(AP via The Conversation) Boatloads of refugees put ashore in Italy after a wearying journey at sea; the city they adored, Troy, now a smoking ruin after 10 years of a desperate war; many loved ones dead from the conflict, with others lost along the way, victims of violence, storms or age.
Put this way, the story of the “Aeneid,” Virgil’s epic masterpiece, has an inescapably contemporary ring. Today, in the wake of Middle Eastern wars, millions have fled the region, desperate for a new place to call home. Meanwhile, anti-immigrant politicians – Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and Donald Trump, to name a few – have jumped on the confusion and chaos, only to see their own fortunes rise.
In some ways, it’s not possible to read the same great poem twice. Time and circumstance will always reconfigure its meaning. As the United States bars its gates to newcomers, the “Aeneid” – usually thought of as a tale of epic heroism – reads now as a parable of exile, immigration and the self-defeating disaster of irrational prejudice.
‘All we ask is a modest resting place’
Virgil’s epic poem, written between 29 and 19 B.C., is the story of a band of men, women and children who survived the Greek siege of Troy (in modern-day Turkey) – when “Fate compelled the worlds of Europe and Asia to clash in war.” Aeneas, a man “made a refugee by fate,” leads them on their journey to Italy, where they’ve been promised a home.
The first half of the poem describes the group’s wanderings across the Mediterranean, the losses they suffered along the way and the weariness that, at times, leads some of them – Aeneas included – to think of abandoning the journey.
“How many reefs, how many sea-miles more must we cross! Heart-weary as we are,” cry the Trojan women in a moment of despair. But Aeneas and the Trojans do eventually reach Italy: They land at the mouth of the Tiber River, immigrants looking to join the people of this foreign land.
Latinus, the king of this country, has been given a sign by the gods to welcome the newcomers:
In other words, the gods proclaim that the arrival of new blood will be a good thing for society – a view held by many today.
After the Trojans arrive, they appeal to Latinus, describing their harrowing journey:
Latinus recognizes that these are the newcomers foretold by the god and welcomes Aeneas “as ours.”
But Latinus’ open-door immigration policy soon meets resistance – a resistance that Virgil portrays as madness. Latinus pays a political price when his people, the Latins, turn against the immigrants, a development seen in many nations today, perhaps most notably in Angela Merkel’s Germany.
The thrall of racial hatred
How does an ancient poet depict the onset of madness?
In the “Aeneid,” the agent is Juno, queen of the Olympian gods. She has always hated the Trojans as much as she cherishes the Latins. Juno means to stir up war between them, so she sends one of the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance, to fill the mind of Latinus’ wife with thoughts of ethnic purity and sexual propriety.
These thoughts have consequences, because Latinus is now planning to marry their daughter to Aeneas – “a lying pirate,” as the queen starts to call him. Furthermore, she was supposed to marry a local prince named Turnus – his “blood kin,” as the queen reminds Latinus.
Turnus, too, succumbs to racial hatred. At first he’s entirely nonchalant about the arrival of Aeneas and the Trojans. But driven mad by Juno’s accomplice, he turns to violence to drive them out and keep the king’s daughter out of the hands of “that Phrygian eunuch” (a castrated man).
A pointless war ensues between the Trojan refugees and the Latins who had initially welcomed them into their land.
In one scene, Aeneas’ son accidentally kills a pet deer, and the locals, assuming malicious intent, form a vigilante group to exact revenge. What motivates this assumption is the more deeply rooted fear of the Latin population: Acceptance of these immigrants will result in the loss of their native Latin identity.
The tensions at play – sexual fears, fear of violence, hateful rhetoric – are unfortunately being repeated today, whether it’s fear of immigrants’ rapes in Sweden or the growth of anti-Muslim organizations in the United States.
In Virgil’s telling, this fear can only be resolved by the act of a god. In the end, it is Jupiter, the king of the gods, who gives his divine guarantee that the Trojans will be assimilated:
But it’s easier for a god to imagine resolution than it is for mortals, and for Aeneas, resolution comes at a price. He kills Turnus at the end of the poem. But he loses something of his humanity in the process.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/in-todays-anti-immigrant-rhetoric-echoes-of-virgils-aeneid-74738.
Nicholas G. Protopapas was among the earliest Greek strongmen to live and perform in the United States. A representative roster of these award winning Hellenic athletes would have to include Antonio Panay, Theodoros Yorgios Costaky, John Muhler, Anton Pierre, Panagis Koutalianos, and Demetrios Tofalos.
