What if you could see the original artwork depicted on ancient Greek vases come alive in a series of animated pictures?  Sonya Nevin, co-creator of the Panoply Vase Animation Project alongside with Steve K. Simons, talks to Greek TV all about Panoply.  Below is a snippet of an interview with Sonya Nevin and Michael Klioumis about the concept of Panoply and the usage of animation on vases.

M.K: How did you come up with the concept of Panoply?

 

S.N: It was during my doctorate at University College Dublin. Steve (i.e. Steve Simons – Panoply’s animator) and I started messing around making stop-motion ancient world stories with toy-figurines, just for fun. I showed at a few student society events and they got a great response. Then I heard from teachers that some of them were showing the animations in school. So we decided to push the ancient-world animation concept further. The idea of working with vase scenes came to us and really began to explode the potential of what we were doing. From there we began working on getting the movement right and on ways they could be beneficial in museums and beyond.

M.K: Can you tell us about the uses of the animations on vases?

S.N: In the Ure Museum in Reading, UK, and in the University College Dublin Classical Museum in Ireland, museum visitors can watch animations alongside the vases they were made from. I absolutely love that. It encourages people to look again at the vases – to understand the scenes, to feel their movement, and to think creatively about what the artists chose to depict.

To read the article in full, please visit: Greek TV

Released in December of 2015, the movie ’Ouzeri Tsitsanis’ is about the forbidden love between a Jewish girl and a Christian in the city of Thessaloniki in 1942. The music in the film is from the famous composer Vassilis Tsitsanis as well as Themis Karamouratidis.

Tsitsanis is one of the most important composers, musicians and singers of ‘laika’ songs of the 20th century. Born in Trikala in central Greece, he went to Athens to study Law where eventually he was drawn into a musical lifestyle.

After arriving in Thessaloniki in 1938 as a soldier, he met his wife, Zoe Samara. Tsitsanis and his new brother-in-law, Andreas Samaras, then opened an ouzeri, a small Greek tavern, during the German Occupation. While working at the ouzeri, Tsitsanis and Andreas met all kinds of people including security battalion officers, resistance fighters, Germans, and Jews.

During this time, 1938-1945, Tsitsanis played lots of music and wrote some of his best songs. His inspiration came from the difficulties he faced at the ouzeri during the German Occupation. In 1946, Tsitsanis went to Athens to record his songs, which are now featured in the movie ‘Ouzeri Tsitsanis.’

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The Greek komboloi, or worry beads, are a string of beads used to pass the time and is a unique tradition in Greek culture!

An object of art; a source of solace; a makeshift musical instrument… a true Greek komboloi is all that – and more. I would prefer an original komboloi over a vast choice of souvenirs from my Athens trip. Even as an Athenian, I very often look for one to give as a special present. It is always a pleasure to pair the right piece with the right owner and almost everyone appreciates the gift.

There are enough kinds, sizes and textures of them to match with any distinct personality. For my husband, who plays a mean bouzouki in his rare free time, I opt for an old-fashioned item: heavy, with “singing” dark amber beads, and a fat silk pom-pom tying up the whole ensemble. I know he will not carry it with him at all times, not like the old Athens and Piraeus rembetes of the 1930s. They were the legendary musicians of the “Greek blues”. For them, their komboloi was an extension of their hands. For us, it is a charming ornament. It will sit invitingly on the table next to my husband’s bouzouki, both of them silently calling us to pick them up and just make a night of it.

For my mom, who is forever trying to break free of a nasty cigarette habit, I chose a begleri: the little brother of the komboloi, with fewer beads, no pom-pom, popular with both men and women. Stylish, playful, and an all-time favorite helper for quitting smoking, long before pills, e-cigs or weird devices were around.

How will you know when you have found the One? It may be the colors that catch your eye. It may be the shape of the beads, or some other unique detail about this komboloi that makes it special to you. But you will know it is “yours” almost immediately. Now, go ahead and give it a try. Measure it for weight and size in your palm. Roll it around your fingers. Focus on the hypnotic “click” of the beads. Feel the soft touch of the pom-pom, the caress of the hard silk string that holds the beads together (always a well-made string, never metal or the insult of plastic for me, thank you very much!).

Allow this mysterious, time-transcending object to lure you to a place and time far, far away from the static of the digital age.

“Click” it to connect, not to your daily schedule or social network, but with your inner quiet place.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

Image credit: Dimitris Vlaikos

Athens is the capital and the largest city in Greece. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, and its documented history spans over 3400 years.
 

