Last Chance!!!

Chris Stewart, our multitalented ICT volunteer, photographer and artist, among many other roles, is presenting his second and final (for the immediate future, that is) art exhibition at an opening on Wednesday evening June 4th at 7:30 pm in the Library of the Institute. He and his wife Allison will leave Athens for her new posting starting at the end of the summer.

This exhibit of mixed media, photography and fine art “in collision” has the provocative title “Αντίο κι ευχαριστώ για τα ψάρια”. This is a look back at how Greece has influenced Chris’ art. The show is a tribute to this country where he has lived, and where he has fed off of the inspiration that is found everywhere. Greece is a country that has inspired him, both directly and indirectly, to create art of which he is very proud. This collection examines living all of the seasons in Athens, learning from the people and the environment, and simply being in Greece. The media used bump up against each other in a way that he believes is the very attitude one can find in Greece: the old, new, and even the future coming together. To the people of Greece Chris can only say “Ευχαριστώ!”. Here’s an opportunity to contemplate Chris’ take on Greece and to wish him and Allison a fond farewell. We look forward to seeing you!

The exhibition will continue during CIG Library hours until Wednesday, June 11th.

With this exhibition the activities of the Institute will stop until the Fall. The Office and Library will remain open through July 31st. More about that later, as the summer has yet to begin!

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director

The Fred Winter Collection

Thyreatis, from south of Paralion Astrous, to Ag. Andreas hill with main mountain beyond. (Professor Fred Winter, 1988)

Belated News! Three Strong Earthquakes Struck Crete in the Interwar Period; What Are the Archaeologically-Oriented Events in Athens?

Old Archaeological Museum of Herakleio, Crete

Unknown today to most archaeologists and historians were the three severe earthquakes that struck Herakleio in Crete in 1926, 1930 and 1935. The very strong one in 1926 was noted by Sir Arthur Evans in his monumental work The Palace of Minos. It stimulated him to think about the role of earthquakes in the destruction of the Minoan palaces.

In this interwar period the Ephors of the antiquities of Crete and Directors of the Museum in Herakleio, Stephanos Xanthoudidis, until his death in 1928, and afterwards Spyrdon Marinatos, had to deal with the damage done to the Museum and its collections.

Stephanos Xanthoudidis

Giorgos Tzorakis, an archaeologist at the Archaeological Museum of Herakleio, will describe the challenges that these two men faced in their positions in his lecture in Greek on Monday, May 26th at 18:30 at the Historical Archive of the Hellenic Archaeological Service at Psaromylingou 22 on the cusp between the Kerameikos and Psyrri districts of our diverse city. The lecture entitled, "’Τα αρχαία μας ευρίσκονται εν κινδύνω...’ Οι μεγάλοι σεισμοί του Μεσοπολέμου που έπληξαν το Ηράκλειο και το Μουσείο του, κατά τα έτη 1926, 1930 και 1935”, is the last lecture of the 2013/2014 Lecture Program of the Syllogos Filon tou Istorikou Archeiou tis Archaiologikis Yperesias.

Spyrdon Marinatos

Tzorakis’ research in the Historical Archive of the Hellenic Archaeological Service and in the papers of the two protagonists has revealed their titanic struggle to repair the damage and prevent further damage. All this happened in a consistently unfavorable environment created by the economic difficulties of the Ministry and the country as a whole caused by the influx of refugees from Asia Minor and the world-wide Great Depression. Xanthoudidis’ and Marinatos’ strong personalities played a role in how each coped with the situations that they faced.

CIG Calendar of Events
Speaking of upcoming lectures in Athens, why don’t you let our “Calendar of Events” (dropdown from “Events” on upper Menu Bar) on the newly-revamped CIG website (www.cig-icg.gr) be your one stop place to learn what are the scheduled archaeologically-oriented lectures, open meetings, colloquia, conferences, seminars, etc. that are going to happen in Athens each month besides the what CIG offers??? As you can see, even in May the calendar is has many events to tempt a wide variety of archaeological and historical interests. Jonathan combs the announcements that we receive each week and religiously enters the new events on the calendar along with the links to specific programs. Over time this Calendar of Events will become an archive of what has happened in the past. As many of the listed events are now live-streamed, and some are available afterwards on the websites of the organizations and/or on their YouTube Channel (such that of the CIG), you don’t even have to be in Athens to watch them!