By the mid-1870s, at the very latest, these men were appearing and performing feats of strength all across North American. It is no exaggeration to say that these men were the individuals the average American first saw as modern Greeks. Given that these Greek athletes toured the country performing in vaudeville houses or engaged in professional wrestling bouts meant that Americans even in the most remote hamlet, village or town would be able to see one of these modern Greek strongmen. It would not be for another ten to fifteen years before the massive waves of Greek workers would reach American shores.
In 1888, Protopapas arrived in Chicago, at the age of twelve, to join his brother. Within four years such was the young Protopapas’ commitment to physical culture that he was posing for art classes at the Chicago Art Institute and the University of Chicago. Sometime in early March, 1898, Protopapas journeyed to Rockford Illinois. Just 23 years old, he had traveled to Rockford to help his cousin M. Pipilas operate a newly opened fruit and candy store on West State Street, adjoining the Forest City National Bank in Rockford.
Even at that moment in time, Protopapas was recognized as “a polished gentleman, handsome and debonair, it is only when the huge muscles of the man are revealed that the athlete is seen. He is 5 foot 8 inches in height, weighs 198 pounds and has a chest measure of 42 inches. His chest expansion is immense, being eight inches (Morning Star (Rockford IL) March 17, 1898).” Protopapas did not last long in the candy/fruit store trade.
By the very late 1890s, Protopapas was appearing in public displays of strength and tableaux. Tableaux (or tableau vivants) are a form of Victorian Era entertainment. The models or entertainers involved, and women would appear as often as men, pose motionless in costumes. The performers dress like a famous figure most often from Classical times, a goddess, a gladiator and so on. While the performer does not move on stage they would usually go through a series of such poses but in a stopping and starting fashion.
The Omaha World Herald offered this description of Protopapas’ vaudeville act at its peak: “The program at the Creighton-Orpheum theater this week has for its principal feature the first appearance in Omaha of Nicholas G. Protopapas, the famous Grecian athlete. He presents with excellent effect Roman and Grecian posing that far outclasses anything of the kind that has ever been seen here. He possesses a striking and handsome personality that Sandow, the noted strongman, could scarcely rival. His physical development, chest expansion especially, is somewhat marvelous, and his performance is marked with the utmost ease and grace. His feats of strength include the unconcerned handling of dumb bells of graduated weight, the limit being 300 pounds, and supporting on his knees and shoulders a platform occupied by a dozen men. His various devices, including his stage setting, are elegant and he appears in striking attractive costume (March 19, 1900).”
The Peerless Protopapas, as he was billed, was so successful that by 1899 at the latest, the Greek was touring vaudeville theaters around the country with his own small troupe as the “Protopapas Trocadero Vaudeville Company.” But entertainment fashions change.
By 1901, Protopapas was quoted as saying, “There seems to be nothing left in mere exhibitions of strength…Consequently, although the boxing game is almost dead, and the wrestling game is almost dead, and the wrestling game is unprofitable, I will embark in either or both of these pursuits—if anyone will give a match and proper compensation (Daily Northwestern February 18, 1901).” And while strongmen and women acts continued, for a time, in vaudeville (and much longer in circuses and sideshows) Protopapas’ statement reports on how vaudeville as a venue for the majority of the strongmen ended.
Protopapas’ exact movements, at this time, are hard to chart. True to his word Protopapas did wrestle from roughly 1900 until 1904 and then stopped. Then, in 1909 and without explanation Protopapas was again in the wrestling game. A point future researchers will explore with some care will be the exact relationship between Nicholas Protopapas and yet another internationally famous Greek strongman Demetrios Tofalos (1884-1966). In 1910, various newspaper reports identify Protopapas as Tofalos’ manager and spokesman (Rockford Republic July 27, 1910; Denver Post July 31, 1910; Inter Ocean (Chicago) October 30, 1910).
Whatever their relationship, the two strongmen were clearly friends and companions with Protopapas doing what he could to find work for his friend first in what were then called “lifting-acts.” It is interesting, once you know something of Tofalos’ later career, that he did not immediately enter professional wrestling in North America but waited and underwent training before entering the ring.
