Adults students who are taught Greek as a second or foreign language were recognised by the Greek Community of Melbourne during an event to mark the completion of the learning courses of 2021.
This event had a special character, as it aimed, among other things, to reward their effort and to praise their progress and commendable development, in terms of learning the Greek language.
For that reason, a competition took place in which the students participated via the production of a video expressing in Greek their learning experience, thoughts and feelings.
The participation was enthusiastic and at the end, five participants stood out the most.
Three students, from levels 1 through 3, were awarded, while a special award was given to another two students for their effort and achievements.
The event was attended the Vice President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, Mr. Theodoros Markos, the member of the educational committee, Dr Nikos Dallas, as well as the Principal of the GCM Greek Language and Culture School, Mrs. Maria Bakalidou, who awarded the certificates and awards.
The adult students who attended truly enjoyed this special night and promised that they will meet again in the classrooms in February 2022.
Indigenous Greek wines have lived in the shadows of it’s more famous European neighbours for too long. Greece has over 300 grape varieties and 153 wine regions so there is no shortage of wines to try. They deserve more attention and are unique.
So, this festive season, become an Ambassador for Greek wine, support your homeland and seek out some of these national treasures.
Assyrtiko
The star on the top of the wine Christmas tree is assyrtiko from Santorini. A fresh racy dry white wine it displays floral, green apple aromas with a seashell like minerality. This is ideally matched with seafood. Some riper wines display pear and apricot flavours and are better with white meats.
Assyrtiko can be matured in oak barrels as well and a richer style can use the traditional label term Nykteri (Nichteri). It can also be blended with other grapes such as Athiri and Aidani.
Try Argyros Atlantis, Gaia Thalassitis or Domaine Sigalas.
2. Moschofilero
If you like more of a fruity and aromatic white wine then choose moschofilero which has tropical fruit and floral aromas. It has pink skins so you might see it as a rose. This is lighter than assyrtiko with lower alcohol and is made in the high altitude Mantinia region in Peloponnese.
Try Troupis Winery TOHM Moschofilero.
3. Xinomavro
Greece has two top indigenous red/black grapes. Xinomavro from Naoussa is located on the foothills of Mount Vermio and is grown in a chilly semi continental climate. Other regions that grow xinomavro include Amyndeo, Rapsani and Goumenissa. So called the Barolo of Greece, it is similar to the Italian nebbiolo grape and has a light red colour.
On the palate it is dry, light bodied but tannic, with high acid. The wine has aromas of red wild berries, morello cherry, black olives and sun-dried tomatoes.
Try Kir-Yianni Kali Riza Amyndeon, Thymiopoulos Young Vines or Thymiopoulos Alta from Naoussa.
Photo L: Wine writer and educator Clive Hartley
4. Agiorgitiko
The other red grape is agiorgitiko and is similar to cabernet sauvignon. This is fruitier than xinomavro and displays black fruit, spicy notes and is medium to full bodied with fine tannins. The best expressions come from Nemea in the Peloponnese.
Try Gaia Estate Agiorgitiko.
5. Vinsanto
Finally, coming back to Santorini, the island produces a gorgeous, sweet wine called Vinsanto. The grapes are dried in the sun to enrich the sugar content then made into wine and aged for two years. It has Christmas written all over it with aromas of figs, fruit cake and raisins which all leap out of the glass to wrap you with seasonal joy.
Nikitas Kardoulias was born in 1951 on the Greek island of Kalymnos. He lived on the island with his mother as his father had migrated to Darwin in the Northern Territory and was working as a painter to support the family. But in 1965, at the tender age of 14, Nikitas joined his father in Darwin, quickly learnt English at night school and then began to work with him as well.
“Life was difficult when he came. He was a small kid. Australia wasn’t like it is now where it has all these amenities. At first, he would live in the homes of strangers with his dad, he would wash his own clothes… Darwin was like a village. It’s not like how it is now after 40 years,” Nikitas’ wife, Helen Kardoulias, tells The Greek Herald.
