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Mysterious Greek artist paints the walls of Athens with Greek Revolution heroes

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The faces of Greek Revolution heroes, such as Nikitaras and Georgios Karaiskakis, have recently been popping up around Athens in the form of street art.

The special art series called ‘1821-2021’ is by Greek artist, Evrutos, and has been created to mark the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence this year.

“Graffiti for me is a way of externalising the aesthetics of my ideas based on nation and patriotism. Through graffiti I want people to feel what was born inside me when I came in contact with the history of our country,” the artist, who wishes to remain anonymous, told protothema.gr.

Greek military commander, Georgios Karaiskakis, by Evrutos. Credit: Evrutos/Instagram.

Evrutos’ use of bold, thick outlines and splashes of color, brings the heroic figures to life and sends a message to Greek society, reminding them of the contributions these great men made to Greek history.

“The image is there, publicly visible and everyone derives the conclusions and messages caused by its viewing,” the artist, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Zougla.

“The message of each art is not something given and is received by everyone differently. What I do is a form of personal expression, a personal need for ‘confession’.”

Evrutos is currently studying at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, but has been involved in the fine arts since he was a child, on an amateur level. He started experimenting with graffiti and spray last December.

Emmanouil Argyropoulos: The first aviator to fly over Greece

Emmanouil Argyropoulos is known as the first Greek aviator to fly over Greece, as well as the first Greek man to die in the Greek Air Force.

Early Life:

Emmanouil Argyropoulos was born in 1889 and was the son of the diplomat Georgios Argyropoulos, Ambassador of Greece to Russia. 

He studied civil engineering in Germany and aviation in France. 

In January 1912, he returned to Greece and brought with him his dismantled private plane, a single-seater Nieuport IVG, with 50 horsepower.

First flight over Greece:

With the help of engineers from a military unit in Athens, Argyropoulos re-assembled his private plane and after a few days he was ready for his first flight in the Greek skies. 

On February 6, 1912, he announced his project through the Athenian newspapers, defining the area of ​​Rouf in Athens as the place of take-off and time on Wednesday, February 8.

Emmanouil Argyropoulos is known as the first Greek aviator to fly over Greece.

On the scheduled date, crowds flooded the makeshift airport to admire the unprecedented spectacle. At exactly 8.10am, Argyropoulos’ plane “took off” to the applause of the crowd, among whom were King George I, then-Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and many officials. 

The flight, which marks the birth of the Greek Air Force, lasted 16 minutes and was a complete success. 

An hour later, a second flight took place, with Eleftherios Venizelos as a passenger. The plane made a few circles over the take-off area at an altitude of 80 metres and landed successfully after 4 minutes.

On February 12, 1912, Argyropoulos made another flight over Paleo Faliro. Crowds of people from Athens and Piraeus rushed to admire the fearless Greek aviator. The crowd raised Argyropoulos in their arms and brought him triumphantly to the royal platform, where he received the warm congratulations of King George I.

Later life and Death:

When the Balkan Wars broke out in October 1912, Argyropoulos joined the Armed Forces, with the rank of lieutenant. 

On April 4, 1913, he took off from the Lebet airport of Thessaloniki (in today’s Stavroupoli), with a Blerio 11 aircraft (booty from the Turkish army) and fellow fighter and poet Konstantinos Manos. Their mission was to detect the areas occupied by the Bulgarian army near Thessaloniki. 

During the flight, his aircraft suffered mechanical damage and crashed near Lagadas, Thessaloniki. Both occupants died instantly. Argyropoulos was only 24 years old and Konstantinos Manos was 44 years old.

Source: San Simera.

Cyprus Community of SA new ‘Alfresco BBQ and Children’s Fair’ event hailed a success

The coronavirus pandemic has put on hold hundreds of community events around Australia, but as the saying goes, where there is will there’s a way.

More than 300 people of all ages, attended this year’s scaled down, ‘Alfresco BBQ and Children’s Fair’ event in lieu of South Australia’s annual Cyprus Community Festival which normally attracts more than 4000-5000 people.

The event, held at the Community’s Centre in Welland near Adelaide on Sunday, featuring Cypriot delicacies prepared by the community’s dedicated volunteers, live music and kids’ activities. 

Photo right: SA Cyprus Community President Andreas Evdokiou/The Greek Herald

South Australia’s Cyprus Community President Andreas Evdokiou said that the festival, is an integral part of the Cypriot culture as it keeps the community together.