At some point during the very early 1900s, Nicholas Protopapas established a restaurant/cafe called Grecian Cafe: “The Melting Pot” at 215-217 North Dearborn Street in Chicago. A second-floor walkup, Protopapas’ cafe was an extremely popular location not just for the local Greeks but for Chicago’s literati. A detailed illustrated article on the Melting Pot can be found in the October 2nd issue of the 1915 edition of The Scoop, a magazine published by the Press Club of Chicago. What is so striking about this article is how contemporary it seems. Very much like today Greek businessmen downtown and Americans working in that area of the city would all go to The Melting Pot for traditional Greek food. Again, just as we can see today in nearly every Greek-owned restaurant in Chicago’s Greektown district we hear that in 1915, “Nic himself wandering genially from table to table you are made to feel at home.”
Then, again, very much like today the interior of the Melting Pot featured, instead of the signed framed celebrity photographs: “On the gray-green walls hang original sketches bearing signatures of those we know and love—Billy Kregoph (now on the Philadelphia Ledger), Joe Shirley the Red Man, Outcault who created Buster Brown, Penny Ross, and more of the familiar galaxy. They sketched those for Nic, their friend, just as he regularly welcomes Corbell the sculpture, Cowboy (Charles Marion) Russell whom they call Remington’s only successor, William J. Robinson, the Russian consul, grand opera stars, light opera stars, cartoonists, magazine men, painters and boys from the local dailies. There is comradeship in the crowd that frequents Protopapas’ Melting Pot, a preponderance of brains and unaffected good fellowship over what is found in most other places in town, The Press, Adventurers,
Palette and Chisel clubs and the Writer’s Guild, or Brothers of the Book are all represented. Protopapas’ is a revival of the Good Old Days…” But such ‘Good Old Days’ rarely last.
On August 20, 1915, Protopapas had filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy. “Too lavish furnishings in the Melting Pot are said to have contributed to financial stringency (Chicago Tribune August 21, 1915).” Protopapas did not lose his cafe/restaurant but he had to restructure. Rather than simply fade away the various Greek cafes, The Melting Pot, among them scattered along Dearborn were for many years well into the 1930s where Greeks and Chicagoans met and mingled.
As this all-too-brief review of Nicholas G Protopapas’ life reveals not only do we need to learn more about the career details of professional Greek-American athletes but also the early cafe scene in Chicago if we are ever to chart the contacts and social interactions between the newly arriving Greeks and their American counterparts.
Los Angeles, CA – The National Hellenic Student Association (NHSA) of North America, Inc., hosted their first bi-annual convention on the West Coast in Los Angeles, CA, March 10-12, 2017.
In L.A., NHSA united over 85 students and young professionals from across the U.S., Canada, and Greece for a day-long conference exploring the work of Hellenes in the fields of art and innovation. Attendees also spent time networking and bonding over several NHSA sponsored activities during the weekend convention.
The convention kicked off on Friday, March 10, at The L.A. Hotel Downtown where the NHSA Executive Board greeted attendees arriving throughout the day to check-in. Participants later had the opportunity to meet and network with each other during the welcome dinner at the St. Sophia Cathedral Huffington Center with food provided by local Greek restaurant Papa Cristo’s Greek Grill & Catering.
Friday socializing continued with an entertaining Greek Night featuring the impressive DJ Gus Sverkos.
NHSA Los Angeles Convention. Photo: NHSA
The following morning, attendees enjoyed breakfast at the beautiful campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) before the conference began. Opening remarks were offered by NHSA President, Mr. Alexander Thomopulos, who introduced the conference theme of Art and Innovation and spoke about the importance of serving one’s community and pursuing excellence even in anonymity.
Dr. David Schaberg, dean of the College of Humanities at UCLA, welcomed attendees to Los Angeles, followed by warm regards from V. Rev. Fr. John Bakas of St. Sophia Cathedral; Hon. Gregory Karahalios, consul general of Greece in L.A.; Mr. Andreas Kyprianides, honorary consul general of Cyprus in L.A.; Dr. Jim Dimitriou, past supreme president, AHEPA; and Gov. Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts and visiting professor, UCLA.
As a reminder to the audience about the importance of civic engagement, Dukakis said, “I want to see you guys deeply and actively involved in the political life in this country, and don’t let anyone tell you ‘you can’t do it.’” Ms. Konstantina Panagiotopoulos, NHSA vice president and conference emcee, followed with an introduction of the guest speakers. Dr. Yiannis Yortsos, dean of the Viterbi School of Engineering, USC, moderated the Innovation and Entrepreneurship panel that included Mr. Peter Polydor, CEO of Ergo Capital; Mr. Michalis Raptis, software engineer at Google L.A.; and Ms. Eirini Schlosser, founder of Chuz. In response to students’ questions about finding success in one’s field, Mr. Polydor emphasized that “talent always follows opportunity,” while reflecting on his personal experience.