‘We will rebuild’:
It was during this time that Nikitas and his family also lived through Cyclone Tracy, which was a tropical cyclone that hit and devastated Darwin from December 24 – 26, 1974. Nikitas tells The Greek Herald it was one Christmas he will never forget.
“We didn’t expect the cyclone to be so big but as the days passed, things were getting worse. I was with my mum and dad at the time in our house… which was very close to the ocean, maybe 100 metres, and the wind was very strong,” Nikitas says.
Nikitas with his wife Helen. Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.
“At around 1am to 1.30am, our roof had completely blown away. I took my mother and father and we left to find a safer place to stay because it was dangerous. When I was driving, marinas were flying, wood was flying, rocks were flying, everything. We couldn’t even see.”
Eventually, Nikitas and his family reached a police station, where other people had also gathered, and stayed there until the morning after the cyclone had passed over Darwin.
“When I returned home, there was only the floor left and one standing wall. It was difficult [to see] but I had my parents with me and I didn’t want to show them I was scared. I told them, ‘Don’t be upset, we will rebuild it’.”
The family moved to Sydney for a while and stayed with some cousins before they returned to Darwin and started rebuilding their home.
Years later, Nikitas visited Kalymnos and married Helen. The couple returned to Australia after they married and had a daughter but eventually went back to Kalymnos and lived there for about ten years. Nikitas was ‘boomeranging’ between Greece and Australia at the time, as he was working to support the family.
The Kardoulias family. Photo by George Politis Photography.
“He was leaving and returning for the best of the children so maybe they would stay in their homeland. Australia is great, but every father wants their children to grow up in their homeland, to learn the language, culture and traditions.”
Living in the Congo during the dictatorship:
In the end, the Kardoulias family couldn’t stay in Kalymnos long term, but they still had an exciting stint overseas. In fact, Nikitas and Helen, along with their daughter and son, also lived in the Congo in Central Africa for a short time.
Helen says they opened a supermarket there for a few years, but life was difficult as they had to live under the Mobutu dictatorship.
“At some stage, people revolted against the government and they started to damage shops, they lit fires… we were impacted,” Helen explains.
“All the women and children had to leave so my brother, to save us, sent us away and we left the Congo at night-time, and we went to South Africa where it was quieter… Nikitas, my brother and my uncle stayed behind to see whether they could salvage any of our belongings.
Photo: Georgia Politis Photography.
“I was eight months pregnant at the time… It was difficult because we left and we didn’t know what would happen to the men.”
The women ended up staying in South Africa for a month before they, along with the men, returned to Kalymnos. After giving birth to another son and indulging in the Greek village life for a little bit longer, the family made their final journey back to Australia in 1993.
Helen says it was the right time to return and now they’re retired and happily reflecting on their incredible life.
“We’ve been together for 43 years now. We’re happy and fruitful. Two of our children are married, we have six grandchildren… so we are looking after our grandchildren now,” Helen concludes with a smile.
Decorated pine trees, flamboyant light displays, annual Santa family photos at Grace Brothers in downtown Sydney, family gatherings with free flow of homemade flaounes (Cypriot cheese pies) and festive delicacies are some of the Christmas memories Helen Koutulakis Chrysanthou will cherish forever.
Born and raised in Five Dock, Sydney in the late 1950s to Andrea and Galatia who had migrated to Australia from Cyprus some years earlier, Helen remembers with nostalgia her childhood Christmas memories.
“A couple of days before Christmas dad would go and buy a real pine tree. He would bring it home and we [Helen and her three brothers] would decorate it. I still remember the smell of the pine throughout the house,” Helen tells The Greek Herald.
“We visited Santa Claus at Broadway to take photos and Grace Brothers in the city to see the window displays. They were made up with puppets and lights and you could even walk around the shop at night to admire all the displays.”
“When you are young everything looks so big,” she says.
Helen talks with affection about her family and remembers fondly the memories she created alongside her three siblings over the years.
“Growing up, being the only girl, I was playing cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians. Mum made sure I had dolls and all the girls’ things but I was still playing with the toy soldiers and tanks.
