Ρέα Γαλανάκη “Φωτιές του Ιούδα, Στάχτες του Οιδίποδα”

		Μυθιστόρημα  Η άφιξη μιας νεαρής Ελληνοεβραίας δασκάλας σε ορεινό χωριό της Κρήτης, το έτος 2000, όσο και το πασχαλινό έθιμο της καύσης του Ιούδα, δίνουν αφορμή για μια τομή στο “άβατον” των σύγχρονων ορεινών κοινωνιών της νήσου, αλλά και για το ξεδίπλωμα μιας παλιάς κρητικής παράδοσης, που αποδίδει στο πρόσωπο του βιβλικού Ιούδα τη μοίρα του μυθικού Οιδίποδα. Νόμος και παρανομία, έρωτες και τελετουργίες, φονικά και αποσιωπήσεις, ρηξικέλευθες αλλά και απαρχαιωμένες αντιλήψεις, συνθέτουν ένα σκηνικό γεμάτο συγκρούσεις και αντιφάσεις, μέσα στο οποίο η νεαρή γυναίκα αναζητεί τις ρίζες της ταραγμένης οικογενειακής της ιστορίας. Παράλληλα, ο περί τον Ιούδα και τον Οιδίποδα μύθος, ένας μύθος για το απόλυτο κακό, βαδίζει πάνω στα σκοτεινά δικά του μονοπάτια: ξεκινά από τα βάθη του χρόνου και φθάνει ως τις μέρες μας, για να υπηρετήσει αλλά και να ερμηνεύσει τις άκαμπτες δομές των ορεινών κλειστών κοινωνιών. Ένα “διπλό” βιβλίο, που αποκαλύπτει ότι μύθος και σύγχρονη ζωή συμπλέκονται σε ενιαίο σώμα, όπως άλλωστε και η λογοτεχνία με την πραγματικότητα.
		Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη

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City of Athens Launches Chrismas Events Tomorrow

City of Athens Christmas and New Year festivities will commence tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, with the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree at Syntagma Square at 19:30. The festivities programme had been suspended due to recent tragic events.
Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis assures all Athens citizens that the festive events will take place in order to assist the city to find its rhythm once again and bring smiles mostly to the faces of young children.
City of Athens teams are waging a “battle” with time in order to repair damages and rebuild the festive scene at Syntagma Square from scratch.
Mayor Kaklamanis invites all Athens citizens to attend the launch of Christmas events and, together, convey the message that “Athens will live on and celebrate Christmas”.
Syntagma Square: The centre of the celebration
Syntagma Square will be filled with the melodies of the City of Athens Philharmonic Orchestra and songs of the Spyros Lambrou Children’s Choir, until the moment Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis gives the signal for the lighting of the Christmas tree and illumination of the city with festive lights.
Fireworks will light up Athens skies, making the start of the celebration, a celebration that will reach even the smallest city neighbourhood.
The City of Athens Music Ensembles Big Band will then stage a concert at the square.
For three full weeks Syntagma Square will be transformed into a festive scene with special structures, games and the magic carousel. Individuals of all ages will have the opportunity to enjoy a series of music and art events featuring classic and jazz melodies, Christmas songs from around the world, Byzantine hymns, ethnic music and traditional dances, to take place on a specially-built stage. The Municipality’s young friends can expect plenty of surprises and a range of educational and entertainment activities.

Greece Mourns Death of Youth

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   A tragic incident took place on Saturday night, when a teenager was shot by a police officer. Due process is being followed: the two people responsible for this act of violence have been brought to justice. One of them is charged with premeditated manslaughter, and the second with complicity. The whole of Greece in one voice, be it the government, the opposition, and the people themselves, expressed its condemnation of the tragic incident of Saturday night. Some isolated extremist groups tried to take advantage of this spontaneous expression of sorrow and transformed it into acts of vandalism of public and private property in downtown Athens.In a condolence letter to the boy’s parents on Sunday, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis promised the state would do everything in its power to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again. Early aftermoon, the premier made the following statement:

“As every Greek, I feel deep sorrow for the unfair loss of the young pupil. At such difficult times, my thought is with his friends and family. I know that there is nothing that can soothe their pain. However, I want to assure everyone that the State will spare no effort to render justice. The culprits will receive the punishment they deserve. Each and every Greek can rest assure that the State will do anything in its power for this tragedy not to be repeated in the future. At this point, everyone has a part to play: The government first and foremost, along with all political forces, the youth and the rest of the society. It is unfortunate that extremist elements have taken advantage of the tragic event to serve their own purposes. With everything that they perpetrated, especially yesterday, it becomes obvious that their sole motive was bare violence and that their aim mere destruction. Once again, their acts turned against innocent people and their properties, therefore against society as a whole. In a State governed by law and democracy, the duty of the government, of any government, is to protect society. Those unacceptable and dangerous incidents occurred, under the cover of the commotion stirred by this tragic event must not and will not be tolerated again. The State will protect the citizens, it will protect society. I have asked the Minister of Economy and Finance to explore every possibility in order, for our co-citizens whose property was destroyed or damaged, to be immediately and fully indemnified. There are specific proposals already tabled which will be further elaborated in the coming days by the competent ministries involved. Life is the supreme good. Its loss is irreplaceable. May the stance of each and every one of us pay tribute to the memory of Alexis.” 
President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias also sent a telegram expressing the state’s condolences to the parents. “I express by deepest anguish for the loss of your son. His death was a wound to the operation of the state of law. I hope that it is the last and I am certain that those to blame will be held responsible,” Papoulias said in his message.  During a news conference on Sunday, Interior Minister, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said, “It is inconceivable for there not to be punishment when a person, let alone a minor, loses their life.” He added: “The loss of life is something that is inconceivable in a democracy.”  Pavlopoulos tendered his resignation soon after the incident, but the premier did not accept it.  Athens News Agency: PM promises ‘no leniency’ over boy’s death

World Media for Greece: In the Lap of the Gods

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  A year after the Greek fires halted her performance of Beckett, Fiona Shaw makes an emotional return to Epidaurus. In the first part of this article she talks about her experience in Epidaurus last August, when her performance was cancelled due to the official mourning because of the fires. In the second part, she shares the feelings brought about by the site of the ancient theatre and the performance of Beckett’s “Happy Days” to 6,000 attentive people. The Guardian: In the lap of the gods; Secretariat General of Information: World Media on Greece – Culture and Education