On this day in 1966, Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT, made its very first official appearance.
Named National Radio Foundation (EIR) at the time, television presenter Eleni Kypraiou was the first person to speak and welcome the almost 1,500 viewers to the broadcast.
Eleni announced the broadcasts’ program, while images were inserted by the TV signal transmitters.
Images of family members watching the television program from a residential receiver were shown, as well as citizens that did not have a TV set and watched with curiosity outside shop windows of stores with electrical goods.
At the beginning of 2020, SUGS donated a large sum in order to establish a SUGS Prize, demonstrating their continued support and appreciation of the University of Sydney’s Department of Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies, in particular the outstanding efforts of Professor Vrasidas Karalis and Associate Professor Anthony Dracopoulos.
The prize, valued at $1000, will be awarded to the highest achieving undergraduate final year student studying Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies as part of the Bachelor of Advanced Studies or as a standalone Honours year.
The Modern Greek Department is now the first Department at the University to establish a prize specifically dedicated to the Bachelor of Advanced Studies.
SUGS is extremely proud to fund this award, which will encourage and celebrate the study of the Greek language in the years to come. We would like to thank Thanasi Kallos, SUGS President for 2019, for being instrumental in the establishment of this prize.
In a media release, current President of SUGS, Katherine Lambros, and Vice President, Kosta Plegas, say they “look forward to congratulating the first recipient of the prize this year.”
Tony Popovic’s time with Greek Super League 2 club Xanthi FC is already over, with the two parting ways just nine games into the season.
In a statement posted on Xanthi’s website in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the club confirmed it had ended its cooperation with the 47-year-old coach with immediate effect.
Demonstrating the utter ruthlessness of European football, the decision comes despite Popovic guiding the Akrítes to a 2-1 win over OF Ierapetra – a third win in the past four games – on the weekend. They are due to play Panachaiki next Sunday.
Xanthi currently sit fifth on the table of Greece’s second tier but are just four points behind league leaders Ergotelis and have a game in hand over the second, third and fourth-placed teams.
Reports from Greek football observers, however, had suggested discontent was emerging with Xanthi’s style of play before the ousting.
Sunday’s win over bottom-of-the-table lerapetra was the first occasion the side had scored more than two goals in a game.
Popovic had departed Perth Glory for the Xanthi position at the conclusion of their 2019-20 A-League campaign, having won an A-League premiership and secured back-to-back finals campaigns in West Australia.
The Greek club was taken over last year by Sydney Olympic President Bill Papas, who spoke of a desire to turn the club into an outpost for Australian exports seeking a doorway into the crucible that is European football.
The Akrítes were relegated from the Greek Super League last season due to points deductions over irregularities surrounding the previous ownership.
Once there, Popovic was joined on staff by long-time collaborator Zeljko Kalac – who himself left Xanthi three weeks ago – and former Western Sydney Wanderers mentor guru Arthur Diles – whose status is unclear after the announcement of Popovic’s exit.
Former Socceroos Josh Brillante and Matthew Jurman, ex-Adelaide United goalkeeper Paul Izzo, Wellington Phoenix utility Callan Elliot and Popovic’s sons Kristian and Gabriel also signed for Xanthi following the former Western Sydney Wanderers and Glory coach’s arrival.
Popovic’s charge leading this Aussie contingent, however, has now ended.
“I want to thank Tony for the excellent work he has offered to the team since September 2020 when he took office,” Papas said in a statement – which has been translated from Greek to English.
“With great sadness and respect for Tony, we announce the end of our partnership.
“I wish Tony and his family all the best for the future.”
The portraits of 22 heroes of the 1821 Greek Revolution adorn the National Garden wall in Athens, as part of a special open-air exhibition organised by the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation, the National History Museum and the Municipality of Athens.
The exhibition, titled ‘History Has A Face,’ has been set up as part of celebrations for the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution this year.
Portraits of 1821 heroes displayed at the National garden. Credit: Ekathimerini.
The portraits were drawn by Benjamin Mary, a Belgian diplomatic representative in Greece, between 1839 and 1844 and they are being displayed in public for the first time.
Some of the faces gazing from the National Garden wall are Theodoros Kolokotronis, Nikitaras, Lampros Kountouriotis, Ioannis Makrygiannis, Giannakis Hadjipetrou, George Finlay and Panos Notaras.