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director

The Fred Winter Collection

Celsus Library and the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithradates, Ephesos. (Professor Fred Winter, 1988)

Yeia Sou Maria! Revamped CIG Website Live

With visions of Eurovision’s past dancing in our heads, we say “Yeia sou Maria!” to our new undergraduate intern from York University. Maria Tsiopelas arrived two weeks ago and she already has catalogued a large stack of new monographs and books as well as helped out with two events and receptions (the Friends Association art exhibit opening and the Annual Open Meeting). With two and a half months to go in her internship she will turn her attention now to scanning the documents in Greek from our Archives relating to past CIG archaeological projects.

Maria is a third-year undergraduate student currently pursuing a specialized honours degree in English. Her studies have influenced her interest in literary works, specifically the Classics. Her language skills in English, Greek and French give her a range of study materials. Maria’s study of classical literary works include drama, Epic, and Lyric poetry of Ancient Greece. This has led to her research on Ancient Greek Mythology, early Helladic Eras, and literature of the Heroic Age. Maria’s Greek heritage has placed a special interest in Minoan and Spartan history amongst her literary studies. This interest not only lies in the literary form and its representation of Greek culture and history, but also how it is portrayed through visual arts, and dance. Maria is very excited about this internship opportunity with the Canadian Institute in Greece. Upon the completion of her honours degree, Maria intends to continue her university studies to obtain her M.A. in Education.

When you come to the opening of Chris Stewart’s art exhibition on Wednesday, June 4th you will have another chance to meet her. Of course, you can always stop by the Institute before then and say hello to her.

The CIG website has been revamped!
The addition of the CIG Portal to the Past to the Institute’s electronic presence has permitted us to re-design and re-focus the Institute’s website. With the diligent work of our Neda and Franz Leipen Fellow, Myles Chykerda, and the sage advice of our ICT volunteer Chris Stewart, the revamped CIG website (www.cig-icg.gr) is now available for your use. By the end of September all of the slated improvements will have been made.

We believe that it will be easier to navigate the website, which will contain more useful information concerning the Institute and its activities. You can keep track of our upcoming Institute events and see those that you missed. The Events Calendar will also list those related to CIG in Canada and to archaeological/historical-themed events organized by the other foreign archaeological schools and institutes as well as by the Ministry of Culture and by the University of Athens. The updated catalogue of our Library can be searched from the website as well. Please take advantage of our extended Library hours through the end of July to use the books and monographs that you’ve found in the Catalogue.

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director

The Fred Winter Collection

Detailed view of the Midas Monument at Midas City. (Professor Fred Winter, 1987)

The Institute’s Annual Open Meeting and Invited Lecture; The Greek Ambassador to Canada Retires with Honors

Map of Greece showing the locations of CIG fieldwork in 2013

It is May and the sweet weather of full spring is here. That means it is the time for the Institute’s Annual Open Meeting and Invited Lecture. On Wednesday, May 14th at 7 PM at the Auditorium of the Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene (Parthenonos 14, Makriyianni) we will hold our Annual Open Meeting. I will report on the activities of the Institute since last May. The main focus of my remarks will be the presentation of the principal results of our four archaeological fieldwork projects in the summer of 2013. These are the Greek-Canadian excavations at ancient Argilos in Macedonia, at Kastro Kallithea in Thessaly, and at ancient Eleon in Boeotia, and the Canadian intensive survey at Stelida on Naxos. The finds are particularly significant this year, I am pleased to report.

Gold ring from the “Tiryns Treasure”

We are honored to have Professor Dimitri Nakassis (Department of Classics, University of Toronto) give the Invited Lecture this year. Dimitri’s lecture, “Cities and Thrones and Powers: Rethinking the End of Mycenaean Civilization”, will continue the provocative narrative in a broader fashion of his recently published book, Individuals and Society in Mycenaean Pylos (Brill: Lieden/Boston, 2013).