Athens was initially called "Akti or Aktiki" from Aktaeus, the first King of Athens, and later it was called "Cecropia," a name derived from King Cecrops.

Cecrops succeeded King Aktaeus after marrying his daughter. According to Greek mythology, the lower part of his body was the same as that of a dragon. During Cecrops' reign, Athena and Poseidon competed for the protection of the city, each offering gifts.

Poseidon struck his trident on the rock of the Acropolis to reveal a spring of saltwater and a horse ready to serve the Athenian people; Athena, on the other hand, offered an olive tree.

According to legend, Athenian men voted for the gifts of Poseidon, and the women voted for the gift of Athena. Because there was one woman more than there were men, the goddess Athena was preferred, and from that day onwards, the city has been known as Athens.

Originally posted on: e-istoria.com

How did the work of Greek poet Konstantinos Cavafy ever reached the distant, exotic and alluring land of Brazil? Who brought it there from this sun drenched tip of Eastern Europe called Greece, crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean?

 

Cavafy’s poetry was introduced to Brazilian readers by the Portuguese modernist poet Jorge de Sena (1919-1978), who came to Brazil in 1959, when Portugal was under Salazar’s dictatorship, and, as part of the resistance, he found himself in the imminence of an arrestment. Later, when in 1964 Brazil went through its own military dictatorship, he went to the United States.

In the 80’s, Brazil entered an era of poetical translation, which included French poets like Mallarme, whose A throw of the dice never will abolish chance is his most influential poem, and Baudelaire’s collection of poems entitled Flowers of evil. The translation of English language poets, not only from Europe but also from the United States, has always been a tradition in Brazil; because of Cavafy’s popularity due to his introduction in Brazil by Jorge de Sena, Jose Paulo Paes (1926-1998) translated 75 of his poems directly from Greek.

Portuguese poets have taken as theme for their poetry the city, the time, and the great deeds of the past of Portugal, which is in some extend quite similar to Cavafy’s themes. Because they have such similarities and because Cavafy’s poetry is very present in modern Brazilian poetry, he became one of the favourite modern foreigner language poets to be explored by scholars and writers.

‘Ithaca’ is a known poem, but also ‘Waiting for the barbarians’ and the romantic ‘Body, remember’… All his poetry is now a very relevant part of literature in Brazil because, together with Portuguese poetry, it was an inspiration for Brazilian modern poets.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek TV

Homer’s Iliad is widely considered the founding text of western literature and is generally regarded as a piece primarily concerned with war and conflict. It has been compared to the Hebrew Old Testament in that it emphasizes the moral nature of man, his vices, flaws, fears, and finally, the redemptive, cathartic notions that allow its protagonists to achieve peace.

Apart from concepts dealing with man’s psyche, the Iliad also reveals ideas that would generally be considered more modern. These two profound passages reveal that Homer even dealt with ideas of animal activism and environmentalism.

In book 17 of the Iliad, Homer sings how the two immortal horses of Achilles cried for the death of Patroclus, his corpse covered in dust and blood. Zeus from his heavenly throne looks upon the suffering animals “Unhappy pair, why did we give you, ageless and immortal, to that mortal king, Peleus? Did we mean you to sorrow with these wretched men? For what is there more miserable than man, among all the things that move and breathe on earth?”

However, Homer did not just write about the nobility of animals but went on to script on environmental defense.

In book 21 of the Iliad, the warrior Achilles wishes to avenge his friend Patroclus and kills all the enemies he can, throwing their corpses into the river Xanthus. The river Xanthus stinks with the pestilence of rotten bodies and its waters run full of blood and flesh. The great river god asks Achilles to stop contaminating its waters, formerly clean and crystalline. Achilles replies that he will throw whatever he wants wherever he so chooses! The great river god then raises himself, pounding with turbulent waters and tides upon Achilles who begins to drown. Achilles is only saved thanks to the help of the god Vulcan who burns the river with fire.

The submerged town of Pavlopetri is situated in shallow water between the beach of Pouda at Viglafia (near Neapoli) and the islet of Pavlopetri, opposite the island of Elafonisos. The architectural remains of this prehistoric town, visible at a depth of about three meters, were discovered in 1904 by Fokionos Negris.

The site was first occupied in 3500 BC, making it one of the oldest known submerged cities in the world. The buildings, spread over six hectares, were divided into smaller rooms and in some cases had inner courtyards. At least six prehistoric roads were traced.

