David A. Bell, Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor in the Era of North Atlantic Revolutions; Professor of History, Princeton University, “The Greek Revolution in the Age of Revolution”

  David A. Bell is a historian of early modern France, with a particular interest in the political culture of the Old Regime and the French Revolution. He attended graduate school at Princeton, where he worked with Robert Darnton, and received his Ph.D. in 1991. From 1990 to 1996 he taught at Yale, and from...

Marinos Pourgouris, University of Cyprus, “Odysseus Elytis: The Poet as Philosopher”

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Embassy of Greece and the UCLA SNF Hellenic Center present Odysseus Elytis: The Poet as Philosopher. A quarter of a century after his death, and despite his immense popularity in Greece, Odysseus Elytis remains a rather elusive poet. “I became thousands of years old,” he poignantly writes in...

Greek Book Club: Let Me Explain You, by Annie Liontas

by Zoom

Stavros Stavros Mavrakis, Greek immigrant and proud owner of the Gala Diner, believes he has just ten days to live. As he prepares for his final hours, he sends a scathing email to his ex-wife and three grown daughters, outlining his wishes for how they each might better live their lives. With varying degrees of...

Maria Schoina, Associate Professor of English Literature, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki | “Byron’s Romantic Philhellenism”

by Zoom

Byron’s philhellenic verse and romantic involvement in the Greek Revolution inspired a host of poets and artists in Europe and across the Atlantic. His death in Missolonghi on April 19, 1824 appears to have been an especially great force in raising sympathy for the Revolution and stimulating young philhellenes to join the Greek fighting. But...

Nikos Panou, “Slaying the Dragon: Byzantine Survivals in the Greek War of Independence”

by Zoom

The lecture will focus on an aspect of the Greek War of Independence that calls for answers to questions as basic as they are elusive. What role did the Byzantine heritage play in conceptualizing, representing, or animating the struggle against the Ottoman Empire? What strands of Byzantium were foregrounded and through which mechanisms did they...

Anastassios Antonaras, Head of Exhibitions, Communication and Education Department, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki | “Documenting Diversity in Thessaloniki and Its Hinterlands: Three Archaeological Stories”

by Zoom

This lecture examines the diverse population that lived in Byzantine Thessaloniki and the surrounding area through three case studies: a young girl with African religious beliefs who lived in the late 3rd century, a Slavic lady of the late 8th century, and a group of archers from the 14th - 15th century who were trained...

Vassilis Lambrinoudakis, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology at the University of Athens | “The Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidauros: New Finds Rewrite the Function and History of the Most Important Sanatorium in Antiquity”

by Zoom

The unexpected finds during recent excavations in the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidauros shed new light on the origins, cult, and function of Asclepius, the main Divine Healer of the Graeco-Roman world. An amazing ground-floor building that features α peristyle and basement hewn into the rock was excavated at the Tholos, the famous classical circular...