After the panel discussion, attendees enjoyed lunch on the campus pavilion provided by Good Greek Grill. Following lunch, Ms. Katerina Zacharia, professor of Classics and Architecture, Loyola Marymount University, presented her research in classics and discussed the evolution of the arts from ancient Greece through today, and the pivotal role that language has played in its portrayal and documentation through time, before moderating the Arts panel.
NHSA Los Angeles Convention. Photo: NHSA
Ms. Anna Giannotis, a writer and director, followed with a brief viewing of her documentary for the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California that highlights the assimilation of Greek diaspora community in California. 1 The conference continued with a screening of the 2015 film Worlds Apart, where many attendees had the unique opportunity to view the movie for the first time. After the screening, the Director of Worlds Apart, Mr. Christoforos Papakaliatis, and Musical Composer, Mr. Kostas Christides, had an engaging Q&A with participants about the making of the movie and its social, cultural, and artistic influence. When asked what parting advice he would like to give to the audience, Mr. Papakaliatis said, “believe in what you really want.
Of course take advice, listen, read, and look, but always go with your instincts.” Upon concluding the day-long conference, buses escorted the attendees to the Griffith Observatory to catch a glimpse of the breathtaking L.A. sunset before heading back to The L.A. Hotel Downtown. Saturday continued with DJ Gus Sverkos making a second appearance at Joseph’s of Hollywood, co-hosted with Good Greek Grill.
On Sunday, NHSA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, sponsored a visit to the Getty Villa to see the beautiful gardens, private collection of artifacts and replica architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. The final stop before returning to the hotel was at In-N-Out Burger, a local favorite, where everyone enjoyed lunch and exchanged contacts to keep in touch.
“Our first convention on the West-Coast was an astounding success and we are proud to have brought such influential people in their respective fields in contact with students and young professionals,” said NHSA President Alexander Thomopulos. “NHSA received encouraging and enthusiastic feedback, and we look forward to maintaining a presence while inspiring the local HSAs and young Hellenes to become more active, which in turn would promote the Hellenic community at large.”
The NHSA Executive Board would like to thank our participants who traveled from near and far, as well as the special guests, speakers, mentors, and sponsors for continuously supporting our organization in our mission to unite the Hellenic and Cypriot diaspora through educational, professional and social platforms.
LYNN — The city raised a flag to Greek Independence Day Thursday afternoon, Daily Item reported.
In a small ceremony outside Lynn City Hall, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and Rev. George Tsoukalas of St. George Greek Orthodox Church raised the Greek flag, where it will fly for the next week.
“I always said I would go to Greece and, during the Summer of 2016, I did,” said Kennedy. “It was more beautiful than I could have imagined.”
For Kennedy, raising the flag of different countries is a way to celebrate the diversity of the city.
“I like to show that there are so many different cultures in Lynn,” she said. “Everybody is a part of the fabric.”
The ceremony was held to commemorate Greek Independence Day, which is observed on March 25, the day the War of Greek Independence began in 1821. The holiday coincides with the Orthodox Church’s celebration of the annunciation to the Theotokos, when Mary was told she would bear the son of God by the Archangel Gabriel.
NEW YORK – The first line of one of the oldest poems in Western literature, Homer’s “Iliad,” begins with the ancient Greek word for anger, or superanger: wrath. And from that emotion an entire epic driven by hatred, hubris, lust, grief and violence spins out.
The poem dates from around 700 B.C., a wild and woolly time, no doubt. Leap ahead four centuries and things have changed in Greece. The calm of reason has descended; emotions are under control. Or so we’re inclined to imagine from looking at the buff Apollos and poised Aphrodites of the Classical Age.
But we’re wrong. Explosive feelings, personal and political, were still the story of Greek culture then. Such feelings continue to fuel and inflame modern societies at least nominally descended from that culture, the United States being one. And these feelings are now the subject of a strange and wonderful exhibition, “A World of Emotions: Ancient Greece, 700 B.C.-200 A.D.,” at the Onassis Cultural Center New York in Midtown.
The Onassis Cultural Center itself tends to stir an emotion: gratitude. It’s some kind of gift outright. Tucked away below street level in Olympic Tower — you have to know it’s there to find it — and charging no admission, it brings in top-shelf art from Greece, supplemented by choice international loans. The current show draws on the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Acropolis Museum and Greek regional museums, as well as the Louvre, the British Museum and the Met.