Model of the Citadel of Tiryns in the LH IIIC period

Nakassis points out that it is commonly accepted that the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces around 1200 B.C. engendered a deep-rooted change in the social order and a substantial decrease in social and economic inequality. It is thought that the palatial elite disappeared along with the palaces, leaving local communities to their own devices, and resulting in the promotion of local leaders. This paper argues that this interpretation relies on a monolithic and bureaucratic model of the state that does not stand up to close scrutiny. He has recently argued (see above) that palatial affairs were managed by a broad array of independent high-status individuals, and that the palace is thus not so much a free-standing and closed system as a framework for interactions between heterogeneous agents. The collapse of the palatial system did have significant effects, of course, but recent work on the archaeology of the 12th century B.C. suggests that these palatially-active elites did not simply vanish. They rather continued to assert their elevated status in the Greek mainland in ways that were, to a large extent, unchanged. These strategies were ultimately unsuccessful, however, perhaps because they failed to account for their new socioeconomic environment.

Ambassador Anghelopoulos at the University of Ottawa

Farewell to the Greek Ambassador to Canada
When I was in Ottawa at the end of September to give a lecture about the Institute and its work I had the pleasure of meeting the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Canada, the Honorable Eleftherios Anghelopoulos. We talked about the opportunities for cooperation between the Institute and Greek Embassy relating to the upcoming exhibition of Greek artifacts in Montreal and Ottawa in late 2014 and 2015. Alas, we were not able to follow up on this topic before Ambassador Anghelopoulos retired at the end of April. The Board of Directors of the Institute (Prof. Gerry Schaus), the Ottawa Chapter of the Friends Association of the Institute (Ms. Helen Tryphonas) and the Museum of Classical Antiquities of the University of Ottawa (Dr. Antonia Holden) honored Ambassador Anghelopoulos with a plaque for his four years of service in Canada and, especially, for his generous and unflagging support of the public programs and exhibitions of the Museum. During his tenure as Ambassador to Canada, these organizations had benefitted from two collaborative projects commemorating respectively 75 years of Greek-Canadian diplomatic relations and the 150th anniversary of Constantine P. Cavafy. The mega-exhibit entitled “The Greeks: From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great” would not have been possible without the Ambassador’s perseverance and leadership as well as the relentless work of his staff at the Embassy.

Presenting the plaque to Ambassador Anghelopoulos

We look forward to Ambassador Anghelopoulos’ continued support and participation in the activities of the Institute here in Greece. Enjoy your well-earned retirement, sir!

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director

The Fred Winter Collection

Bust of Marcus Aurelius from the Vatican Museum in Rome. (Professor Fred Winter, 1988)

The Greek Landscape Inspires!

Artists – Greek and foreign – have been inspired over the past few centuries to capture the essence of the many varied landscapes that make up the topography of Greece. Certainly the intensity of the light interacting with the angular landforms and the deep washable blue seas has made a strong impression on the aesthetics of these renderings. The vegetation too has caught the attention of the artists, especially the olive tree’s silver green foliage and the contorted forms of its trunks and branches. The pine trees, the plane trees and the wild flowers too are represented in these varied art works.

This Tuesday evening, May 6th, at 7:30 PM in the Institute’s Library will be the opening of an art exhibit entitled, “Nature & Paysage - intensités grecques”. The works of the French born and educated artist Pascaline Bossu will be on display. She works in chalk drawings, pastels and inks in her depiction of Greek landscapes and flora.
Pascaline has lived and worked in Greece since 2000. Her works have been shown at many exhibitions and at hotels and commerical establishments. In 2010 she opened her own galley «Kokkino Home» at Rafina in eastern Attika.
The exhibition, part of the Friends’ Association of the Institute's winter/spring 2014 event series, will run until May 13th. One can visit the exhibition during the hours the Institute is open: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 09:00 – 13:00; Tuesday and Thursday, 09.00-18.00.
So come join us for the opening and meet the artist while you contemplate your “inner Greece” as inspired by her art works.

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director