HOLY FRIDAY

 

                      

Holy Friday is the peak of the divine drama.   Millions of Orthodox Christians commemorate the crucifixion and tragic death of our Lord Jesus Christ today.  It is a day of profound sorrow, penance, and fasting.

 

After the Last Supper, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, put on a pseudo trial and sentenced to death.  He was crowned with a wreath of thorns, then tied and nailed by the wrists and feet and left to die by Roman troops, instigated by his archenemies the Scribes and Pharisees.  According to the Gospel of S, John: "Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother's sister, Mary Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene," and many of His disciples. 

Holy Friday is a day of deep mourning and lamentation for Christians all over the world, when we painfully grieve for how tragically our Lord suffered and was brutally killed for our salvation.

A few words about Pontius Pilate, the Governor of the Roman province of Judaea. Today, he is well-known because he presided over Jesus' trial and he was forced to order His crucifixion. He was reluctant to order Christ's crucifixion because he believed that Jesus did not preach against Emperor Tiberius, he even washed his hands against the crime, but he was forced to do so by the fury and power of the Scribes and Pharisees.       

                           Pontius Pilate Washing his Hands by Michael Welply 

                    Our Lord Jesus Christ Crowned with a Wreath of Thorns

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HOLY THURSDAY

 

                              

                                  The Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper 

 

Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday of Great Thursday is the day in the Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles by the Master and the Last Supper as described by the Gospels.

 

Maundy comes from the Latin word Mandatum or commandment, reflecting  Jesus’ words to His disciples: “I give you this commandment ….”

 

Holy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum the period that commemorates the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord.     

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Our profound grief for the Passion and Death of our Saviour is followed by our great joy by the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

 

In Greece, on Good Thursday we dye eggs and bake Easter biscuits. 

 

 

                                                   EASTER BISCUITS

Koulourakia tis Lambris:

300 g ((10 oz) butter

300 g (10 oz) sugar

Vanilla

2 eggs

120 ml (4 fl oz) orange juice

Zest of 2 oranges

50 ml (1.6 fl oz) METAXA  brandy

1 kg (2 lb) plain flour mixed with

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking sods

50 (1.6 fl oz) milk

Pinch of salt

Cloves

1 egg yolk whipped with

2 tbsp water

 

Heat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Whip butter, sugar, and vanilla for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, whipping well and making sure that the first is well incorporated before adding the next. Pour in the orange juice, zest, and brandy and continue whipping.

Fold in half the amount of the flour mixture, the milk, and salt and continue whipping.   Then fold in the remaining flour and knead with your hands for about 3 minutes until a soft, pliable dough is formed,

 

Cut small pieces of the dough, about 15 g each, and shape them into small cylinders.  Roll up each cylinder snail-wise and place them on a tin, lined with baking parchment, and bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. Allow cooling before serving or storing.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOLY WEDNESDAY

 

                                              

  

                  Judas with the Money he Received for Betraying our Lord Jesus 

According to the Gospel, Holy Wednesday commemorates the bargain of Judas, a clandestine spy among the disciples, to betray his and our Lord Jesus Christ for 30 silver coins.

 

It is also called Spy Wednesday or Good Wednesday in the Western Church and Great and Holy Wednesday in Eastern Christianity.

                                         Mary Magdalene by Andrea Solano

                                Our Lord Jesus at the House of Simon the Leper 

On Wednesday before His death, our Lord Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper.  As He sat at the supper table with His disciples, a woman called Mary Magdalene anointed Jesus’ head and feet with an expensive oil of spikenard.  The disciples were indignant asking why the oil was not sold and the money offered to the poor.

 

Judas Iscariot’s intent to betray his Master was unfortunately formed on Wednesday.  This is how the enemies of our Lord Jesus were told where to arrest Him, torture Him, and finally, tragically crucify Him.          

 

HOLY TUESDAY

 

            

      

On Good Tuesday, the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the Holy Gospel which refers to our Lord Jesus Christ’s denunciation against the religious leaders of Israel and the Secretaries and Pharisees.  It also commemorates the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Parable of Talents.  

During the liturgy of Good Tuesday, all these parables are read.  The parable of Talents has a clear eschatological meaning and teaches us that we should always be ready for the Day of Judgement.  According to the Gospel of Matthew, the five virgins who were prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival were rewarded, while the ones who were not prepared were dismissed,

 

Then the parable of Talents, according to the Gospel of St Mathew, tells the story of a master who entrusts his property to three servants, and in accordance with the abilities of each man they were given a number of talents.  One of the three servants received five talents, the second two and the third one.