The results aren’t necessarily full-fledged “masterpiece” shows. This one isn’t. It’s a mix. There are true glam items — an apparitionally perfect marble kouros; a cup attributed to the great Penthesilea Painter — but also homely ones: pottery shards with inscriptions, that kind of thing. It’s what the show does with the material that really counts: It uses objects to tell a human story, one that changes our view of the past, brings it into the present; makes it ours. This is precisely what an object-rich museum like the Met could be doing with its undervisited permanent collections, but rarely does.
NEW YORK – The Carnival of Love Foundation (COLF) is turning Astoria blue in celebration of Autism Awareness Month. The Foundation, whose mission is to bring community, love, and joy to the lives of children and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and special needs in their local Queens community, is participating in Autism Speaks’ Light It Up Bluecampaign whereby thousands of iconic landmarks, buildings, homes, and communities around the globe ‘light up blue’ in support of people living with autism.
COLF has installed 5 custom, puzzle-piece skylines that will illuminate 30th Avenue in Greek-centric Astoria, blue from April 1-30. The puzzle piece is the universal symbol for autism, and the blue represents support of the Autism Speaks Light It Up Blue campaign. COLF will unveil what will be an annual lighting installation at their “Light It Up Blue” event on World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday, April 2, at 6 PMat Ovelia, 34-01 30th Ave, in Astoria. The event is complimentary and open to all who want to support the effort to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism.
ASD is a developmental disability that is characterized by significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges; impacted individuals may not appear different in any way from other people, however, they may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in completely different ways. The abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted – even savants – to severely challenged. According to a 2014 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 68 US children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls), have autism spectrum disorder; and on a global scale, it’s roughly 1% of the population.
Alarmed by these statistics, and through their own field research conducted by a volunteer team of child psychologists, Medicaid specialists and speech pathologists, COLF discovered that there is a serious need for resources and support within in the Queens special needs community, and especially within the resident Hellenic population. There is a general lack of understanding, acceptance, and integration within the Greek community as a whole, including a lack of programs and support services specific to the culture, and in the Greek language. Run by a team of Greek-Americans, COLF chose to address those needs and make a lasting impact in the community. Carnival of Love is transforming the current conversation from stigma, taboo, and disconnection, to community, love, and joy!
The Foundation’s long-term vision is to open the Carnival of Love Healing Arts Centerin the Astoria/Long Island City area to fulfill the needs of the children and families all in one place. The Center programming will include educational workshops on topics from finances and trusts, to nutrition and healing, support groups for siblings and individual parents, one-on-one resource sessions, alternative therapies such as art, music and sensory integration, and recreational activities for the whole family, among many other services.
COLF currently offers monthly educational workshops and parent support groups at the Kefalos Society of America, 20-41 Steinway Street in Astoria, and is in partnership with the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Astoria, supporting a Special Needs Divine Liturgy and recreational program held on the first Saturday of every month at St. Catherine and St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 22-30 33rd Street in Astoria.
On Friday, June 2 at 8 PM, COLF will present their annual benefit at Melrose Ballroom, 36-08 33rd Street in Long Island City. The event, aptly named 6th Sense, alludes to the fact that children with ASD experience life through enhanced sensory perception. The Carnival-esque event will feature activities that play on all 6 senses: Sight, Taste, Smell, Touch, Hearing and Extrasensory Perception (ESP). For instance, the “Taste” section will feature local restaurants offering “Love Bites” – delectable samples of food from their menus, and the “Smell” section will offer aromatherapy samples, among many other surprises. Proceeds from the events will directly fund the current and future Center programming.
About the Carnival of Love Foundation
The Carnival of Love Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dedicated to bringing community, love, and joy to families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder and other special needs, through access to alternative therapies, educational resources, support groups, recreational activities, and unique healing experiences. Since 2008, COLF has donated over $300,000 to a myriad of causes and services that have enhanced the quality of life and emotional well-being of children and families in need. NYC Tax ID# 26-2095977. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dennisia Slabakis via email: info@carnivaloflove.org.
ATHENS – The American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens), a Pre-K-12 institution located in Halandri, Athens, will honor two distinguished alumni with Achievement Awards, acknowledging their professional accomplishments, exemplary leadership with ethos, and service to humanity.
The award recipients are Dr. Anna Kaltsas and Dr. Scott Parazynski. The honorees will be recognized at the Inaugural Global Alumni Awards Dinner, on April 30, at the Loeb Boathouse in New York’s Central Park, from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM. George M. Logothetis, Chairman and CEO of the Libra Group, will be the keynote speaker at the event.
