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LORD AND MASTER OF MY LIFE: A NEW BOOK BY ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS
“Lord and Master of my Life..” is how the Lenten prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, commences. It is not perhaps not entirely coincidental that Archbishop Makarios has chosen to publish a book of...
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ΟΥΔΕΤΕΡΟΠΑΤΡΙΑ
“We’re gon’ party like its your birthday” – 50 Cent.Recently, historian Maria Euthymiou resigned from the 2021 Commemorative Committee, tasked by the Greek government to organize the celebrations that...
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DR CHRISTOS FIFIS: NARRATIVES IN THE AUTUMN OF OUR TIMES
It is autumn in Greek Melbourne. At least that is what one is to understand from the front cover of author and academic Dr Christos Fifis’ latest book, «Ελληνοαυστραλιανά Διηγήματα,». The iconic Arts...
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BLACK LIVES AND THE ANCIENT GREEKS
As a result of George Floyd’s murder and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, there have been calls to decolonize the academic fields of Classical and Byzantine Studies. For the edification of...
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EXILES IN THE AEGEAN: THE GREECE OF BERT BIRTLES
It is fair to say that Melbourne poet, journalist and social activist Bert Birtles harboured an enduring fascination for Greece. He named the poetry journal that he founded in 1935 Thyrsus, after the...
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TONGUES OF GREEK AUSTRALIA
The photograph of the composite sign accompanying this text was taken by my own insufficiency while driving around the streets of Melbourne. It represents, better than any words ever could, the complex...
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DEFUNDING THE FUNDERS: AVEROFF AND SLAVERY
“The secret of a great fortune made without apparent cause is soon forgotten, if the crime is committed in a respectable way.” Honoré de Balzac - Le Père GoriotMention the name “Giorgios Averoff” to...
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DOUKHOBORS: RUSSIAN SECTARIANS SEEKING FREEDOM IN CYPRUS
From the Assyrian Christians to the Maronites, Cyprus has historically acted as a haven for those persecuted for their beliefs. In August 1898, 1,126 Doukhobors, fleeing religious persecution in...
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XU ZHEN: ETERNITY V EVOLUTION
Even today, many people still have the idea that valuable or desirable things only come from overseas.” Xu ZhenA toppled Corinthian column, just like those of the temple of the Olympian Zeus in Athens,...
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ON MOSAICS, WHORES AND PROSTITUTES
I freely admit to deriving much enjoyment from listening to Sakarya University History Professor Ebubekir (P)sofuoğlu’s (the P may or may not be silent) enlightened ruminations. The depth of learning...
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COOKING WITH YIAYIA: THE IKOYENIA SERIES
“Now we pop it in to cook,/The timer has just begun.” The first thing to note about South Australian journalist Stephanie Timotheou’s bilingual children’s book “Cooking with...
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COVIDIOTS OF YORE
One of the neologisms to come out of the Pandemic is “covidiot,” signifying someone who does not obey health directions. Lately I’ve seen a calque of this word appear in the Greek language in the form...
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PANHELLENION: SAYING MEH TO SAE
In 131AD, while on tour in Greece, Philhellenic Roman emperor Hadrian, who like all emperors since Augustus revered classical Greek culture and appropriated it in order to legitimise and provide an...
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FOOD IN TIME OF LOCKDOWN
“What are you doing,” my wife asked me. “Making myself a coffee,” I responded, stirring the briki vigorously and with a debonair flourish. “That’s the fifth one you’ve made today,” she observed.”...
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ALTERNATE HISTORY: REDEEMING SMYRNA
“She thought: sometime soon she’s going to remember what happened and realise that she’s lost everyone. And then what? Her mind moved over different possibilities… moving laboriously westwards in the...
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ON THE REMOTENESS OF BEING GREEK-AUSTRALIAN
«Σήκου γιόκα μ’ κι βάλ’ του στου ιννιά. Aρχίζ’ου Ντέμπρας,» my grandfather would say, patting me on the head. You knew you were lowest in the family pecking order when you were called upon to change...
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GREEK WONDER TALES: GIVING A VOICE TO SILENT WOMEN
As Greek-Australians, we seldom relate Greek fairy tales to our children. Such tales as are recounted, generally derive from the approved canon of the Grimm compendium, with a dash of Hans Christian...
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MARC CHAGALL AND GREECE: A LOVE STORY
“Greece is both still Europe but also already the Orient.” Marc Chagall. At first instance, Modernist painter Marc Chagall’s relationship with Greece is not immediately apparent. Referred to by art...
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SALAMIS SPECIAL: COMMEMORATING THE VERY DISTANT PAST
“Wait a minute,” Mehdi said and hurried to his shop’s counter. A few minutes he returned bearing a glass of steaming Persian, cardamom tea. “I’ve put a strand of saffron in it,” he exclaimed proudly....
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A FANTASY OF PHILATELY
Simonides of Ceos was a man of many talents. According to legend, he was responsible for the invention of the Greek letters ω, η, ξ, ψ. If I had invented a Greek letter, I would want it employed...
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