“With this year’s event we aim to replace the annual festival and bring our people together in a COVID-safe environment. The attendees will enjoy sheftalies and the traditional Cypriot souvla BBQ as well as loukoumades,” Mr Evdokiou told The Greek Herald. 

But what is the secret behind a successful event? Its volunteers!

“Cyprus Community is our home. It’s our heart and soul. Our mission is to keep South Australia’s Cypriot diaspora together and pass on the traditions to future generations,” said Former President Christos Ioannou who was on souvla duty together with Kyriakos Kourougiannis, Charalambo Charalambous and Antonis Stasoulis. 

Near them, Thekla Petrou, Myrianthi Filippou and Toula Kourougianni from the Ladies Auxiliary were preparing the mouthwatering loukoumades as they’ve been doing for many years.

“From 1975 we’ve been contributing to the community and with various events throughout the year we try to attract new members to keep the culture going,” said President of the Ladies Auxiliary Ms Thekla Petrou. 

We can’t wait for the next event! 

READ MORE: Theo Maras: “Give selflessly, be passionate, go on with your vision”

Sydney Olympic FC to hold AGM on February 25

The Annual General Meeting of members of Sydney Olympic Football Club Limited (SOFC) will be held at the Canterbury League Club (Terrace Bar), 26 Bridge Rd, Belmore at 6.30pm on Thursday 25 February 2021.

During the AGM, Sydney Olympic will provide the president’s report and financial statements from the 2020 season. A re-election of directors will also take place during the meeting.

“The AGM is a great opportunity for Life Members and Season Pass Holders to get together and hear about not only the previous year but plans for the future,” Club CEO John Boulous said.

“It is an opportunity to ask any questions and provide feedback, we are always interested to hear from our Members which will help us continue grow the Club”.

Life Members and Voting members are eligible to attend the AGM, with 2021 season pass application forms to be available to complete.

“Season Pass Holders can apply for their season pass ahead of our big Round 1 match against  Sydney United 58 FC at Belmore Sports ground on Saturday 27 February,” Boulous added.

Light refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the last agenda item.

Greek Consulate in Perth begins digitisation as part of new Greek pilot program

A pilot version of digital platform, myConsulLive, has officially been launched at the Greek Consulate in Perth to offer diaspora a fast and easy way to communicate with officials and apply online for documents and certificates.

Consul in Perth, Ms Georgia Karasiotou, tells The Greek Herald that the program has been going well so far and it is expected to be rolled out across Australia in the near future.

“More than ever in the last year, we have realised how useful and necessary it is to be able to do some work remotely,” Ms Karasiotou says.

“It is true that many of the transactions of the Consulates cannot be done without the physical presence of the citizen concerned, for example, the issuance of a passport or a notarial deed. There are others, however, where the services our fellow citizens need can be done by utilising the means technology gives us, such as the issuance of some certificates or photocopies of acts.

READ MORE: Greek Consulate in Perth one of the first to be digitised in new Greek pilot program.

“This is the philosophy of myConsulLive, which is a personalised service in the sense that the appointment via teleconference gives, on the one hand, the citizen the opportunity to provide the required proof of identity and on the other hand, to communicate directly with a Consular Officer.

“But the obvious, big advantage of myConsulLive is that for some services our fellow citizens will no longer need to take leave from work or travel to visit the Consulate.

“For Western Australia, which is half the size of Europe, but also for the whole of Australia, this is a great relief. That is why, starting from Perth, the platform is expected to operate in the rest of our Consulates in Australia in the near future.”

Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was briefed on the first steps of the digitisation of consular services abroad at an e-meeting he held with the Greek Consulate General in New York back in December 2020.

Since then, the Perth Consulate, along with the Greek Embassy in London and Greek Consulates in New York, Toronto, Canada, Boston, Istanbul and Dusseldorf, have all been digitised.

RELATED: Georgia Karasiotou: ‘No matter how far we are, Greece is always in our hearts’.

‘Not much respect for him’: Djokovic takes aim at Nick Kyrgios

The simmering tennis feud between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios has exploded ahead of the Australian Open, with the world No.1 declaring “I don’t have much respect” for the Aussie star.

Speaking in his pre-Australian Open press conference, Djokovic was asked what he thought about Kyrgios calling him “a tool” on Twitter in mid-January.

