Farewell to a great philhellene

Jacqueline de Romilly, a distinguished French academic and great philhellene, died on December 18 at the age of 97. De Romilly was a classical scholar who specialised in the civilisation and language of ancient Greece, and had been the second woman to be elected member of the prestigious French Academy.
In 1995, the Greek state bestowed honorary Greek Citizenship upon De Romilly. In 2000, she was named ambassador of Hellenism, and became a foreign guest member of the Athens Academy. As a scholar, she was known for her works on ancient Greek literature, and thought, especially on the historian Thucydides and Pericles’ Classical Athens.
“The life and work of Jacqueline de Romilly are bathed in the light that comes from the sources of the highest civilisation – the Greek civilisation, the flame of which lived with her till her last breath” said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, while Prime Minister George Papandreou praised de Romilly for honouring Greek thought and for devoting herself to the promotion of Greek literature and arts.
You Tube: Jacqueline de Romilly – La Vigie Grecque
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

El Greco`s masterpiece in Thessaloniki

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) “The Coronation of the Virgin,” one of the masterpieces painted by Doménicos Theotokópoulos, widely known as El Greco, is currently exhibited at the Teloglion Foundation of Art in Thessaloniki. 
The oil painting on canvas (57 x 79.3 cm), dates back to 1603-1605, the creative period of the artist. El Greco painted this masterpiece for the chapel of the Hospital de la Caridad near Todelo.
The painting was acquired by the Alexandros S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation in 2008 and is temporarily housed in the National Gallery until the completion of the “Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens.”
“The Coronation of the Virgin” will be on display at Teloglion Foundation until May, 2010.

A farewell to philosopher Axelos

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Philosopher Kostas Axelos died on February 4, at the age of 85 in Paris where he had been living since 1945.

Axelos was born in Athens in 1924 and, at the end of 1945, with the help of then director of the French Institute in Athens Octave Merlier, he boarded the legendary ship Mataroa to Paris along with 200 other young Greeks who were thus saved from the ravages of the impending civil war.
He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, and then taught there from 1962-1973. He was a columnist and later editor of the pioneering, at the time, magazine “Arguments” (1956-1962).
He also founded and, since 1960, directed, in tandem with “Arguments,” the philosophical series of the “Editions de Minuit,” which also published most of his own books.
Axelos wrote 24 books and a plethora of texts in French, Greek and German, which have been translated into 16 languages.
Axelos interview with Radical Philosophy (2005): Mondialisation without the world
Du côté de Desmos: www.desmos-grece.com  (in French)

Giorgio De Chirico Art Centre in Volos

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) The Giorgio de Chirico Art Centre is located in the centre of the city of Volos, Greece’s third-largest port city, where the famous Italian painter was born in 1888.

The Art Centre, located on a pedestrian road next to the Municipal Conservatory, is housed in a new glass building that has been named after the Surrealist painter who was the founder of the “scuola metafisica” (metaphysical school) art movement.
The ground floor, mezzanine and second floors of the Art Centre, which was inaugurated in September 1990, house the Volos Municipal Art Collection.
The latter includes more than 400 paintings, sculptures, hagiographies, ceramics, mosaics and artistic photographs, as well as periodical exhibitions, and a small library.
The other two floors house the Alexander Damtsas Museum, a permanent exhibition of the Volos-born art aficionado’s collection comprising some 500 paintings and gravures by mostly Greek artists representing all the important art styles from the late 19th century to date.
Athens News Agency: The Giorgio de Chirico Art Centre, a cradle of culture in the heart of Volos

Greek PM Meets with Outgoing NATO Secretary General

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis met on Thursday (May 14) in Athens with the outgoing NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.  Pointing out that during Scheffer’s term the alliance was enlarged twice, while in the field of operations NATO was called to meet very demanding challenges, Karamanlis praised the efforts to promote the Alliance’s relations with Russia as well as the progress made in relation to Ukraine and Georgia and the countries of the ‘Partnership for Peace’, the ‘Mediterranean Dialogue’ and the ‘Istanbul Initiative.’  On his part, the NATO SecGen stressed that “Greece’s participation in NATO’s operations and missions was and still is very important.” He also referred to energy and internet security issues as well as to the participation of Greek Navy frigates in the efforts to combat sea piracy.  De Hoop Scheffer also met with Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and National Defence Minister Evangelos Meimarakis.

Greece: Essential Info

Visit the “Greece-Essential Info” link, on the Secretariat General of Information website (www.minpress.gr), to find numerous interesting links covering almost every aspect of contemporary Greek reality. Also visit the “Greece in the World,” “World Media articles on Greece,” as well as the “About Greece” + “About Brand Greece” relevant sections. Apart from its frequently updated english website, the Secretariat General of Information issues three specialised bulletins: the english online daily bulletin Greek News Agenda (www.greeknewsagenda.gr) and the weeklies GrèceHebdo (in French), Griechenland Aktuell (in German) and Boletín Griego de Noticias (in Spanish). A German weekly edition is also forthcoming.