“Our mum made sure that we all got plenty of presents for Christmas and birthdays. She always dressed us up nicely to look presentable and she did a great job in that. I was very happy growing up!”
Her father Andreas (nicknamed ψαράς) who was a well-known tailor and two of her brothers all have now passed on. But Helen is determined to keep her family traditions alive.
“It’s been difficult to deal with the losses over the years and I feel I have lost my 90-year-old mother too as her memory has degraded due to dementia. But I still have my little brother and his wife who live in Cyprus and my daughter,” she says.
“I have a lot of mum’s recipes which I use regularly and I am also teaching my daughter how to make them.
“She’s married to and English man who loves Greek food and she’s hoping when she has children one day that she’ll be able to introduce the Greek language and culture to her own family,” Helen says proudly.
The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) hosted deputy opposition leader, Richard Miles, and the Opposition Minister for Multiculturalism, Andrew Giles, at its Greek Centre in Melbourne on Monday, December 20.
In a meeting scheduled for an hour, the conversation and analysis of issues relating to the Greek Community ended up lasting over two hours.
Bill Papastergiadis along with Chris Sikavitsas, Vasso Zangalis, Tass Sgardelis and Leo Vlahakis took the two senior labour members of the Federal Parliament on a tour of the 15-storey Greek Centre.
Richard Marles was amazed at the breadth of language services offered by the Greek Community and expressed an interest in how the language programs could be further developed noting that the majority of students were now born in Australia.
Mr Marles and Mr Giles were shown the education wing, library facilities, meeting rooms and rooftop restaurant.
Mr Papastergiadis referred to the long history of the Greek Community of Melbourne noting it was formed in 1897. He noted the role it originally played in the ecumenical needs of the then-Greek population to a more diverse offering that is now related to a vibrant and cosmopolitan community. Equally Mr Papastergiadis emphasised the extensive relationships the GCM has with numerous other ethnic organisations in Victoria.
Mr Marles inquired as to the importance of the relationship between the Greek community of Melbourne and Greece.
Mr Papastergiadis responded that it is a relationship born of heritage but effected by the strong connection people of Greek background have with language and culture. In any given year, over 100 events are organised by the Greek community of Melbourne and although COVID affected its cultural output, importantly student numbers did not decline to a significant degree.
Mr Marles emphasised how important it was for him to be on the ground having a conversation with the Greek community of Melbourne.
Mr Marles said: “Celebrating Greek culture from the Greek Australian community is about as Australian as it gets and its what makes the tapestry of our nation so rich and so wonderful and we all experience that in the festival every year in Lonsdale Street… The Centre is so impressive for what it does and you can definitely get a sense that the Greek Australian community is in good hands through the Greek Centre here in Melbourne.”
We emphasised that the Centre was used as a community hub for all forms of cultural activity. This included lectures, film, theatre, comedy and music. We noted that the Community plays an advocacy role and noted the collaboration we had with Government on vaccination hubs. We noted how the model of the Greek Centre has attracted the interest of other ethnic communities in Victoria.
Mr Giles, as Minister for Multiculturalism, emphasised that a national curriculum on languages would be an important part of any Labor government.
“It really is impossible to understand Melbourne in 2021 without thinking about the enormous contribution of the Greek Australian community but what is exciting to me about our visit today is that its not something about our past. It is something about our future… and to see the energy that you and your board have for the future of this physical place and the new initiatives you’ve got planned and your commitment to culture, language, to the identity of this diasporic community is something that I’m excited about and hope to be an effective partner in.”
It’s almost that time of the year when people are rushing to their nearest grocery store and grabbing last minute ingredients for their Christmas Eve dinner.
Fear not though as The Greek Herald has you covered with Helen Demetriou’s top four dishes for a traditional Greek dinner to be enjoyed on the night before Christmas.
Who is Helen Demetriou?
Helen Demetriou was born in Australia but has a strong Greek Cypriot heritage. From a young age, she was always intrigued by the chemistry of cooking, the flavour combinations and the science behind proofing yeast for bread.