The name-calling came after Djokovic made a list of requests to Tennis Australia and the Victorian government for tennis players stuck in hard hotel quarantine.

READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios labels Djokovic a ‘tool’ for outrageous Australian Open demands.

“Off the court, I don’t have much respect for him, to be honest. That’s where I’ll close it. I really don’t have any further comments for him, his own comments for me or anything else he’s trying to do,” Djokovic said.

As for Kyrgios’ on-the-court antics, Djokovic is far more willing to lavish praise on the controversial 25-year-old star.

“I think he’s good for the sport. Obviously he’s someone that is different. He goes about his tennis, he goes about his off-court things in his own authentic way. I have respect for him,” Djokovic said.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic testing positive for coronavirus ‘takes the cake’, Kyrgios says.

“My respect goes to him for the tennis he’s playing. I think he’s a very talented guy. He’s got a big game. He has proven that he has a quality to beat any player really in the world in the past.”

The feud between the pair dates back to a 2019 podcast, where Kyrgios described Djokovic’s “sick obsession” with wanting to be liked.

Djokovic and Kyrgios have only played each other twice, both in 2017 (at Indian Wells and Acapulco) and both times the Australian won.

READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios takes swipe at tennis’ biggest names in Instagram Live chat with Andy Murray.

Greek Prime Minister under fire for attending dinner in violation of coronavirus rules

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Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is facing mounting anger over claims he attended a dinner that exceeded the limits on gatherings on the very day health restrictions had been tightened to stop transmission of the virus in Greece.

“[He] ought to say a very big sorry to the Greek people,” Nasos Iliopoulos, the spokesman for the main opposition party Syriza, said as criticism of the incident grew.

“It’s even worse when it has happened on the day that the government has asked citizens to remain indoors from 6pm.”

Mitsotakis was visiting the Aegean island of Ikaria to meet medical staff, when he found himself in the line of fire after he and his entourage were filmed enjoying lunch on the terrace of the harbour-front home of MP Christodoulos Stefanidis.

Media reports described the leader’s entourage as being far in excess of the limit of nine people congregating at any one time.

In no time, images and video footage of the event were circulating on the internet. By Sunday, the Syriza leader and former Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, had also uploaded the video on his Instagram account, castigating the government for “profound presumption and arrogance.”

For his part, the minister holding the dinner, Stefanidis, defended Mitsotakis and acknowledged that a crowd had spontaneously congregated outside the building to see the PM “up close,” but insisted that during the brief time people were inside his home health protocols were upheld.

READ MORE: Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised for violating lockdown rules in leaked photos.

“During the meal all the measures … were observed,” he told The Guardian, noting that the entourage not only dined outdoors but that the number of people around each table was strictly limited with mask-wearing studiously observed in between.

“I am sincerely sorry that the images and conditions, beyond the space where the Prime Minister was [and] where people had converged spontaneously to see him up close, were not correct.”

A crowd had spontaneously congregated outside the building to see the PM “up close.” Photo: Keep Talking Greek.

Responding to the criticism late on Sunday, the government’s spokesman Christos Tarantilis criticised the opposition for suggesting that “a fiesta” had taken place in Ikaria in which Mitsotakis had participated, calling the claims inaccurate and divisive.

But he added: “in the Prime Minister’s future tours every possible care will be taken so that the wrong image is not created.”

This is not the first time Mitsotakis has been in the spotlight for flouting rules his own government has set.

READ MORE: Greek Prime Minister denies breaking lockdown rules during weekend bike ride.

In early December, the politician was criticised after images emerged of him posing with admirers during a mountain biking excursion with his wife in the Parnitha range north of Athens. No one was wearing a mask or keeping social distancing rules. He subsequently apologised.

Source: The Guardian.

Top 5 natural Greek remedies

Lemon & Lemon Leaves

Imagine a Greek backyard without a lemon tree? Impossible, and this isn’t only to spice up the look of the garden. Lemon is known to be a great source of Vitamin C, improves skin quality and helps with digestion. Oh, and it also tastes amazing with spanakopita.

Sage

Native to Greece, Sage was originally used as a meat preservative and to preserve memory. Salvia officinalis, as it was called in ancient times, was used for warding off evil, snakebites, increasing women’s fertility, and more. The Romans referred to sage as the “holy herb,” and employed it in their religious rituals. Common sage is grown in parts of Europe for distillation of an essential oil.

