A security camera has captured the two main suspects in the murder of journalist, Giorgos Karaivaz, in Greece.
The camera capture shows two people leaving the scene of the crime on a scooter. The driver wears a helmet while the passenger, who was the one who shot Karaivaz, is wearing a beanie and a neck fleece.
Karaivaz was murdered outside his home, in the coastal Athens suburb of Alimos, as he returned from work early Friday afternoon. The autopsy shows he was hit by 10 bullets, of which six in the torso, two in the head, one in the neck and one in the left palm.
A security camera has captured the two main suspects in the murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz in Greece.
According to the autopsy, the head wounds were the last, confirming a witness account that the murderer went next to Karaivaz as he stood prone and fired the last two shots at point blank range.
State news agency, ANA-MPA, reports that police are examining the victim’s cellphone and computer, as well as his personal blog, to glean information as to the motives of the killers. Police say this had all the hallmarks of a professional hit.
Olympiacos has mathematically clinched its second consecutive title in the Super League, and 46th overall in the Greek top flight, after beating Panathinaikos on Sunday while Aris suffered a home reverse to AEK.
In an action-packed Derby of the Eternal Rivals in Piraeus, Olympiacos came from behind to beat Panathinaikos 3-1 on Sunday and create an unassailable lead of 22 points at the top of the table, with seven games left to play.
Panathinaikos took the lead with a Federico Macheda penalty just after the half-hour point, but substitute Ahmed Hassan equalised in the first-half injury time.
Hassan scored twice to mathematically secure the 46th title for Olympiacos. Credit: Twitter/Olympiacos FC.
It was only after Panathinaikos was left with 10 men, through the second yellow card shown to Achilleas Pougouras, that Olympiacos managed to edge ahead with Hassan again, before Bruma put the icing on the cake with the last kick of the game.
Olympiacos has reached 76 points, with Aris on 54 after it went down 3-1 at home to AEK. The Yellows of Athens led 3-0 from the 37th minute, with penalty kicks by Muamer Tankovic and Karim Ansarifard and a goal by Stavros Vassilantonopoulos, before Aris scored a consolation goal via Daniel Mancini in the second half.
AEK has joined PAOK on 51 points, as PAOK drew 1-1 at Asteras Tripolis. The Thessaloniki club led with Karol Swiderski, but Asteras drew level courtesy of Juan Munafo to reach 44 points, five less than fifth-placed Panathinaikos.
In the playouts on Saturday, Larissa scored a stunning 1-0 triumph at Atromitos to come off the bottom of the table, where Panetolikos has now dropped due to its 3-1 loss at Volos.
OFI snatched a precious 0-0 draw at Apollon and is three points above Panetolikos, with one team going straight down and another facing a relegation playoff with the Super League 2 runner-ups.
What do you get a new mother for her baby when you know she wants to teach it Greek.
The safe bet is a CD of Greek lullabies. One of the best, with traditional tunes is by Savinna Yiannatou.
Youtube is a good source of Greek music. A baby needs soothing music to sleep and calm music so he doesn’t become startled when awake.
When the baby is able to sit up then make sure, if she is looking at a screen, there is something Greek on it. This way she is getting as much incidental Greek learning as possible. If you still have a Dvd player there are some great Dvds for babies such as My First Words in Greek and English DVD produced right here in Australia for 0-4 years.
You should be reading to your baby even while breast feeding. As a baby’s grip strengthens, they are able to grasp little board books. The more colourful, the better. Choose smaller sized board books that fit into small hands on the subjects of Animals, Numbers, Colours, Toys and Shapes. Showing the Greek Alphabet is pretty useless at this stage unless the book is accompanied by word and pictures.
Babies love simple stories. One-word pages, lots of stimulating colourful images. Something they can touch and feel to help them learn about the world as all those neurones in their brain develop.
Apart from board books, soft material books are great for this age too.
Repetition is the key so once you know what their favourite books are so Read and Repeat! That way they will definitely learn what they hear. If you assume they will never understand greek then you are right they will not! However, if you assume they will then you will be pleasantly surprised.
It is a good time now to either get large flash cards or make your own colourful flash cards and place them on the walls and in the furniture in various rooms and as you pass by with the baby, point and say the word out loud. Labels and tags are very important learning resource from babyhood and beyond.
The Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney kicked off their Kafenio 1 program on Thursday to celebrate Greek culture through games and conversation.
In Greece, the kafenio is a place where people come to drink coffee, to discuss politics, philosophy and their neighbours, and of course to play tavli (backgammon).
Throughout Kafenio 1 people will have the opportunity to explore the social and cultural context of board games throughout history, handle and view special artefacts, photographs and artworks from Greece and around the globe, and of course, play some games!
