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)

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A Farewell to Jules Dassin

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)    Jules Dassin (born Julius Dassin), famous noir films director passed away yesterday at age 96. Dassin was an American-born director who moved to France in 1952 after being subject to McCarthy’s communist blacklist in Hollywood. Married to Melina Mercouri, a well respected and highly active Greek actress and politician, Dassin filmed in 1960 “Never on Sunday,” winning the music Academy Award in Manos Hadjidakis’ music, and a nomination for Best Director, while Merkouri won the Award for Best Actress in Cannes Film Festival the same year. Together, they also filmed “Phaedra” (1962) and “Topkapi,” two other films which won the public’s heart and critics’ admiration. Living a large part of his life in Greece, he was considered a true Philhellene, to the point of Greek officials describing him as “a first generation Greek.” Mercouri and he opposed to the Greek junta and later on were major supporters of the return of the Elgin marbles to Athens, establishing the Melina Merkouri Foundation.