Anna Kaltsas, M.D., M.S., ACS Class of 1996 (Clinical Research, Infectious Diseases, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College) will receive the Emerging Young Leader Awardwhich recognizes an alumnus, under 40 years of age, who shows promise in his/her field by providing inspiration and leadership to students and other young alumni. The recipient has to have shown significant leadership either in their professional career and/or community, public or humanitarian service.
Dr. Kaltsas is the Infectious Disease Specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She attended and graduated with honors fromAlbany Medical College, Union University in 2004, having over 12 years of diverse experiences, especially in Infectious Disease. She affiliates with many hospitals including Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases. Dr. Kaltsas also cooperates with other doctors and physicians in medical groups including Memorial Infectious Disease Group.
Scott Parazynski, M.D., ACS Class of 1979 (CEO of Fluidity Technologies, Physician, U.S. Astronaut, Inventor, Speaker) will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes an alumnus, 40 years or more of age, whose accomplishments in the public, private or non-profit sector, have made an outstanding contribution to the community and serve as an example both professionally and ethically.
Dr. Parazynski was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame last May at Kennedy Space Center, FL. He is a veteran of five space shuttle flights and has walked in space. A life-long scuba diver and accomplished mountaineer, Scott is also a commercial, instrument, multiengine and seaplane-rated pilot with over 2,500 flight hours.
In November 2014, Dr. Parazynski was designated University Explorer and Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. He is a prolific inventor and product developer, and serves on the Boards of several organizations and companies, and was also the first astronaut to summit on Mount Everest on May 20, 2009.
“I had great teachers at ACS who helped awaken the inner student in me,” Dr. Parazynski said. “I was a back-of-the-room B student when I arrived there” – he and his family were evacuated from Beirut just before the civil war in 1975.
He was at ACS from 1975-79, and wished he had picked up more Greek. “I could have skipped the first year of medical school with all the Greek terminology.”
When Parazynski was told he was elected to be among the first honored with ACS’s Alumni Achievement Awards, he said “I was really shocked and very honored. ACS was a catalyst for a lot of wonderful things that happened later in my life.”
Parazynski credits ACS with “a big transformation for me from a lackluster student” to a strong academic focus. “I attribute it to great teachers and friends and the environment – Greece as a place where you could actually experience history, where you could go to the origins of modern civilization.
It was also a great base for travel all over Europe for basketball, track, and cultural field trips…it was a phenomenal experience,” he said.
Tickets for the Global Alumni Lifetime Achievement Awards Gala are $250 per person. Register online, http://bit.ly/2mAvnUX, or contact Constantine Sirigos at 347-452-3502 for more information. All proceeds go to the John Aravanis and John A. Marder Alumni Scholarships.
Georgios Karaiskakis (January 23, 1780 – April 23, 1827) was a famous Greek klepht, armatolos, military commander, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.
Klephts were bandits, warlike mountain folk who lived in the Greek countryside when Greece was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Armatoloi were irregular Greek Christian militia, brigands who were sometimes commissioned by the Ottomans to enforce the Sultan’s authority in regions which were difficult for Ottoman authorities to govern due to inaccessible terrain.
Both groups switched allegiances according to circumstantial demands. Some were traitors. Many were heroes who helped liberate Greece from more than 400 years of Turkish oppression.
Karaiskakis was one such hero. He was born in a monastery near the village of Mavrommati in the Agrafa mountains, located near the town of Karditsa in the Prefecture of Thessaly. His father was the armatolos of the Valtos district, Demetris Iskos or Karaiskos. His mother, Zoe Dimiski, was a local nun and cousin of Gogos Bakolas, captain of the armatoloi in Radovitsi.
Known as The Nun’s Sonand Gypsy (because of his dark complexion), he became a klepht at a very early age in the service of Katsantonis, a famous local brigand. Karaiskakis excelled as a klepht. Agile, cunning, brave and reckless, he rose quickly through the ranks, eventually becoming a protopalikaro, or lieutenant.
He was captured by Ali Pasha’s troops at 15 years of age and imprisoned at Ioannina. Impressed by Karaiskakis’ courage and intelligence and fighting spirit, Ali Pasha released Karaiskakis from prison and made him one of his personal bodyguards.
Karaiskakis served as a bodyguard to Ali Pasha for 12 years (1808-20), before losing favor with the Ottoman warlord and fleeing back to the mountains to continue his life as a klepht.
