museums in the world include the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in NYC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and The British Museum in London.

Sophie left her high-flying PR career in Paris to settle on her paradise island Sifnos from where she set up The Yoga Mama Club – a boutique event company organizing yoga retreats in Greece and across Europe.

 

Back in 2013 though, something changed. On paper my life was perfect; glamorous meetings across the globe, beautiful events, great money, a rewarding boss and company, cool friends and living in Paris! Inside me however, I was bored and felt totally empty. Was this my life for the rest of my life?

 

Dimitris was born and raised in Athens, studied in the UK and decided to come back to Greece to try-out entrepreneurship. He now is a successful multi-entrepreneur with a plethora of start-ups in the tech world all with the underlying passion of uniting people.

I was born and raised in Athens in a family of lawyers. At the age of 11, I had built my first website with technology and gaming news. This was back in 1998, pre the dot.com boom. I was in love with technology from a very young age.

I was sure I belonged in the tech world but a law degree felt like the best choice as I believed that law would be a good basis for anything entrepreneurial I would want to pursuit. I guess that was partly a belief that I got from my parents of course.

“I love meeting new people and exchanging views; social interaction is vital to a live a fulfilling life for me.”

In my final year of my Bachelor’s degree I came across the announcement of TED opening up the TEDx-licenses. I immediately applied for a license and got it. I was a 21-year-old student at the time with no prior experience in anything to do with events. I organized my first TEDx-event in Athens a few months later for about a 100 people. I had no clue what I was doing and I can honestly say it was quite a failure. When I finished my Master’s degree a year later I felt that somehow, I had to save my reputation. I came back to Greece to do my second TEDx-event and had given myself 6 to 9 months to pursuit either law or do something entrepreneurial. I never left Greece.

Ancient coins are among the most well-preserved archeological findings and allow useful insight into antiquity; they offer a glimpse into the past in terms of international trade, prominent figures, culture, and traditions.

Even though lately there is a trend for digital money and cryptocurrencies, it is the archaic invention of coinage and its use as an official means of trade that shaped the course of history as we know it.

In ancient Greece, thin long metal rods called 'ovolos' preceded the coin. Six 'ovoloi' equaled an ancient drachma, which derives from the ancient Greek word 'drattomai' that means grasp or handful. Coinage was born when the 'ovoloi' took on a more convenient rounded shape during the Archaic Age, preceding democracy (508-507 BC).

According to Aristotle, the first coins were minted by Hermodike II, daughter of King Agamemnon of Aeolian Kyme, while Herodotus credits the Lydians, a western Anatolian people.

Although it remains unclear who first developed this method of transactions, the ancient Greeks are regarded as the earliest adopters of minted coins.

"...money has become by convention a sort of representative of demand; and this is why it has the term money (νόμισμα), because it exists not by nature, but by law (νόμος) and it is in our power to change it and make it useless."

​- Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

To read this article in full, please visit: Portes Magazine

We are delighted to announce our most recent collaboration with the storytelling platform, Guts & Tales. XpatAthens loves sharing personal and inspiring stories from our community and beyond, and we've teamed with the perfect partner to bring more of these stories to you!

Guts & Tales is a global storytelling platform that shares stories of people from all walks of life that took a leap of faith in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. People that decided to go from making a living to making a life – as the tagline announces. On XpatAthens we’ll be sharing stories of people living in Greece that have changed their lives, their careers and sometimes their country of residence in order to live a life they truly want to enjoy and live.

 

Eleni, the founder of Guts & Tales, is of Greek-Dutch origin and left Greece at a young age. Her deep love for the country drew her back to Greece in 2016, and it is from here that she started pursuing her personal and professional dreams. One fine afternoon in Athens, Eleni and Elena, the Director at XpatAthens, connected! Having many things in common, they decided to join forces and connect their platforms in order to share inspirational stories with the all of you!

 

We hope you'll enjoy our newest collaboration and would love to hear from you. Visit the People’s section of XpatAthens for the latest stories. If you have a story you’d like to share on Guts & Tales and XpatAthens, click here.

Summer might be over, but there are still lots of thing to do during September in Athens! Discover our Top-10 picks for events, the best open air cinemas and roof gardens with breathtaking views of the city. All of which will make this month a September to remember!