 

The servants we sent out to make use of the talents and when they returned home the master asked the servants for an accounting of the talents with which he had entrusted them.

 

The first and second servant explained that they each put the talents to work and doubled the value of the property and each servant was rewarded by the master.  However, the third servant had not utilized his gift and merely hid his talent, so he was punished by his master.

The parable teaches us that success is a product of our hard work and God rewards those who put considerable effort to better their lives and the lives of those in their community.

 

The parable  teaches us that we are not all created equal, it also teaches us that we should not use our talents for our own selfish purposes, but to honour God and our fellow men.

 

The parable of talents is not only about salvation but about how we use our work to fulfill our duty.  It’s about lifelong stewardship.

The unfaithful servant in the parable did not only waste his master’s money, he missed an opportunity.  As a result, he was judged weak and lazy.

 

We should be very careful of what we do, with what we have been given, because one day we shall be held responsible. 

 

 

                                                 Jesus Christ our Lord

                                           

HOLY MONDAY

 

                                         

 

O Nymphios erhetae en to meso is niktos

 

The Orthros service, otherwise known as the Bridegroom Service is conducted on Palm Sunday, and Good Monday and Tuesday nights.  The themes throughout these services are based chiefly on our Lord Jesus’ earthly life.  These first three days constitute a single liturgy unit.  They have the same system and cycle of daily prayer.

The days are called Good Monday etc according to the Western Church and Holy Monday etc according to the Orthodox Church.   In Greece, we call the days Great Monday etc.

Holy Monday is dedicated to two events, the life of Joseph. Son of Patriarch Jacob, who was sold as a slave in Egypt, the adventures of whom reflect the life of our Lord Jesus Christ and his sufferings.  It is also dedicated to the tale of the fruitless fig tree that Christ dried because the fig tree symbolizes the soul of every human who lacks virtue.       

HOLY WEEK

 Holy Week in the Greek Orthodox Church takes place in the week after Lent and just before Easter.  Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and follows the last week of our Lord's life before His death and resurrection.

Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week.  This is the day where we celebrate the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. People tossed palm fronts at him and called him Messiah.  To celebrate Orthodox Christians attend the  Sunday Divine Liturgy, however, it is a special service that commemorates this event.  

This is going to be a lonely Holy Week, like 2020 was, as we are not allowed to travel between regions of our country to see our loved ones.

. 

                                   Our Lord's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

XENOPHON

 

                                        

Xenophon the Athenian military leader, philosopher, and historian was beyond doubt one of the most extraordinary figures of ancient Greece.  According to researchers, he was a “brilliant war tactician,   a great writer, an insightful philosopher and an invaluable historian of the violent time he lived in.”

 

He was certainly an intellectual and a man of action as well.  He was a person to be in the right place in the right time, being able not only to chronicle the life of one of the greatest thinkers that ever lived, Socrates, his teacher, but also led Greek troops into battle and use battle strategies that are still used today.

 

Born in Athens in 430 BC to a father named Gryllus, who was a member of the equestrian class, and died in Corinth in 354 BC, aged 77.

 

He was the author of works including Hellenica, Anabasis, Education of Cyrus, Memorabilia, the Symposium, Oeconomicus  Hiero, (Socrates’) Apology, Agesilaus and the Constitution of the Lacedemonians.  His military exploits took him far afield, as he served as a general in the army of the Persian King Cyrus the Younger.  

                                                The Ten Thousand  Army

At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected to be commander of one of the largest Greek armies “The Ten Thousand” that marched and came close to capture Babylon 401 BC.

 

As the military historian, Theodore Auyrault-Dodge wrote “The centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior”.  Xenophon established precedent for many logistic operations for the military, and among the first to use “flanking manoeuvres and feints”.

 

Xenophon’s work Anabasis recounts his adventures with The Ten Thousand, Cyrus’ failed campaign to claim the throne from Artaxerxis II of Persia, and the return of the Greek army after Cyurus’ death at the battle of Cunaxa.

 

Anabasis is a work of unique genius, a first-hand account showing humility and self-awareness from Xenophon after he returned from battle. 

 

Historians believe that Anabasis inspired Alexander the Great to conquer Babylon and the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BC.

As a student and a friend of Socrates, Xenophon  recounted several Socratic dialogues,  the Symposium, a tribute to Socrates called Memorabilia and the chronicle of the philosopher’s trial in 399 BC, the Apology of Socrates to the Jury.