Helen’s mother was an incredible cook and she often aspired to be as great as her. At age 16, Helen found out her mum had terminal cancer and from that day on she knew she had to try and replicate her great dishes. Helen had never written any recipe from her mum but she watched her closely and taste tested every step of the way.
In 2012, Helen, along with her older brother Steve, were on Channel 7’s cooking show, My Kitchen Rules. They made most Greeks proud with their weekly homemade recipes and even made it into the final five.
Helen also has a special segment on the Foxtel series Meraki TV called, Helenskouzina, where she cooks Greek meals in under 30 minutes. The inspiration for this segment was to inspire young Greek Australians to carry on the legacy of the Greek cuisine, and to not be afraid of those daunting dishes that mothers and grandmothers make with ease.
The mum-of-two also hosts small cooking lessons in her home, where you can learn a variety of dishes while enjoying the feast with a glass of your favourite wine.
Many of Helen’s family, friends and followers know she loves to change things up and modernise Greek cuisine to keep tradition in this ever-evolving changing world. That’s why she’s perfect to share her top dishes for Christmas Eve dinner.
Entrée (Tarama and Cypriot bread):
What’s any Greek feast without Tarama? This simple recipe is flawless and made in under 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Tarama, fish roe.
3/4 of a full loaf of white sliced bread, remove crust. For best results, the bread should be three days old.
1 small onion.
1 clove of garlic.
1/2 lemon juice.
1 cup of vegetable oil.
1 cup of warm water.
Instructions:
Start by dampening your bread slightly and set aside.
In a food processor, place you Tarama fish roe, onion and garlic and blitz. Add each slice of bread one at a time until 3/4 of the loaf is used.
Pour in your oil very slowly whilst the food processor is in action. Add in the lemon juice gradually until it’s mixed in well.
Slowly add warm water to your mixture and give it a final blitz. This will help the Tarama become light and fluffy.
A wonderful way to serve this is with my traditional haloumi lady finger bread. For this recipe, head to Helenskouzina on Instagram.
Main (Moussaka):
It’s a given and mandatory that there will be two trays of this delicious goodness at our Christmas lunch. My favourite time to eat this is when my guests have left and I reheat a piece with my cup of tea.
Ingredients:
3 large eggplants.
5 potatoes.
Olive oil for frying.
The Meat Sauce:
1/2 kg lamb mince.
1/2 kg of Pork Mince.
2 red onions (chopped).
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
1 tin chopped tomatoes.
2 tbsp tomato paste.
1 tbsp of capsicum paste.
1 glass of red wine (optional).
1 tsp of paprika.
1 tsp of Cumin powder.
1 bay leaf.
1 bunch of parsley finely diced.
1/4 of a cup olive oil.
Bechamel sauce:
1 litre of full cream milk.
1256g butter.
6 tablespoons of plain flour.
A pinch of cinnamon.
2 eggs.
150g halloumi cheese.
Instructions:
To prepare this Greek moussaka recipe, begin by preparing the eggplants. Cut them into slices (lengthwise), 1 cm thick. Season with salt and place in a colander for about half an hour.
Wipe off salt and excess water with clean napkins until dry. Fry in plenty of oil, until nicely coloured. Alternatively, you can also bake them in on a flat baking tray for 10 minutes on 180 degrees, set aside when done.
Par boil your potatoes until semi soft, strain and slice into 1cm portions. You can also fry them if you wish for a better, yummier result.
Meat Sauce:
Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the chopped onions and garlic and sauté, until softened and slightly coloured.
Stir in the mince, breaking it up gently. When it starts to brown add tomato paste. Pour in the red wine to deglaze the meat juices and wait to evaporate. Add the tinned tomatoes and spices.
Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes or until most of the juices have evaporated. Add in the chopped parsley.
Bechamel sauce:
Use a large pan to melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour whisking continuously to make a paste.
Add warmed milk in a steady stream; keep whisking in order to prevent your sauce from getting lumpy.
If the sauce still needs to thicken, boil over low heat while continuing to stir. Its consistency should resemble a thick cream.
Remove the béchamel pan from the stove and stir in the eggs, salt, pepper, a pinch of cinnamon and most of the grated halloumi cheese.
