Hellenic Heads – An Exhibition by Greek – American Sculptor George Petrides – A Personal Exploration of Greek History and Culture over 2,500 Years   The Exhibition, “Hellenic Heads”, a Personal Exploration of Greek History and Culture over 2,500 Years, by renowned Greek-American sculptor George Petrides, is heading for Venice! Six huge heads, each one standing over two meters tall (including pedestal) and representing six periods of Greek history; Classical Greek Period (510 BC to 323 BC), Byzantine Period (330 AD to 1453 AD), Greek War of Independence (1821 to 1829, The destruct ..read more

  The ancient sanctuary of Heraion of Perachora; dedicated to Greek Goddess Hera   Located a short distance from the resort town of Loutraki, known for its natural spring waters and about 75 kilometers west of Athens is the Heraion of Perachora.  This sanctuary is dedicated to the Greek Goddess Hera, queen of the Olympian gods, wife of Zeus and Goddess of women and marriage, known for her beauty, which is said, was renewed every year in the spring, when she washed away the traces of the previous year’s stress and worry. If only we all have that ability!   The Juno L ..read more

  Anemoi – Wind Gods of Greek Mythology – Photo By SoulMyst   The Anemoi, in Greek mythology, are the four chief and the four minor wind gods, each one corresponding to the direction from whence they came. All are depicted as having large wings and all are male.   The Four Chief Wind Gods   1. Boreas, god of the North wind and winter 2. Zephyrus, god of the West wind and Spring, 3. Notus, god of the South wind and summer 4.  Erus, god of the East wind and autumn.   The four Anemoi – The Greek Wind Gods – Boreas – The North Wind – Notus – The South Wind – Zephyr ..read more

  The Unique Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae – Peloponnese   The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae is a unique, one-of-a-kind ancient Greek sanctuary, dedicated to the god Apollo Epicurius (“Apollo the helper”). It is located approximately 230 km south of Athens, 1.131 metres above sea level, on a natural plateau of the bare and rocky landscape of Mount Kotylion, named Bassae, 14km southwest of Andritsaina.   The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae – Peloponnese – Before the canopy of 1986   To protect the temple from erosion, caused by extreme weather conditio ..read more

  Theodoros Stamos – Greek American Abstract expresionist artist – (1922-1997)   Greek-American Theodoros Stamos, the youngest member of the original group of abstract expressionist painters, the “Irascibles”, which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko, is recognised as one of the few abstract painters who connected the New York School’s first and second generations. He was born on December 31 1922 in New York, the fourth of six children, to Greek immigrant parents. His mother, Stamata, who was from Sparta and his father, Theodoros, from the island of Lefkada ..read more

  Greek Christmas and New Year Traditions   Every culture has its own unique, sometimes quirky, customs and traditions.  Greece is no exception and seems to have more than its fair share of Christmas and New Year celebrations. The twelve days of Christmas end on the sixth of January with the celebration of Epiphany, or as it’s called in Greek Theophania or, Ton Foton Greek Father Christmas is not Saint Nicholas but Saint Basil (Vasilis), who, being Greek and true to form, arrives a week late; on New Year’s Eve.   Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ..read more

  Pyanepsion – October – 4th Month of the Ancient Greek Attic Calendar – a month of beans and olive branches   The Attic or Athenian calendar (one of many ancient Greek calendars), a Festival calendar (lunisolar), with twelve months, each named after a festival or a god, was exclusive to the goings on of the Athenians. It was created solely to remind them of the more than eighty yearly celebrations plus the more than sixty God’s Birthdays, which were celebrated monthly rather than yearly. Now you know how the saying “Party like a Greek” came about!   The Attic or Athenian Cale ..read more

  (Imagined) 1687 explosion in the Parthenon from ignition of stored powder – Parthenon by Costa-Gavras – Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Hellenic Culture Organization.   Today, the Parthenon, built on the Acropolis of Athens between 447 and 438 B.CE, is more or less a collection of roofless pillars.  However, although over the years there had been many changes; it was well-maintained and virtually intact well into the 17th century. All that changed in 1687 with the Venetian siege of Athens; a result of the Ottomans (who conquered Athens in the 15th century), fighting the V ..read more

  Saint Sophia and Her Three Martyred daughters – Pistis (Faith) – Elpis (Hope) and Agapi (Love)   The Holy Martyrs Saint Sophia and her three daughters, Pistis (Faith), Elpis (Hope) and Agapi (Love), were born in Italy in the Second Century, AD, in the time of Emperor Hadrian. (Agapi, love, was translated, correctly, into Latin as “caritas” and then, wrongly, into English as “charity”) St. Sophia, whose name means wisdom, was widowed soon after the birth of her three daughters whom she had named for the three Christian virtues; Faith, Hope and Love.  Faith was twelve years ol ..read more

  The School of Aristotle – Gustav Adolph Spangenberg – c 1883 – 1888.   Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384–322 BC), one of the greatest and most influential philosophers of all time, as well as being an important figure in the history of science, mathematics and theater, founded his philosophical school in Athens, known as the Peripatetic school, or simply the Peripatos, in 335 BC. Peripatetic means “walking or wandering”.   Peripatetic means “walking or wandering”   Unlike his teacher, Plato (428 – 348 BC), who was a citizen of Athens; Aristotle was born in northern Gr ..read more