 

The mere reading of Xenophon’s Memorabilia inspired Zeno of Cilium to completely change his life and create the Stoic School of Philosophy.

 

For a least two millennia, Xenophon’s many talents fuelled the debate of whether to place Xenophon with history, great general, historian or philosopher. 

 

Quintilian in “The Orators’ Education” discusses the most prominent historians, orators, and philosophers and recognizes Xenophon’s work as a historian but ultimately places him next to Plato as a philosopher.

Today, Xenophon is famous for his historical writings.  The “Hellenica”  continues directly from the final sentence of Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War”, covering the last seven years of the Peloponnesian War 431-420 BC and the subsequent 42 years ending with the second battle of Mantinia.

 

Despite being born an Athenian citizen, Xenophon became associated with Sparta, the city-state that was traditionally an opponent of Athens.  Experienced as a military leader, he served under Spartan commander in Ionia, Asia Minor and elsewhere, exiled from Athens and his friendship with King Agesilaus II endeared Xenophon  to the Spartans. 

Much of what is known today about Sparta comes from Xenophon’s works, including the biography of the Spartan King Agesilaus and the “Constitution of the Lacedemonians”.

 

Recognized universally as one of the greatest writers of antiquity.  Xenophon’s span multiple genres and are written in plain Attic Greek, which is why they have often been used in translation exercises for contemporary students of the ancient Greek language.

 

In the “Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers” Diogenis observes that Xenophon was known as the “Attic Muse” because of his diction.  Several centuries later the Roman philosopher and stateman Cicero described Xenophon’s mastery of Greek composition as “the Muses were said to speak with the voice of Xenophon.”

 

In his “Lives of Eminent Philosophers” the great biographer, Diogenis Laertius, writing many centuries later, reports how Xenophon met Socrates.  Xenophon was away on the Persian campaign during the trial and death of his beloved teacher, Socrates.  But much of Xenophon’s Socratic writings especially his “Apology” concerns the very trial and  the defense Socrates made for himself answering questions that arose after the trial as well.

 

Many scholars believe that Xenophon wrote his “Apology” and “Memorabilia” as a defense for his former teacher and to further his philosophy, not to be present a literal transcript of Socrates’ response to the historical charges against him.  His devotion for his beloved teacher was clear and Xenophon must have felt he had done his duty to the brilliant philosopher in his “Apology”.

 

The Greek historian Diogenes recorded that Xenophon lived in Corinth until his death in 354 BC.                                                

 

  

TURKISH GENOCIDES

 A propos the tragic Armenian Genocide which is a very popular item on international news, recently I wish to remind my friends and readers that this was not the only atrocity committed by the Ottoman Turks. 

The Greek Genocide was the systematic killing of the Christian Greek of Anatolia in Turkey, which was carried out during World War I and its aftermath (1914-1922) on the basis of their religion and ethnicity.  It was instigated by the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish National Movement against the Greek population of the Empire, including massacres, forced deportations, involvement in death marches, expulsions, executions, and destructions of Greek Orthodox cultural, historical, and religious monuments.

Several hundreds of thousands of Greeks living in the Ottoman Empire were brutally murdered during this period.  Most of the refugees and survivors fled to Greece.  Some found refuge in the neighbouring Russian Empire.

By late 1922, most of the Greeks of Asia Minor had either been murdered or fled.  Those remaining were transferred to Greece under the terms of the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey which formalized the exodus and barred the return of the refugees.

The Allies of World War I condemned the Ottoman-sponsored massacres.  In 2007, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution recognizing the Ottoman campaign against the Christian minorities, including the Greeks as a genocide, Some other organizations have also recognized the Ottoman atrocities as genocide, as have the governments of Greece, Cyprus, the United States, Sweden, Armenia, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. 

Among the causes of the Ottoman campaign against the Greek Christian population was that they would welcome liberation by the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. The belief of certain Turks that in order to form a modern, nationalistic country they must purge their "enemies" in order to create an ethnically based Turkish Nation.  Shame on these despicable criminals. 

                             Coat of Arms of the Loathsome Ottoman Empire 

                      

     

CHINA AND GREECE THE NEW SILK ROAD FORUM HELD YESTERDAY

 

 

 

“Greek-Chinese economic and trade relations are dynamic and will provide further collaboration on the shipping sector among others,” The Secretary for Foreign Affairs for Greece and President of Enterprise Greece, Ioanni Smyrlis  said on Thursday.

 

He participated in Belt and Road Initiative* in Greece 2021 Forum, held online under the thyme: “China and Greece the New Silk Road”.