Leave some of the grated cheese to pop on top.
Assembly:
For this moussaka recipe, you will need a large baking dish. Add some oil to the bottom and sides of the pan and layer with a sprinkle of bread crumbs (this will ensure nothing sticks to the pan).
Add the potatoes and then half the eggplants. Pour in all of the meat sauce and spread it out evenly. Add a second layer of eggplants, top with all of the béchamel sauce and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius and bake your moussaka for about 60 minutes or until its crust turns light golden brown. For the best results, leave the moussaka in the oven once its switched off until serving.
Dessert (Baklava Ice Cream / Bougasta Tarts):
Baklava Ice Cream
This is always a family favourite, especially at Christmas. It’s the perfect dessert for a summer Christmas lunch. There are two versions:
Ingredients:
1 large tub of vanilla ice-cream (2 Litre).
2 cups of finely chopped walnuts.
1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
2 tablespoons of sugar.
1 ground cinnamon clove.
Instructions:
Combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Leave the ice-cream at room temperature so that it melts enough to mix through the above mixture.
Combine the walnut mixture and ice-cream well and pour it into your favourite mould. You can also use a round bowl to set the ice-cream in.
For best results, prepare the day before.
The second baklava ice cream version requires half a tray of baklava, the filo, nut and syrup mixture blended in the ice cream. It is a show stopper. You can buy ready-made baklava from continental cake shops and even some delicatessens. I make my baklava from scratch. For this recipe, you can visit helenskouzina on Instagram.
Bougatsa Tarts
These are a little twist on your traditional bougatsa and so easy to serve at your Christmas Eve dinner. I promise you it will have your guests coming back for seconds and thirds.
Ingredients:
Custard:
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar.
90 g (½ cup) fine semolina.
Pinch of salt.
1 tbsp unsalted butter.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
750 ml (3 cups) milk.
120g unsalted butter.
3 tbsp icing sugar, to dust.
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
Pastry:
375g Antoniou Fillo Pastry, kataifi pastry.
125g melted unsalted butter.
Instructions:
Custard:
Combine the sugar and milk in a medium-size saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Stirring constantly, gradually add the semolina and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes until the mixture thickens.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover the surface with baking paper and allow to cool completely.
Pastry:
Leave pastry out at room temperature for at least half an hour.
Shred the kataifi to separate.
Melt the butter and pour over the kataifi and with your hands, gently cover all the strands.
Use a muffin tin to create your little nests. Scoop 2 tablespoons of custard into your nests and bake on 180 degrees for 20 mins.
Cancer does not stop with the pandemic and neither do the Greek Australian Women’s (OEEGA NSW) fundraising efforts to support Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) in finding a cure and safer treatment for childhood cancer.
Although the organisation had to cancel their annual events for two consecutive years, the President Ms Irene Anesti and the Committee managed to raise $40000 through the Radio Marathon held in November in collaboration with Sydney’s 2MM Radio station.
“Since 2007, OEEGA NSW have raised $454,000 for CCI. We received great support from Clubs, Associations, Community organizations, Councils, political and religious representatives and many businesses,” the organisation’s spokesperson told The Greek Herald.
“It was truly astounding to see how many pensioners left the comfort of their homes and came on the day to deposit money in support of the initiative.”
Photo L: OEEGA NSW President Ms Irene Anesti with Professor Kavallaris and Dr Maria Tsoli. Photos courtesy of Kostas Kapodistrias
A fundraising cheque was presented from the OEEGA Committee to CCI representatives, Professor Kavallaris and Dr Maria Tsoli, on Thursday, December 16.
“Both Professor Kavallaris and Dr Tsoli thanked the Committee for their continuous support,” the spokesperson said and thanked everyone who contributed to the cause.
“The $40,000 was not easy to pull together, however OEEGA are certain that the funds would be put into good use and help save at least 4 children this year.”
The $43bn State Super will look to slash emissions in its investment portfolio by close to half by 2030 as it embarks on the path to net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.