The exhibition is titled ‘History Has A Face.’ Credit: National Historical Museum.
More historical data, as well as information about the people in the drawings, is contained in the publication “History has a face – Figures of 1821 in Otto’s Greece.”
It is a compilation of Benjamin Mary’s work, published by the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation and the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece.
Turkey announced on Monday that it will conduct a large-scale naval exercise in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea between February 25 and March 7.
The announcement came from the Turkish Ministry of Defence, which said that Turkish Naval Forces will launch the exercise dubbed “Blue Homeland 2021.”
The Turkish Army and the Air Force will also participate in the drill.
According to the announcement, the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate the preparedness of the headquarters, units and ships affiliated with the Naval Forces Command.
A total of 82 ships, 5 maritime patrol aircraft, 12 naval helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Amphibious Marine Corps troops will participate.
This military activity in the Aegean and the Mediterranean comes at a time when Athens and Ankara are supposedly organising the next round of exploratory talks.
Talks are expected to take place in Athens sometime in March. Greece has sent an invitation to Turkish officials but for now, there has been no official confirmation of the date.
Resplendent photographs of the Greek Presidential Guard, known as Evzones, standing proudly in front of renowned monuments such as the Parthenon, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Greece and even the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, were all on display at The Hellenic Club in Canberra over the weekend.
They’re part of a special travelling exhibition titled ‘The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis,’ which is being held in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year.
‘The Evzones Collection by Nick Bourdaniotis’ on display at The Hellenic Club of Canberra. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
The collection by Mr Bourdaniotis, who is a famous Greek Australian photographer, officially launched in the capital city on Friday, February 19 with a special opening night attended by over 100 people.
Many dignitaries and community leaders were present, including His Excellency Ambassador of Greece in Australia, Mr George Papacostas, Her Excellency Mrs Martha A Mavrommatis High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, the Archepiscopal Vicar of ACT and Tasmania, the Very Reverend Prochoros Anastasiadis, President of the Cyprus Community in Canberra, Mrs Georgia Alexandrou, President of the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra, Mr John Loukadellis, Member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas MP, and the Very Reverend Father Petros Kipouros.
His Excellency Ambassador of Greece in Australia Mr George Papacostas, Archepiscopal Vicar of Canberra and Tasmania Father Prochoros Anastasiadis, Mr Dino Nikias OAM, President of the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra Mr John Loukadellis, Her Excellency Mrs Martha A Mavrommatis High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus, Nick Bourdaniotis, Steve Georganas MP, The Very Reverend Father Petros Kipouros, President of the Cyprus Community in Canberra Mrs Georgia Alexandrou. Photo: George Karantonis.
Following the official speeches as emceed by Elia Economou, Mr Bourdaniotis kindly donated three of his prints to the Hellenic Club for auction and over $15,000 was raised for the local Greek School, which is run by Canberra’s Greek Community and now boasts over 200 enrolled students in its children and online adult education programs.
“The opening night was a great success. Visitors could see the passion in the photos and even non-Greeks were reading the stories and then moving to the photos, and the two together were just drawing them in,” Mr Bourdaniotis tells The Greek Herald, adding with a cheeky laugh that “if you walk in and you haven’t got goosebumps by the third photo, I’d be surprised.”
Mr Bourdaniotis with one of three photos he sold at the auction. Photo: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald.
The exhibition ran for three days until Sunday, with Mr Bourdaniotis saying they experienced strong foot traffic and “high praise and positive feedback from every visitor that walked through the doors.”
“The exhibition was certainly a wonderful reflection of our Greek history and heritage. It was an honour walking around and seeing every facial feature of the Evzones and feeling like we were there in the moment. Such an honour for the Greek youth,” exhibition visitor, Voula Viatos, tells The Greek Herald.
On the last day, students from the local Greek school also attended, along with the teachers and School Principal, to hear about Mr Bourdaniotis’ donation. The news brought a huge smile to the little one’s faces, knowing Greek language and culture would continue to thrive in Canberra for years to come.
Some of Nick Bourdaniotis’ photographs. Photo on left: Andriana Simos / The Greek Herald. Photo on right: George Karantonis.