                                                      Cosco - Piraeus 

Smyrlis cited the examples of Cosco key investment at the port of Piraeus, the founding of the Bank of China branch in Athens and the Belt and Road Initiative itself as examples of existing collaborations.

                                                                                                     

The head of the ministry’s export agency said Enterprise Greece facilitates bilateral trade and investments in several sectors, including tourism, real estate, agrofood, transport and energy among others

 

 

The Minister of Culture and Sports, Mrs. Lina Mendoni met the Ambassador of China to Greece Mr. Zhan Qiyue.

                                     Socrates and Confucius - Ancient Agora                   

They discussed the program of initiatives and events that will run from May 2021 to May 2022, which aims to strengthen relations between the two countries.  At the opening event, statues of Socrates and Confucius will be unveiled at the archaeological site of the Ancient Agora near the Acropolis.

                                                 

The sculpture “Socrates and Confucius: a Meeting” is the creation of Wu Weishan, renowned sculptor and President of the People’s Artistic Association of China, who donated this piece of art.  For the installation of the sculpture special technicians will travel from China to Greece, who will work with a team of the Greek Ministry of Culture.  Events include the exchange of exhibitions, performances, and online concerts with the participation of both Greek and Chinese musicians.  Particularly important is the cooperation of Greece and China on issues related to cultural heritage.  The minister and the ambassador discussed ways of coping with illicit trafficking of antiquities, prompt archaeological research, organizing archaeological and contemporary art exhibitions, and studying both countries' cultural heritage.     

BREAD

                     

Bread Bin

Bread as an archetype nutriment has become an everyday habit, throughout the centuries and in  all geographic regions. From the Fertile Crescent, where wheat was domesticated and spread and spread North and West to Europe and North Africa and East towards Asia.  Charred crumbs olf flatbread prepared from wild wheat and barley, between 14.600 - 11.600 years ago have been found in an archaeological site in Jordan predating the earliest known making of bread from cultivated wheat by 1000 years     

 

Find below several recipes for various kinds of bread.

 

                                                  IRISH SODA BREAD

A delicious bread that is very easy to prepare.

 

500 g (1 lb) plain flour sifted with

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Salt to taste

150 ml (5 liquid oz) Greek yogurt

150 ml (5 liquid oz) milk

Lukewarm water

 

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Place the sifted ingredients into a large bowl and pour in the yogurt, milk, and enough tepid water and mix very well together to form a soft dough.  Place the dough on a floured surface and shape it into a round loaf.  Transfer it to a tin lined with oiled baking parchment and score a shallow cross with a sharp knife.  Bake for 30 minutes then turn it over and bake for 15 minutes more and place on a rack to cool.

 

                                                       HERB BREAD

Do prepare this aromatic bread.

750 g (3 cups) plain flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 packet active yeast

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tbsp snipped chives

1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves

312.5 ml (1 ¼ cups) warm water

2 tbsp butter

 

Mix 2 cups of flour with the sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.  Add the herbs and the warm water and beat adding the remaining flour until smooth. Cover the bowl with cling film and a small blanket and allow the dough to prove for 30 minutes until doubles in bulk.  Punch the dough down and knead for 3-4 minutes on a floured surface.

 

Place the dough in a greased loaf tin, cover, and let it rise once more for 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.  Bake in an oven preheated to180 C (350 F) for 40-45 minutes  Brush the top of the baked bread with butter and remove from the oven to cool.

 

 

                                                 PLAIN WHITE BREAD

500 g (1 lb) plain flour mixed  with

1 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp Greek honey

Warm water

2 tbsp olive oil

 

Mix the flour and yeast well together.  Stir in the honey diluted in a little warm water, then add the salt and mix thoroughly together.  Knead the dough adding enough warm water in stages until a soft, pliable dough is formed.  Finally, add the olive oil and knead for 5 minutes more. 

 

Cover the dough and allow to prove for 30-35 minutes or until doubled In bulk.   Shape into loaves and place in a tin lined with baking parchment and allow to prove once more until doubled in bulk.  Slash the dough diagonally on the surface of each loaf lengthwise and bake in an oven preheated to180 C (350 F) for 30 minutes then lower the heat and bake for 25 minutes more.

 

 

                                                     CHEESE BREAD

A delightful bread!

 

500 g (1 lb) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

300 cheese (140 g grated feta, 140 g grated Graviera from Crete, 20 g grated Parmesan

1 ¼ cup warm milk

½ cup olive oil

 

Mix the dry ingredients well together, adding the milk gradually until a soft pliable dough is formed.  Shape into a round loaf and place in a tin lined with oiled baking parchment.  Brush lavishly with olive oil and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) and bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown.