State Super, also known as SAS Trustee Corporation, took the decision to target a 45 per cent cut in emissions by 2030, and to hit net zero by 2050, to protect members’ financial interests, CEO John Livanas said.
“Fundamentally, our primary objective is to ensure members’ best financial interests are met. And really, the whole decarbonisation of our portfolio is through that lens.”
Members supported the fund taking a view on climate risk in the portfolio, he added.
“If we didn’t take climate risk into account, we wouldn’t be able to provide members investment returns without taking enormous risks,” he said.
The fund’s chair, Nicholas Johnson, noted the shift in the investment landscape amid the widespread green push.
“It has become abundantly clear that in acting in the best financial interests of members, superannuation trustees must respond to the investment risks associated with climate change and seek to mitigate them.
“It is equally important for them to realise investment opportunities that will come from the transition to a low-carbon economy, including from new technologies, initiatives and policies over short-, medium- and long-term investment horizons,” Mr Johnson said.
State Super’s 45 per cent reduction by 2030 will be in the weighted-average intensity of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e, emissions by revenue against an end of calendar 2020 baseline.
This is versus the Paris Agreement’s 2010 baseline, making State Super’s target more ambitious, Mr Livanas said.
Several Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) gather to form a human chain reading “+3°C SOS” on the Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, on the sidelines of the COP21. French hosts submit the final version of a global climate-saving pact to negotiators at UN Conference on december 12. The goal is for ministers to approve the agreement by the end of the day but that could be extended one more day. Photo by Clement Martin/Sipa USA
As the majority of its baseline emissions are found in its equities holdings, it will firstly target reductions in this portfolio, before moving to alternatives and real assets. It will adjust the portfolio over time to ensure its emissions decline progressively.
Rather than opting to divest carbon-intensive industries, the fund will continue its engagement with companies through its investment managers and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, he added.
“It’ll be up to the investment managers to decide which holdings to divest or to engage, but fundamentally, our policy is to actually work with a company to look at how they will divest or how they will move their own emissions towards a carbon neutrality.
“If everyone were to divest from the difficult companies, it would mean we wouldn’t be helping. But by working with companies, making sure that they’re engaged towards a carbon-neutral future, we hope we’ll be able to get there quicker.”
A leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests has been elected Chile’s next president.
With 56 per cent of the votes, Gabriel Boric on Sunday (Monday AEDT) handily defeated by more than 10 points lawmaker José Antonio Kast.
At 35, Mr Boric will become Chile’s youngest modern president when he takes office in March and only the second millennial to lead in Latin America, after El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.
While Gabriel Boric was elected president, his wife, Irina Karamanos, may not take on the role as first lady.
Speaking before the election, she announced that she could resign her role as first lady if her partner was elected.
Gabriel Boric and Irina Karamanos.
Irina, as Boric tells her now -before he used to call her “companion” – declared: “It is a position that deserves to be rethought because we are in different times, a lot of things have changed and you have to rethink power and the relationships that emerge from it ”.
The new president supports Karamanos with his position, and was even more forceful than his partner. The referent of Approve Dignity – the coalition that brings together the Frente Amplio and Chile Digno – said that it would suppress the figure of the first lady because “it does not make any sense.”
“There can be no positions in the State that have to do with or are related to the relationship of the President”declared the 35-year-old leader, who stressed: “We must create an instance that is transparent, depending on merits and of civil service careers, and not of blood ties or affinity with the President ”.
Karamanos would not be the first Latin American woman to resign. In Mexico, Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller took off the title of first lady when her husband, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, became president in 2018.
Karamanos is 32 years old, is of Greek descent and studied Anthropology and Communication Sciences in Germany.
While most Greeks travel to Australia in search of a better life, something was bothering Arthur Antonopoulos and in 2000 he decided to leave Melbourne, his parents and his beloved cricket, to settle in the land of his ancestors.
He led an adventurous life plucked from the pages of the Beatniks generation and today delivers its core to the public: The book ‘Dark Athens,’ surrounded by a haze of mystery, which is enough for the reader to baptise him as the Greek Australian, Dan Brown.