During the early stages of the war, Karaiskakis fought in the Morea (Peloponnese), where he was drawn into the intrigues which divided the Greek leadership. He nonetheless recognized the necessity of providing Greece with a stable government, and was a supporter of John Capodistrias, who would later become Modern Greece’s first head of state.
Karaiskakis’ reputation grew during the middle and latter stages of the war. He helped to lift the first siege of Messolonghi in 1823.
Messolonghi first revolted against the Turks on May 20, 1821, and was a major stronghold of the Greek rebels during the Revolution. Its inhabitants successfully resisted a siege by Ottoman forces in 1822. The second siege began on April 15, 1825 by an army of 30,000 men, and was later reinforced by another 10,000 men led by Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt.
After a year of relentless enemy attacks and facing starvation, the people of Messolonghi decided to leave the beleaguered city in the Exodus of the Guards, a sortie on the night of April 10, 1826. At the time, there were 10,500 people in Messolonghi, 3,500 of who were armed. Very few people survived the ensuing Ottoman pincer move after their plan was betrayed.
Due to the heroic stance of the population and the subsequent massacre of its inhabitants by the Turkish and Egyptian forces, the town of Messolonghi received the honorary title of Hiera Polis (Sacred City), unique among other Greek cities. The famous British poet and Philhellene George Gordon (Lord Byron), who supported the Greek struggle for independence, died there in 1824. Byron is commemorated by a cenotaph containing his heart, and a statue located in the town.
Karaiskakis also did his best to save the town in April 1826. As commander of the armatoloi, he attempted to relieve the second siege, but he got sick, and his illness and the lack of discipline among the armatoloi prevented him from providing effective support in the attempt to break through Turkish lines. Few of Messolonghi’s defenders survived.
That same year, however, Karaiskakis was appointed commander in-chief of the Greek patriotic forces in Rumeli, achieving mixed results: While failing to cooperate effectively with other leaders of the independence movement or with foreign sympathizers fighting alongside the Greeks, he gained military successes against the Ottomans.
He also participated in the failed attempt to raise the siege of Athens in 1827, and attempted to prevent the massacre of the Turkish garrison stationed in the fort of Saint Spyridon.
Karaiskakis was a brave warrior and one of the few Greek commanders the Turks actually feared. Pardoned by the Greek central government at Nafplion, he put down a regional revolt in the Peloponnese in the autumn of 1824.
His most famous victory was at Arachova, where his army crushed a force of Turkish and Albanian troops under Mustafa Bey and Kehagia Bey in November 1826. Victories such as the one in Arachova were especially welcome amid the losses and disasters occurring elsewhere.
Karaiskakis was killed in action on his nameday, April 23, 1827, after being fatally wounded by a rifle shell during the siege of the Acropolis. Karaiskaki Stadium in Neo Faliro, Piraeus is named after him, as he was mortally wounded in the area. He was buried on the island of Salamis after he died, and was buried at the church of Saint Demetrios on Salamis, according to his express wishes.
NEW YORK – Dressed in their distinctive uniform and standing at full attention, one of the duties of the Greek Presidential Guard or Evzones is to maintain a round the clock vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in front of Parliament House in Athens.
The highly stylized walk during the Changing of the Guard demands an ability to raise their legs to shoulder height while balancing a 12 kilo (about 26.5 lbs.) M1 rifle tipped with a bayonet and wearing nail shod leather clogs that can weigh 1.5 kilos (3.3 lbs.) each.
The Evzones carry out their duty in all weather conditions, and while dealing with over-enthusiastic tourists, and even riotous demonstrations including, on at least two occasions, exploding Molotov cocktails. Yet Evzones famously remain unflinching at all times and will not stand down unless ordered to do so.
This elite military unitthat embodies the ideals of Hellenism, honors the Greek community in the United Stateseach yearwhen theyappear in Greek Independence Day parades. The cheering crowds would probably be impressed to learn that among the Evzones is a 23-year-old Greek-Australian who deferred his higher education in the UK specifically to return to Greece in order to try out for the Evzones.
Although Jason Robertson was born and lived in Greece as a child, he grew up in a family entirely Anglo in nature and has spent all his adult life in the UK. He recently completed an undergraduate degree in London, attended a summer course at Harvard Business School and, if financing can be found, will be returning to do a Master’s at CASS City University in London in September.
Although national service is compulsory for Greek males, he could have easily avoided serving in the military, and yet was inspired to become an Evzone because of what they are and represent. Wanting to become a member of the Presidential Guard can easily be a dream too far. As is well-known, recruits must be over 6 feet (+1.87m) tall and the selection procedure is extremely rigorous. Of all the recruits conscripted into the Greek Army each year, only around 1 percent is ever chosen.
