Greece

Acropolis for rent!

constantinakatsari January 20, 2012

You probably already heard about the Russian magnate who offered to buy the temple of Zeus at Agrigento in Sicily. The Greek government realised this unique opportunity and decided to offer its archaeological sites for rent. First and foremost, the Acropolis will turn into a film studio for no more than 1600 euros per day. The ministry of culture makes available 117 archaeological sites, among which are Knossos, Faistos and Lindos. The person who will rent these places will have the opportunity ... »

Versace for H&M and ancient Greek inspiration

constantinakatsari December 12, 2011

Versace’s collection for H&M sold out in minutes last month. I am not certain, though, if the enthusiastic shoppers are aware that Versace’s inspiration came from ancient Greece. In the following shoppers you can clearly see the effect of classical tradition. Again, I cannot but wonder at this sudden turn towards the ancient Greek civilisation this year. In any case, it is quite a positive one for Greek tourism. »

Archaeologists in Greece are fired

constantinakatsari December 7, 2011

The debt crisis is wreaking havoc in the Archaeological Service in Greece, According to reports, a large number of senior archaeologists will be forced to retire this year. The consequences will be dire for many ongoing projects. On the whole 95 archaeologists are being removed, thus reducing the total number to 890. This action happened on top of the cancellation of all six-month contracts of junior archaeologists. Among them is Lilian Acheilara, the director of the Sixteenth Ephorate of Classi... »

Joanna Lumley’s Greek Odyssey

constantinakatsari October 24, 2011

On Tuesday night I glued myself on tv and watched with great interest Joanna Lumley’s Greek Odyssey. I have to admit that I have rarely seen on British TV (not least on ITV) a better travelling guide than this program. The producers obviously thought long and hard about the Greek regions they were going to include and how they were going to present them to the wider public. It may not have been intellectually stimulated but it included details that I have not heard of before. For example, ... »

Obama celebrates Greekness

constantinakatsari March 25, 2011

The following Obama speech has been brought to my attention. It looks like the US President decided to celebrate the Day of Greek Independence (25th of March) with the following proclamation. As for his views on the USA continuing the Greek democratic traditions, I will let the readers of this blog to comment! Hey, I just realised I could write an article on the topic! “One hundred ninety years ago, Greece regained its independence and became a symbol of democracy for the world for the sec... »

Charitable professors: Donating your money to the University

constantinakatsari July 31, 2010

Two weeks ago I read the news about Classics Professor Douglas MacDowell of the University of Glasgow, who donated after his death over 2 million pounds to his department. The Scottish Academic left the money to the university with the provision that they would fund his old position of Professorship in Greek. It seems that because of financial difficulties Glasgow University has not advertised this post after he retired. The chair remained empty and the sustainability of the subject on the whole... »

Burn History Books!

constantinakatsari November 25, 2009

No doubt the call to burn History books reminds us of some the darkest times in European History of the 20th century. I am very well aware that such calls led in the past to perverse actions and heinous crimes, nothing short of sacrilege. And yet, some books trigger such strongly negative feelings in me that I would rather see them burned. These are the History books produced by the Greek government and distributed to innocent schoolchildren. Once the books reach the classroom the teacher has no... »