 

                                                     BANANA BREAD

2 cups sifted bread flour

½ tsp baking powders

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

1 egg

1 vanilla

2/3 cup mashed bananas

3 tbsp yogurt

 

Sift the flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  And stir in the egg, vanilla, and mashed bananas.  Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture in three parts with the yogurt.  Place in a loaf tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350f) for 50 minutes.

 

 

                                                       CRETAN BREAD

A delicious, nutty bread,

210 g ( 1/2 lb) wholemeal flour

210 g ( 1/2 lb) plain flour

30 g (1 oz) fresh yeast

1 tbsp Greek honey dissolved in

2 tbsp warm water

Extra water, if necessary

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp olive oil separated

Place the two kinds of flour in a food processor and pulse to combine.  Add the diluted yeast and extra water, very gradually, and then the salt and olive oil.  Blend until the dough forms a ball around the hook. 

Remove the dough from the food processor, place it on a floured surface and knead fr 5 minutes.  Plac the dough in a warm bowl, brush with olive oil, cover with cling film and a small blanket and allow to prove for 40 minutes until doubled in bulk.  Punch the dough down and knead for 5 minutes,  Shape into cylindrical loaves.  Place into a tin lined with baking parchment, cover, and let rise for 15-20 minutes more.  

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F)n brush the loaves with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes or until crisp and brown.     

                                                      RAISIN BREAD

This is a recipe for a delicious bread that is really a cake.

125 ml (1/2 cup) sunflower oil

300 g (1 1/2 cup) sugar

An ample pinch of salt

Thickly grated rind of 3 oranges

625 ml (2 1/2 cups) orange juice

800 g (1 lb 10 oz) self-raising flour sifted with

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp grated nutmeg

1 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

300 g (10 oz) currants or raisins sprinkled with

2 tbsp of the above mixture  

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Whip sunflower oil with sugar, salt, and orange zest, until the sugar dissolves.  Pour in the orange juice and mix well together.  Stir in the flour until well combined, finally, fold in the currants or raisins.  

Scrape the batter into a 30 cm (12 inch)  round tin lined with baking parchment and bake for 45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and reverse n a dish to cool before serving.    

                                                FOGATSA FROM CORFU

A delightful tsoureki, Easter cake, from Corfu.

8-10 cups plain flour

500 ml (2 cups) milk

1 1/2 cups melted butter

2.5 cubes of yeast

4 egg yolks 

1 tsp orange zest

1 vanilla

3 tbsp kumquat or orange spoon sweet, drained, and chopped 

1 shot of kumquat liqueur or brandy 

2 tbsp blanched and slivered almonds  

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Heat up milk and place in a bowl and add the yeast mashed with your fingers.  Stir and add one cup of flour and half of the sugar.  mix well and then leave the mixture covered until risen and doubled in bulk.   

In a large bowl, whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add the chopped kumquat or orange spoon sweet, orange zest, liqueur, and melted butter.  Combine the yeast mixture with the egg mixture and slowly add as much flour that is needed for the dough to become soft but firm.  

Cover the dough with cling film and a small blanket and place in a warm place until doubled in bulk,  As soon as the dough has risen knead it again give it a round shape and place it in a round buttered tin cover and let it prove for the last time for 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.  Brush with whipped egg white, sprinkle with flaked almonds carve a sallow cross in the middle, and bake for about 1 hour until the fogatsa turns golden,  Reverse on a round dish and allow to cool before slicing.          

YESTERDAY WAS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE INSTALMENT OF THE TERRIBLE JUNTA IN GREECE

 Yesterday the 21st of April 2021 was the anniversary of the establishment of the hated junta, a dark day for those living in Greece and Greeks abroad.

For Greece, the 21st of April 1967, was the day that the army overthrew the legal government and established a 7-year long dictatorship.  For most Greeks, it is a day we wish to forget.    For the people who were jailed and tortured, it is a date that brings back dark memories and nightmares, even after half a century,  Even more, applies to families whose loved ones were cruelly murdered by the junta.  