A lion and gazelle play senet in this detail copied in watercolour on paper from a Deir el Medina papyrus fragment, dated to 1250-1150BC. David Hogarth, The First Caricature in the Museum By Hogarth (detail), late 19th century, Chau Chak Wing Museum, UA1989.9.75
Monday 12 – Friday 16 April, the Chau Chak Wing Museum will ‘travel back in time’ to allow visitors to play a number of ancient board games.
Launched as a school holiday program, kids can learn to play the ancient games of senet, 5-lines and tavli (backgammon), and challenge their skills in some real ancient board games.
Children and adults can speak to the Museum education team about the role of gaming in people’s lives and enjoy a rare chance to handle ancient artefacts. Ideal for kids aged 5-12 and their families.
In association with the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, the free celebration of games and Greek culture is supported by The Nicholas Anthony Aroney Estate Greek Cultural Program.
97-year-old Greek WWII veteran and shipowner, Iakovos Tsounis, passed away on Saturday.
The special and admirable Greek is a descendant of the heroes of the revolution of 1821. He himself fought at the age of 16 in the Greek-Italian War of 1940, thus being the youngest veteran of World War II.
The President of the Hellenic Republic issued a statement after the news of his passing.
Εθνικός ευεργέτης, γνήσιος πατριώτης και φιλάνθρωπος, ο Ιάκωβος Τσούνης, με το ήθος και τη μεγάλη προσφορά του ιδίως στις Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις, αφήνει στη χώρα μια σπουδαία κληρονομιά. Η απώλειά του προκαλεί θλίψη σε όλους τους Έλληνες. Τον αποχαιρετούμε με ευγνωμοσύνη. pic.twitter.com/nwd9BvI2lc
”A national benefactor, a true patriot and philanthropist, Iakovos Tsounis, with his ethos and great contribution especially to the Armed Forces, leaves a great legacy in the country. His loss causes grief to all Greeks. We say goodbye to him with gratitude,” the Greek President stated.
The Greek veteran started as a customs broker in Piraeus. In 1966 he entered shipping as a shipowner, acquiring a total of 13 merchant ships and forming a large fortune. Tsounis also built a Museum, which is located next to his permanent residence on Kyprou Street, in Papagou.
Greek shipowner Iakovos Tsounis was presented with a ceremonial sword for his donation. Credit: Ministry of Defense
Tsounis received the Commemoration of the Star of Value and Honor in 2018 for his service and in April 2020, following the advice of Armed Forces and a proposal of the Minister of National Defense, Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, he was awarded the rank of reservist Major General.
In February 2021, Tsounis had donated 23 million euros and 60 landing craft to the Greek armed forces. Tsounis declared that he wanted to leave life as he began it — barefoot.
Ancient Greek Culture has influenced modern fashion for many centuries. More and more famous designers worldwide use Ancient Greek artwork on their clothing brands. Archaeological findings showed that the Ancient Greeks had functional and colourful clothing. Even though no clothes have remained from the Ancient Greek era, we can still find depictions on walls, vases and statues how the clothes looked like.
Greek dresses were usually made from linen and cotton due to the hot climate, or wool when the weather was cold, much like today. As seen in many art works the dresses showed simplicity combined with harmony; today designers still use this style for summer fashion. Linen clothes from ancient times made dresses look wet like drapery with a soft fold which gave the look of a Goddess like image, a look that is becoming more popular, especially now with the body positivity movements.
The renowned fashion brand Chanel made a beautiful collection inspired by ancient Greek art called Chanel Resort 2018; dresses were made in a breezy fresh style to show the women as God-like figures from ancient statues. The designer of the collection was the famous Karl Lagerfeld. He comments on his collection, “the criteria of beauty in ancient, then classical, Greece still hold true. There have never been more beautiful representations of women”.
The use of white and nude colours in his collection are inspired by Greek artifacts he saw in museums. His dresses were resembling the ancient chiton (undergarment), peplos (upper garment) and himation (cloak) that people in Ancient Greece were wearing.
We can’t forget the London-based Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou who also keeps ancient Greek art alive with her collections. These collections are full of Ancient Greek prints from vases, and she often uses Minoan priestesses or goddesses on her clothes.
Chimera Dress, Designer Mary Katrantzou.
One of the most significant motifs that we still use in modern-era fashion is the Meander, also called the Greek fret or key design. It is a prevalent geometrical decorative detail that Ancient Greeks used on their jewellery, clothes, and walls. The Meander symbolizes many things, but mostly the eternal flow of things and infinity. Sometimes it is given as a wedding gift because it represents the love that never ends.
Attic middle geometric amphora. From Kerameikos. By the Painter of Athens. 850-800 B.C
Possibly the most recognizable logos that use a Greek Ancient motif is the brand Versace. The logo of Versace is the head of a Greek mythological creature called Medousa. Gianni Versace chose her because of her alluring appeal but also his love for Greek artwork. His fashion collections are full of Gold bold meanders.