Mint

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Photo: Nicole Lindstrom/WanderLust

According to Greek mythology, Minthe was a Greek water nympth to the river Cocytus. She wanted to seduce Hades after seeing his golden chariot but was thwarted by Queen Persephone, who turned Minthe into the herb, mint. Today, it used primarily for cooking and to settle people’s stomaches. It has a warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavour with a cool aftertaste.

Artichoke

Native to the Mediterranean, artichoke was created in Greek mythology when Zeus turned his desired into a thistle after being rejected. Varieties of artichokes were cultivated in Sicily, with the the Greeks calling them kaktos. In that period, the Greeks ate the leaves and flower heads, believing it was highly healthy and used it as an aphrodisiac, a diuretic, a breath freshener, and a deodorant.

Lavender

The ancient Greeks called the lavender herb nárdos, and was used to heal aches and pains from labouring. The flower was sold for the equivalent of a farm worker’s month salary. After scientific analysis in the 21st century, it’s been found that lavender can be used to improve sleep for people with insomnia. It can also treat certain hair diseases.

Sourced By: Wander Lust

Insight or Perspective: What should the Associations be doing to help Modern Greek?

By Eleni Elefterias

The Greek language and the Hellenic culture and history is the heritage of all Europeans. We should be marketing it as such.

We cannot just rely on a couple of organisations nor are they the best fit for all to learn Greek. We need to market the language to all age groups and all backgrounds in the greater community.

Money needs to be spent in our universities to create and offer the best courses in the language, the literature, the culture, the history. Specialised courses could be offered for Archaelogy students and Medical students and even in the sciences and Modern Greek Philosophy.

If we can only appreciate the amazing academics, thinkers, poets, writers, philosophers, scientists and musicians in Greece today and those of Greek background in the Diaspora then we would be a force to be reckoned with. This would be the best help we can offer Greece.

By showing the world that the Greeks still have amazing capabilities similar to their ancestors. We cannot assume everyone knows what our ancestors did for Europe and the World. 

We need to translate as many Greek books into foreign languages as possible in order to show the world the wealth of thought and the wisdom of our modern thinkers. This will attract philhellenes who will then support Greece and want to learn the language so that they can enjoy the beauty of it too.  

It all starts from above, as Sir Nicholas Laurantos, who funded the Chair of Byzantine and Modern Greek studies at the University of Sydney, realised so many years ago. 

That is a first step not a solution.

Next week I will continue with Step 2 towards a solution to the continuation of Modern Greek in Sydney.

READ MORE: Insight or Perspective: Why don’t the associations help?

*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer. 

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Read Eleni Elefterias’ column ‘Insight or Perspective’ in Greek, every Saturday in The Greek Herald’s print edition or get your subscription here.

Traditional Greek Recipes: Soutzoukakia Smyrneika (Baked Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

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Delicious, packed with Mediterranean flavours and covered in a rich and thick tomato sauce! This traditional soutzoukakia recipe was introduced to the Greek cuisine in the beginning of the 20th century and has its origin from the city of Smyrni.

This is a hearty Greek dish, perfect for a big family meal!

Ingredients

  • 3 thick slices of bread, soaked in water
  • 500 gr. / 1 lb. finely minced beef
  • 1 egg
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 small glasses of white wine
  • 30 gr. flour (for frying)
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree or 2 cans tomato roughly chopped to garnish
  • Chopped parsley (to garnish)

Instructions

  1. Soak the bread in water for 10 minutes and discard the crust. Squeeze the water from the bread and mix with the mince, egg, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper and 1 small glass of the wine. The best results for mixing are always achieved by using your hands.
  2. When properly mixed make long thin shapes, like fat cigars, about the length of your finger (around 15 of them), roll them in the flour and fry in the vegetable oil on medium heat, making sure that they are crisp all over. 
  3. In the meantime, put the olive oil in a saucepan and when it’s warm, add the tomatoes and the rest of the wine. Cook slowly for 5 minutes, stirring and ensure it does not stick.
  4. Add the Soutzoukakia as they come out of the frying pan, covering them with tomato sauce, add a little more water if needed, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
  5. Garnish with chopped parsley. With its rich sauce it can be served with plain white rice or mashed potatoes as a main dish. They also make great starters for a dinner party!
  • Servings : 4 to 6 people 
  • Ready in : 75 Minutes

Kali Oreksi!