Few visitors deliberately venture to the port town of Lavrion unless they’re catching a ferry – even though it’s a mere 10 km or so further down the road from Cape Sounion. Even fewer make it to the ancient archaeological site of Thorikos – Lavrion’s best-kept secret that’s hiding in plain sight, says John Zervos. Many visitor...
Read moreA newly founded Philhellenism Museum opened its door in March 2021, just in time for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence, shining a light on the vital role played by foreign playwrights, poets, painters, nobility and ordinary people who believed in the Greek cause. This new ad...
Read moreAs the world celebrates the 200th anniversary of Greece’s revolution, Athens Insider recommends a mandatory reading of Roderick Beaton’s Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation. Beaton treats Modern Greece as a biographical subject, a living entity in its own right, and encourages us to take a fresh look at a people and culture long celebra...
Read moreThe powerful dolls of Greek sculptor Ioanna Paraskeva speak for those women and girls who can’t. Through her ‘I am Not a Doll’ Project – the conceptual artist hopes to create a bridge between children and adults, allowing them to break down taboos about brutal topics – from domestic violence and rape, to sexual harassment and cyber abuse ...
Read moreGreece’s National Gallery is home to some of the world’s most coveted artworks, yet it spent a better part of its 143-year existence homeless and abandoned. All that is about to change as the new National Gallery opens its swanky doors on March 24 in Athens’ Pangrati district. A bright and cheery triptych by Panagiotis Tetsis with vibrant...
Read more“When news came of the Modern Greeks fighting for their freedom against the Ottomans, there was a wave of sympathy across America,” notes historian Dr Alexander Kitroeff in his fascinating overview of what spurred a myriad bunch of volunteers to support the Greek Revolution. At a fascinating lecture organised by the Colleg...
Read moreTo honour Greece’s bicentennial anniversary, the U.S. Mission to Greece launches “USA & Greece: Celebrating 200 Years of Friendship,” which highlights the role of American Philhellenes in the Greek Revolution and the bonds of mutual respect and shared values that unite both nations. Greece’s struggle for independence, based on the sa...
Read more“Byron shows us what Philhellenism is. It is quite simply a transformative love affair,” writes John Kittmer, who – just like Lord Byron – fell head over heels for Greece on his first visit as a young man. In this heartfelt paean to Greece, the former British ambassador distils the enduring essence of Philhellenism, past and present. ...
Read moreAs Greece gets ready to celebrate its 200th anniversary March 25, 2021, the bicentenary will be marked with great pomp and ceremony not only in Greece but in Greek communities of the diaspora around the world including the 450,000 strong Greek community in Canada, notes Dr. Constantine Passaris of the University of Brunswick. But they wil...
Read moreWHAT: ArteVisione’s third group exhibition, curated by the indefatigable Iris Criticou, celebrates three milestones: the third anniversary of ArteVisione’s presence in the Athenian artscape, the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Greek state and a reminder we could do without – the first anniversary of the pandemic that has usurped our lives ...
Read moreHer haunting bass voice and rousing lyrics of hope and inspiration were wartime anthems for Greek troops. On the anniversary of her death, Insider celebrates the courageous chanteuse Sofia Vembo, who defied German orders to entertain young Greek soldiers - often undercover - and remains a national treasure for generations of Greeks; still...
Read moreFrom the legendary Laskarina Bouboulina – Mother of the Greek Revolution – and the exalted “death dancers” of Zalaggo, to the executed heroines of the National Resistance against Nazi Occupation, Sakis Gekas, Associate Professor, Hellenic Heritage Foundation Chair of Modern Greek History at the University of York traces the role and chang...
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