Athens of 1932 dances a passionate tango with Athens of 2009. That’s when the flames of protest over the economic downturn sparked a wave of demonstrations. In one of them, Arthur Antonopoulos participated with a friend.
“I was accidentally in the centre of the city when it was burning. We walked a lot that night, in various parts of the city and noticed the first symbols and monuments, which are the main material of my book,” Arthur Antonopoulos tells The Greek Herald from a small cafe near the Australian Embassy in Athens.
“The stop of time” is the name of the cafe and reveals what state the Greek Australian writer is currently in. At a time, when everything has stopped so that he can enjoy his unexpected success.
The book was released a few weeks ago and already the first edition sold out.
“I didn’t expect it. It came fifth in sales when it was released throughout Greece. It exceeded all expectations I had,” says Antonopoulos, whose parents continue to live in Melbourne.
“They were greatly moved when I sent them the first copy with the dedication I wrote for them. They understood that I came to Greece with a purpose and that I succeeded. That my labours bear fruit.”
The expatriate writer is now looking for ways to publish the English version of the book.
“It’s hard, because I’m starting out of nowhere. People will have to teach me first. To see that I worked hard. I am taking steps to find a publishing house to distribute my book abroad but it is still early for that.”
The plot of ‘Dark Athens‘:
With influences from the American writer, Steve Berry, the prolific, Arthur Antonopoulos already has his second book ready. The first, ‘Dark Athens,’ however, has already created a group of loyal fans, trying to solve its puzzles.
“The plot unfolds in Athens in 1932, where many excavations and erections of important monuments were carried out. In 2009, I started writing the book and I wanted it to be a police novel with a historical background, with which I would guide the tourist who comes to Athens and convince him that this is not a city they could see three days. Through the novel we learn about underground Athens, its symbols and its history,” says Antonopoulos, whose book is the result of personal research.
“This is the story of Ariadne, who returns to Athens when a major newspaper gives her a unique professional opportunity. An interview with the Prime Minister, Kodros (the first King of Athens).
“There begins a mystery story. With her life in danger, she discovers that a symbol she sees everywhere around her, in the streets of Athens, in ministries, flags of countries and large multinational corporations is not accidental.
“It is only the beginning of a new world reality… Most characters are based on real people, the plot is a creation of my imagination, but anything that refers to historical events and places in the city is the product of research.”
Now, his immediate plans are to travel to Thessaloniki for the research of the second book of the trilogy: The ‘Dark Thessaloniki.’
The return to Australia:
Memories of his childhood are interspersed with beautiful pictures. Even the “mountain” of three-hour Greek learning in a Melbourne tutorial seems ideal today.
“At the time I didn’t like it. But today, I understand that it was necessary. I had a very beautiful childhood. I used to go to a school where most of the kids came from immigrants. We played cricket and Australian football in the neighbourhood for hours. I received a lot of love from my parents,” recalls Antonopoulos, who wasn’t sure he wanted to be a writer when he was little.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I studied at the University of Monash in the Department of Fine Arts. In the fourth year, Mr Andronikos, who was the Head of the Department asked me if I wanted to do an investigation into the “Blue Book” of Stratis Myrivilis. He was a journalist in the First World War under the pseudonym “Small Pencil”. So I got a scholarship to Greece and started my research on him.
“It was then that I fell in love with the blue sky and the fine weather of Greece. My love especially for Athens began in 2007 when I first thought about the idea of the book.”
Is he now thinking of returning to Australia? “Not for permanent residence. However, in May there is the Antipodes festival and earlier the “writer’s festival” will be organised, so I will try to combine a visit for these occasions”.
Although the chaos of Athens is disorganising its resident, Arthur Antonopoulos was not affected in any way. “The mess suits me, though I want to be tidy in my life. Maybe because I want to put the mess in order.
“In Athens I feel alive, in Melbourne I rest,” says success-driven Arthur, who most likely will become now a full-time writer.
“I’ll risk it. And my father took a risk when he came to Australia. This is what I will do,” he tells us and it is like telling the perpetual history of Hellenism, the pioneers of new pursuits…