What was found among the ruins were stone-lined graves, probably from the Meso-Helladic period and in adherence with the practice at the time of burying infants and small children within the settlement. At the edge of the town under two small reefs are two Mycenaean chamber tombs. On the beach at Pouda is an extensive prehistoric cemetery of cist graves dating from the 3rd and 2nd millenia BC. Of particular interest are the ceramic vessels known as pithoi found at the site, in which the prehistoric inhabitants of Pavlopetri stored their wheat, oil and other products such as figs and olives, fish and meat. Other pots found there indicate they had developed close links with Kythera, Crete, the Cyclades and the north-eastern Aegean.

The settlement appears to have been abandoned in about 1100 BC. Pavlopetri occupied a prominent prehistoric place in the southern part of the Maleas promontory and was one of, if not the most important ports in the southern Peloponnese as it monitored shipping from the ports of southern Laconia to the Aegean and the western Mediterranean.

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Image Credit: Protothema

Worshipped in temples, theaters, public festivals and private parties, Dionysus brought joy and relief to ancient Greek life.

Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, often seems a familiar, likable figure, perhaps because wine and its associated rituals are such a characteristic ingredient of our own modern-day existence. Like other deities, Dionysus appears in human form and is credited with divine powers; yet thanks to his love of drinking, dancing, music and uninhibited merry-making with free-spirited friends, he offers an even more evocative reflection of the human condition and represented a favorite figure in ancient Greek religion and art.

Dionysus was the son of Zeus, ruler of the Olympian gods, and Semele, a Theban princess and daughter of King Cadmus. After his mother was tricked and killed by Hera (Zeus’ vengeful wife), Dionysus was rescued from Semele’s womb by his father and implanted in his thigh. On his son’s birth, Zeus placed Dionysus in the care of nymphs who inhabited the mythical mountain Nysa – variously located by mythologists somewhere to the east, perhaps even in distant India. As he matured, Dionysus took up wandering from land to land, accompanied by an entourage that included his tutor, Silenus, satyrs, maenads and the lustful god Pan, a human-like figure with the horns and legs of a goat.

Dionysus was considered a latecomer to the Greek pantheon and an exotic, somewhat foreign divinity.

Athenians honored Dionysus in a series of annual festivals, celebrated at three key spots sacred to the god: the “Lenaeum” (location unknown); the sanctuary “In the Marshes” (location unknown); and at his temple on the south slope of the Acropolis, adjacent to the Theater of Dionysus.

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Ancient Greeks, as well as other civilizations of that time, often attributed weather changes and natural phenomena to the gods. For example, lightning was a way for Zeus to show his anger, just as Thor in ancient Nordic mythology.

Ancient Greeks also believed in Poseidon, god of sea and earthquakes, Helios, god of sun, Selene, goddess of moon, Hephaestus, god of volcanoes, Chione, goddess of snow, Zeus, king of all gods and god of sky, thunder, lightning and rain. All occurrences of favorable or poor weather were thought to be a direct result of godly intervention.

The word “climate” stems from the Greek word “klima” meaning inclination and referring to the climate conditions created by the Sun’s angle. Moreover, ancient Greeks invented the term “meteorology,” the study of atmospheric disturbances. Aristotle is considered the founder of meteorology. He tried to explain the weather through the interaction of the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. Aristotle’s student Theophrastus produced the first book on weather signs, listing observations used to forecast weather, many of which are still used to this day.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

In Greece, evidence of Orthodoxy Christianity, whose roots are intertwined with those of the nation, is everywhere: Countless churches, chapels and shrines, in squares, on mountain tops, in caves, carved into the rock, as if crafted by invisible, all-powerful hands, by the sea or in private spaces. Official figures point to a total of 9,792 parish and monastery churches, but this figure does not include the hundreds of privately owned places of worship and chapels in cemeteries. Many have been declared World Heritage sites.

Most churches are dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Theotokos, Panaghia etc), Saint Demetrios (Aghios Dimitrios), Saint Nicholas (Aghios Nikolaos), Saints Constantine and Helen (Aghioi Konstantinos kai Eleni) and the Holy Trinity (Aghia Triada). Most island churches are dedicated to Aghios Nikolaos, patron saint of sailors and fishermen, due to the fact that traditionally, most island families relied to a greater or lesser degree on the sea – which could of course be deadly – for a living.

In Greece, numerous Byzantine era (330-1453) churches have been preserved. Many were built on ancient temples and shrines in an effort to purge the region of its pagan past.

In total, 350 Christian places of worship are considered cultural monuments and, as such, are protected. Unfortunately, a significant number of the Byzantine churches and monasteries of Athens were destroyed and looted over the centuries.

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