Once you explore and understand Ancient Greek art, you can find resemblances and its influence everywhere in modern fashion.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday demanded the “swift resolution” of a probe into a crime journalist’s murder already condemned by leading EU officials, political parties and media unions.
Mitsotakis had summoned his police minister Michalis Chrysochoidis to a Saturday meeting on the case, the PM’s office said.
Giorgos Karaivaz, who worked for private TV station Star and also ran the news blog bloko.gr, was shot several times Friday as he exited his car outside his house in the southern Athens district of Alimos, witnesses said.
A police source told AFP the 52-year-old journalist had been shot by two men on a motorbike. Seventeen bullet casings were recovered from the scene.
The murder was rapidly condemned by the European Commission and the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights.
Journalist Giorgos Karaivaz ambushed and murdered. (Photo by Eurokinissi/ Yiannis Panagopoulos)
“Murdering a journalist is a despicable, cowardly act,” Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen tweeted Friday.
“Europe stands for freedom. And freedom of press may be the most sacred of all. Journalists must be able to work safely. My thoughts are with the family of George Karaivaz. I hope the criminals are soon brought to justice,” she said.
Karaivaz had worked for some of Greece’s leading newspapers and TV channels in a 32-year career.
#Greece: IPI is extremely alarmed by multiple reports of the fatal shooting of Greek journalist Giorgos Karaivaz in #Athens today. Early reporting suggests gunmen used a silenced weapon to assassinate the veteran crime reporter before fleeing on a moped.https://t.co/XHMESzH0b3
— IPI – The Global Network for Press Freedom (@globalfreemedia) April 9, 2021
Chrysochoidis said Saturday that Greek police “as it always does” would soon find the assassins of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz and would turn them over to justice.
“Every statistic shows Greece has a very small number of homicides in Europe. It is a safe and calm country,” Chrysochoidis said. “The Greek state functions with the utmost respect for the freedom of the press and the protection of rights.”
While Greek media offices are frequently targeted in firebomb and vandalism attacks, journalist killings are rare.
Some journalists request police protection after receiving threats, but Karaivaz was unguarded.
“It was not his style to request protection,” a police officer who knew Karaivaz well told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Krasokouloura, or ‘wine cookies’, are a Greek staple food during the period of Lent. Made with wine, olive oil, and spices, the biscuits are the perfect go-to for people during the fasting period and goes exceptionally well with tea or coffee.
See below for a special Krasokouloura recipe:
Prep time: 15 minutes plus standing Baking time: about 20 minutes per batch Makes: 20 to 30 cookies (depending on the shape/size you make)
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided 1 tablespoon baking powder 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves Zest of 1 orange 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 cup Greek sweet red wine (like Mavrodaphne) for dark cookies or Greek sweet white wine for light cookies (the color of the baked cookies will depend on the color of the wine and olive oil, see photos above) Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Method:
1. In a large bowl, sift together 3 1/2 cups flour and the baking powder; make a well in center. To the well, add the olive oil and sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk in the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and zest. With orange juice in a cup, stir in the baking soda until dissolved and foaming; pour into well and whisk into the oil mixture. Whisk in the wine until of the ingredients in the well are combined. Gradually stir in the surrounding flour until all is incorporated. Kneed the dough just until the dough is smooth, soft, and not sticky (don’t over handle the dough). If sticky, gradually kneed in just enough of the remaining 1/2 cup flour until dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl and can be rolled out into a smooth rope shape.
2. Cover the dough with a clean dry kitchen towel and let rest 20 minutes. (Can be made ahead. After resting, wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and seal in a resealable plastic storage bag, pressing out air, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Let stand at room temperature until softened enough to roll before continuing with recipe, 30 minutes to 1 hour.)
3. Line 2 large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them with vegetable shortening. Arrange 2 racks in lower and upper thirds of oven. Heat oven to 350°F.
4. Briefly kneed dough before shaping. (If dough becomes oily at any time while making the cookies, kneed until oil is absorbed, then continue rolling out cookies.) For a twist shape: Roll about 1 tablespoon of dough into a 4- to 5-inch rope, fold in half, and twist. For S shape: Roll about 1 tablespoon of dough into a 5-inch rope, roll one end to the middle and roll the other end in the opposite direction to the middle.
5. Place cookies 1-inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle with sesame, if desired. Bake about 20 minutes (add 5 to 10 minutes for larger/thicker cookies), switching baking sheets up and down halfway through, until browned. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 weeks.
Professor Thanos Veremis will give an online lecture entitled 1821 Birth of a Nation State, on Thursday 15 April 2021, at 7.00pm, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
The Greek war of independence belongs to the same tradition as those of the American and the French revolutions. It was fought by Greek Christians against Ottoman Muslims. Furthermore, the Greek diaspora in Europe and Russia played a vital role.