If you would like to see ‘The Evzones Collection,’ it’s next destination is Melbourne from March 26 – April 1 at Oakleigh Grammar School Hall.
The exhibition is sponsored by The Kalymnian Association of NSW. It’s contributors include: The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Greek City Times, Image Smart, Hellenic Club of Sydney, Hellenic Club of Canberra, Greek National Day Committee of Victoria, Oakleigh Grammar Victoria, The Greek Club Brisbane, St Nectarios Monastery South Australia, Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan District of WA, and Williams Fashion Logistics.
With a theatrical performance based on one of the finest literary works of Greece’s National Poet, Dionysios Solomos, as well as hymns, traditional songs and dances, Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox community kicked off a series of events to commemorate and celebrate the 200 Years from the beginning of the Greek Revolution.
The sold-out play, titled “The Women of Mesolongi” held on Sunday afternoon, at the historic Woodville Town Hall was attended by more than 300 audience and dignitaries.
Among them, His Grace Bishop Silouan of Sinope, Fr Ioannis Choraitis, Consul General of Greece in Adelaide George Psiachas, Irene Pnevmatikos member of the Legislative Council of SA, John Kiosoglous MBE as well as councillor of City of Mitcham Andriana Christopoulos.
‘We need to remember our history’
According to Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox Community President, John Douvartzidis, this event was not only an opportunity for Adelaide based Hellenes and Philhellenes to learn more about this part of Greek history but also for the next generation of Greek Australians to learn more about their history and roots.
“We always need to remember our history,” Mr Douvartzidis told The Greek Herald.
“Things have been hard with COVID and our festival was cancelled earlier this year but we are a tight knit community and very proud for what we have achieved.
“We are like a big family and we like to have a good time while educating our kids about their language and culture,” he said.
Varvara Solomos: A descendant of the Solomos family
Talking about the importance of the theatrical play ‘The Women of Mesolongi’ director and performer Kostas Fotiadis explained that with this story, set in Zakynthos in 1826, the national poet wanted to criticize the behaviour of aristocratic circles on the island towards the women of Mesolongi.
“We want to show our kids what 1821 was about and the fact that so many students from the Port Adelaide Greek community school are participating is very encouraging,” said Mr Fotiadis.
Varvara Solomos with director and performer Kostas Fotiadis
One of the highlights of the event was 17-year-old Varvara Solomos, a sixth-generation descendant of the family of Dionysios Solomos who recited an excerpt of the most famous poem of Dionysios Solomos, ‘The Free Besieged’ (Greek: Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi).
“I feel blessed that I am a part of this culture and history and I am able to educate people and tell them about my family.
“Knowing not only Greek history, but history in general is important as this is the way for us to evolve and progress,” Varvara told The Greek Herald.
The event concluded with traditional dances performed dances performed by the community’s Greek School students.
*An additional performance of the play “The Women of Mesolongi” is scheduled for Sunday, February 28. All proceeds go towards The Port Adelaide Greek Orthodox Community. For more information and bookings call Alexandra on 0435 166 456 or Dimitra on 0451 107 052
On this day in 1821, the official declaration of the Greek Revolution of 1821 was made by Greek-Russian general and leader of the ‘Philikí Etaireía’ (the Friendly Society), Alexandros Ypsilantis.
To mark the momentous occasion in the lead up to March 25, we take a look at how the event played out.
Timeline of Events:
Alexandros Ypsilantis, as leader of the Friendly Society, set off from Russia, crossed the River Prut (the Russian border with the hegemony of Moldova, at the time) and arrived in Moldova, where he was welcomed by Michael Soutzos, ruler of Moldova and an initiate of the Friendly Society.
The two men, along with some 2,000 fighters, arrived in Iasi (the capital of Moldova) on February 22, 1821.
Two days later, Ypsilantis handed out the revolutionary proclamation “Fight for faith and country,” in which he asked the Greeks to revolt. Therefore, these acts marked the official inauguration of the Revolution in the Hegemonies (Dominions) around the Danube.
Who was Alexandros Ypsilantis?
Alexandros was born on December 1, 1792 in Constantinople and was the eldest son of Constantine Ypsilantis. He was brought up in an environment inspired by intense patriotism and received a fine education.