                                         Young King Constantine of Greece

Makarezos, Pattakos and Papadopoulos 

From early January 1967, many politicians and the young King Constantine feared a revolt by the army and the imposition of a military dictatorship.  It was expected to be a coup by the generals, however, it was three lower-ranking officers, who took everyone by surprise, when, in one day, they took over the power.  It was Colonel George Papadopoulos, Brigadier-General Stylianos Pattakos, and Colonel Nikolaos Makarezos who ordered the tanks to roll into Athens.  The army took over the most crucial areas of the capital. Then, they arrested the key politicians and Leftenant-General Georgios Spandidakis the Commander-in-Chief of the Greek army, and other senior officers.  

On the morning of the 21st April 1967, Greeks woke up to a nightmare: the rumbling noise of tanks, constant staccato rifle shots, and military music on the radio. Then came the announcement: "The Hellenic Armed Forces undertake the Governance of the Country." 

                                                      Mikis Theodorakis 

After the politicians, many individuals, both prominent people and ordinary citizens, who belonged to Greece's Left were arrested in a methodical and brutal manner.  The 10.000 had already been placed on a list by the military.  The rounding up included personalities like composer Mikis Theodorakis and many artists and academics.

The excuse of the "Colonels"  was that Greece was in great danger to be falling into the hands of communists, which was a gross lie.  The 10.000 "blacklisted" individuals were sent to Yaros island concentration camp.  Yaros was an island for political prisoners since the occupation of Greece by the Romans, it is also called "devil's island" due to its inhuman connotations.

The least fortunate of the thousands of political prisoners suffered brutal tortures leaving them marked for life.  

The junta suspended 11 articles of Greece's constitution to establish the regime.  Freedom of speech ceased to exist, while strict censorship was instituted for radio, newspapers, and later for television.      

 

Realizing that they were isolated from the rest of Europe and condemned by most Greeks, especially by those who were in self-imposed exile, the junta made some efforts of being more democratic, more human, more likable.  They held large public celebrations on the anniversary of the 21st of April each year. 

The resistance inside Greece and abroad continued throughout the seven long years of the colonels' rule.  Politicians, intellectuals, artists, and academics, who lived abroad, joined their voices to tell the world that the colonels were violating human rights and they held Greece captive inside their ruthless regime. 

When the junta finally succumbed to the anger of the repressed Greek people and the outcry from around the globe, they decided to call elections.  First colonel Papadopoulos appointed Spyros Markezinis as Prime Minister and himself as President of the Republic.

Some people believed that there would be democratic elections, unlike the rigged 1968 referendum to change the constitution.  No one will ever know what would have happened if it hadn't been for the uprising of the Polytechnic School of Athens.

In November 1973, a few hundred students of the Politechneio and other Greek citizens, exhausted with the repression of the regime, occupied the building of the National Technical University of Athens and demanded the colonels to leave power.  The events of the 17th of November when the premises of the university were cruelly cleared by the military, tragically, left several students dead.  

The turmoil gave the opportunity to Colonel  D. Ioannides to topple Papadopoulos, on November the 25th, with yet another coup.  His ambition was to overthrow the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios so Greece and Cyprus would unite,  unfortunately causing the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, on the 20th July 1974 and the tragic and frightful aftermath for Greek Cypriots and Greeks all over the world. 

                

A NEW BRAND FOR THE ATHENS EPIDAURUS FESTIVAL

The Athens Epidaurus Festival, one of Greece’s most significant cultural events, has launched a new brand identity, with the aim to introduce its audience to a new era of cultural creation.

 

Katerina Evangelatos

According to Athens Epidaurus Festival’s Artistic Director, Katerina Evangelatos, the new  brand identity will ”mark the beginning of a new era” for the Festival. 

 

“This past difficult winter, not only did we prepare the 2021 artistic program and launch set of new initiatives entitled  OPEN PLAN, but we also worked towards (re)designing our brand identity as part of an overall effort to provide a breath of fresh air into this institution.  The new identity aims, among other things, to highlight the historical continuity of a festival spanning 66 years by drawing attention to its pioneering character and its high standing as one of the most prominent cultural organisations in Europe and worldwide,” she said.

 

“Our relationship with the international scene is of paramount importance: We are a Greek, European and international Festival.  Our audience includes Greeks and thousands of visitors from around the world.  This is why we have we have decided to (re)introduce ourselves with our international name: ATHENS EPIDAURUS FESTIVAL,” Mrs Evangelatos added.

 

 

Dimitris Papazoglou

The new visual identity of the Athens Epidaurus Festival by designer and creative director Dimitris Papazoglou and the Dps/Athens team.  According to Papazoglu: “It is a powerful, symbolic statement whose conceptional references, connotations and interpretations visually encapsulated the festival’s core philosophy.”    

                                                        The New Brand