On the Greek site there were manly warlords and primates competing among themselves in a pre-modern segmented society. The war attracted philhellene friends of the revolution and romantic Europeans who admired the heritage of Greek antiquity.
The Reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi, by Theodoros Vryzakis, 1861 / National Gallery of Greece.
Thanos Veremis (D. Phil, Oxon) is Professor Emeritus of Political history at the University of Athens, Department of European and International Studies and Founding Member of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
He has been Research Associate, at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London 1978-79; Visiting Scholar, Center for European Studies, Harvard Univ. 1983; Visiting Professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton Univ. 1987; Visiting Fellow, St. Antony’s College, Oxford 1993-94; Constantine Karamanlis Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Medford Massachusetts (2000-2003); and more recently President of the National Council of Education, 2004-2010.
Publications include: The Military in Greek Politics, London: Hurst & Co (1997); with Mark Dragoumis, Greece, World Bibliographical Series, vol.17, Oxford: Clio Press (1998); with JohnKoliopoulos, Greece. The Modern Sequel, London: Hurst & Co, (2002) with John Koliopoulos, Modern Greece: A History since 1821, Wiley- Blackwell (2010), Eleftherios Venizelos: A Biography, Pella Publishers (2011), A Modern History of the Balkans. Nationalistm and Identity in Southeast, Europe, I.B.Tauris, 2017.
Paying zero taxes and owning slaves were just two facets of Athenian life in the 5th-4th century BC.
Below are the top seven facts about ancient Athenian democracy you might not know.
Women, slaves, and foreign residents were not allowed to vote
The sons of non-Athenian mothers and fathers were, too, not allowed to vote in elections. Women were restricted from actively engaging in politics. Women were not expected in the Agora, a central public meeting space for announcements and discussions, and were expected to keep to the household. Athenian men who served in the military were the only citizens afforded the right to vote. Cleisthenes of Athens, regarded as the founder of Athenian democracy, later helped extend the right to vote to all citizens.
Greek art. Classical period. Grave stele. Relief. Funerary banquet scene. The man lying holding in his hand a “Philae” and a boy came from a crater serves. Dated in 400 BC, was found in the Asklepieion (Piraeus). National Archaeological Museum. Athens. Greece. (Photo by: PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)
Athens had the largest slave population in ancient Greece
80,000 – 100,000 slaves – an average of three or four per household, with the richest having as many as 50 – made up just close to half of Athens’s population. Slaves, who were captured as prisoners-of-war, were auctioned at a market and sold to be used domestically in private homes, factories, shops, and mines, and also as civil servants. Slaves did not have any human or civil rights and were often beaten, tortured, and raped by their owners. While slavery was considered to be natural and necessary, slaves were often freed or allowed to buy back their freedom.
Most Athenians didn’t pay taxes
Taxation in Athenian democracy was progressive. Taxes were based on a system of liturgy, or λειτουργία, meaning “public service”. This system meant the wealthiest of society paid for public expenses and funded festivals, banquets, and facilities. The Athenian rationale was that the rich should shoulder the expenses of the city. However, paying taxes wasn’t legally enforced but rather encouraged as a sense of duty and the wealthy ostentatiously boasted of prestige and honour when they did.
Black-figure neck-amphora by the Antimenes Painter, British Museum.
Very few politicians were actually elected
Sortition, a randomised ‘lottery’ process for electing public officials, was the hallmark of Athenian democratic process. Sortition appealed to the ancient Athenians as a fair way of maintaining an equal participation of the masses in power and preventing corruption. Ancient Athenians voted for only 10 per cent of their officials, selecting the rest – including magistrates, the Boule Council of 500, and the all-male juries in legal cases – by sortition. Sortition is still used in modern jury selection.
Athens went a while without a police force
Athens went without a police force until the 5th century BC. This police force consisted of a group of 300 Scythian slaves who guarded public meetings and performed arrests with bow and arrows in tow. While scholars agree that the force existed, speculation shrouds the authority and conception of the force.
Nineteenth-century painting by Philipp Foltz depicting the Athenian politician Pericles delivering his famous funeral oration in front of the Assembly.
The death penalty was exercised
Athenian law applied the death penalty with draconian severity. The death penalty could be imposed for theft of sacred property, prostitution, adultery, and homicide. Many other procedures from among the agones timetoi trials risked imposing the death penalty for theft, providing a false summons, and hubris – an ambiguous crime regarding violence committed for the sake of imposing humiliation or self-gratification. The guilty were executed by ingesting hemlock, a mixture based on plant extract from the poison hemlock.
The first democracy about 2,500 years ago
Athens was home to the first direct democracy in the world. Athenian democracy developed around the 5th century BC and served as one of the first forms of self-rule government in the world. Many Athenians from this era would mistake modern democracies today as oligarchy.