In St Petersburg, where he followed his father, he studied at the School of the Corps of Royal Followers and then served in the Corps of the Imperial Guard. He distinguished himself in the wars against Napoleon, while in the battle of Dresden, on August 27, 1813, he lost his right hand.
In March 1820, Emmanuel Xanthos offered Alexandros the leadership of the Friendly Society. He accepted it on April 12, after first accepting the terms he set, and immediately began organising the plan for the start of the Revolution from the Peloponnese.
Alexandros was born on December 1, 1792 in Constantinople.
However, with the encouragement of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Alexandros was convinced that he had to speed up its preparation and in June 1820 he settled in Odessa. He crossed the River Prut on February 22, 1821 and two days later finally raised the flag of the Revolution in the Danube and specifically in Iasi of Moldavia, where the stay of the Turkish army was forbidden.
In a letter to Emperor Alexander, he submitted his resignation from the Russian army and, announcing the Greek Revolution, asked for his help. Immediately after, he set about creating an army and formed the Holy Corps.
On June 7, 1821, Ypsilantis’ army was destroyed in the battle of Dragatsani and retreated to the Austrian border. He surrendered to the Austrians, was imprisoned and released on November 24, 1827.
His shaky health prevented him from helping the rebellious nation. He died in Vienna two months after his release on January 19, 1828.
Greece’s men’s water polo team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, beating Russia 13-10 at the World Qualification Tournament in Rotterdam on Saturday night.
During the match, Greece held a narrow lead over the first two 8-minute periods (4-3, 6-5) and managed to widen their lead in the third (11-9) and fourth for the final 13-10. Angelos Vlachopoulos, who was voted man of the match, led Greece with five goals.
This is the 16th Olympics qualification for the Greek men’s team since 1920, with their best finish a 4th place at the 2004 Athens Olympics. They also finished 6th in Atlanta (1996) and Rio de Janeiro (2016).
“It is a great day for Greece, water polo and the country’s sports. I congratulate all the contributors to this great success, players and coaches,” the President of the Hellenic Swimming Federation, Dimitris Diathesopoulos, said.
Already qualified for the Olympics are host nation Japan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Italy, Spain, the United States, Hungary, South Africa and Australia. The last two are the Africa and Oceania continental selections, respectively.
The women’s water polo team just failed to qualify last month in the women’s World Qualification Tournament in Trieste, Italy, finishing 3rd behind Hungary and the Netherlands.
A well-known Greek stage actor and director has been arrested on rape charges, police say.
Dimitris Lignadis, 56, turned himself in Saturday afternoon at Athens police headquarters, Greek Police spokesman, Theodoros Chronopoulos, told the Associated Press.
On Sunday, Lignadis appeared before a court in Athens and was given until Wednesday to respond to charges of multiple rapes by an examining magistrate. He will remain jailed until then, court authorities said.
The magistrate and a prosecutor will jointly decide later whether he will be kept in jail or released pending his trial.
According to court sources, Lignadis is accused of rape by two men who were minors when the events occurred in 2010 and 2015. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Rumors of his alleged sexual misconduct swelled in recent weeks, leading to Lignadis’ resignation two weeks ago as Artistic Director of Greece’s National Theater, a post he had held since 2019.
Plain clothed police officers escort handcuffed well-known actor and director, Dimitris Lignadis, center, as they leave a magistrate’s office in Athens, Sunday, February 21, 2021. Photo: AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis.
Revelations earlier this year by an Olympic gold medalist that she had been raped by a sailing federation official back in 1998 have sparked a #MeToo movement reckoning in Greece.
People have come forward to accuse well-known figures in the entertainment industry of sexual harassment, assault and rape. Well-known actors and directors have come under fire, but Lignadis is the first to be arrested.
in this Tuesday, January 21, 2020, file photo, Dimitris Lignadis, actor and director, attends a news conference in Athens. Photo: Dimitris Kapadais/InTime News via AP, File.
The case has taken on political dimensions. The political opposition accused the Greek government of failing to follow up on complaints, while the Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, responded on Friday by accusing Lignadis of being a “dangerous man” who had “deceived” her with his acting ability.
Ms Mendoni said she asked a Supreme Court prosecutor to investigate all abuse allegations in Greece’s theater community.