The internal training regime is so difficult that of those selected, no more than half ever have the honor of wearing the white kilt (400 hundred pleats representing 400 years of Ottoman occupation) and tailor-made clogs. Then there is the self-discipline and absolute dedication required to actually perform ceremonial duties, whether it be for the general public or visiting dignitaries, come rain or shine, day or night. Moreover, there is absolutely no financial incentive involved. Despite their onerous responsibilities and what they symbolize for the nation they serve, Evzones only make standard conscript pay of about 7 euro – or just $10 a month.
So why is Robertson’s story important? It is a sad fact that we live in an era in which the young are unengaged and therefore largely disenfranchised from their potential. The distractions of such things as on-line gaming and social media, in combination with high youth unemployment, and bleak job prospects brought on by the financial crisis have produced a generation of Greeks in limbo. The worst thing is that this apathy is self-sustaining. Robbed of targets and hope, today’s youth are in danger of remaining unfulfilled and unproductive as they grow old in a society that appears to have lost its sense of purpose.
In such discouraging and disorienting times, Robertson found purpose in the Greek ideal and its proud history. While the obligation of military service for most others is viewed as something of a nuisance, he is among the few who regard it as a constructive learning experience. Robertson is honored to wear a uniform that means so much and to have the opportunity to do his duty as a Greek citizen.
Though he was raised on Anglo principles and has spent his adult life abroad, he is one of a select few representing Greece at the New York Greek Independence Day Parade marching up 5th Avenue this year. Along with his fellow Evzones, he epitomizes the essence of what it is to be Greek – proud and determined, capable and resilient, the very ideals that founded Western civilization. It is therefore hoped that his story can inspire young people in Greece and those of Greek descent living abroad who share the same values and love of the homeland.
Greek Independence Day commemorates the start of the 1821 war that led to Greece’s independence after nearly 400 years as part of the Ottoman Empire. It’s celebrated annually on March 25.
Trump told the crowd, “I love the Greeks.” He also introduced Greek-American members of the White House staff, including chief of staff Reince Priebus (ryns PREE’-bus).
Trump said Priebus is “really terrific and hard-working,” along with being “one of the top Greeks in the country.”
NEW YORK – On Thursday, March 23, the Hellenic American Association for Professionals in Finance hosted a fireside chat with Dr. Mickey Levy, Shadow Federal Open Market Committee Member, at the Harvard Club in Midtown Manhattan. Dr. Levy discussed the US economic and global outlook for 2017, what to expect from the Federal Reserve, the Trump Administration, and where to put your money. Dr. Levy has over 30 years of experience in economic and public policy research, including 15 years as Chief Economist at Bank of America, and the CBO and American Enterprise Institute. He currently is the Chief Economist at Berenberg, a private German Bank.
HABA President Fanny Trataros welcomed everyone to the event and then turned over the microphone to Vice President Robert Savage who introduced Dr. Levy. He also noted Dr. Levy’s Greek roots, his father was born and raised in Rhodes.
The fascinating discussion provided insights into the economic issues facing the United States and the world. The overall impression Dr. Levy offered was a positive one, noting that the world economy is picking up. In his meetings with global financial managers, once they put aside their feelings about politics and the US administration, they are positive about what economic reforms may be passed, since “it seems there is a chance for pro-growth reforms” and a “nicer momentum” for 2018.
Even the Brexit, Dr. Levy observed, will likely turn out for the best since the UK has a better economic structure, even if it goes into a recession, it is still better off leaving the EU. The Brexit may be more rational than we thought, Dr. Levy said, noting that the indicators are up, and “the UK looks good” while “China is slowing down.”
“Things are picking up around the world, deflation fears have evaporated,” he said.
There are also positive signs from the Federal Reserve which Dr. Levy said will probably raise interest rates two more times this year and two more times in 2018.
Savage asked if it was a mistake for the Fed to have raised interest rates on March 15 and Dr. Levy replied, “No, it was not a mistake…The Fed should have been raising interest rates gradually over the last few years.” He observed that raising rates within the neutral range doesn’t really have much of an impact on the economy. Dr. Levy also remarked that the Fed continued with policy for too long that had been started to get the US economy out of recession. The economy is doing okay, he said, and better than expected.
A Q&A session followed the discussion which included questions on CD rates and bond yields, unemployment rates, demographics, and the economic issues hindering healthcare reform. Dr. Levy gave thoughtful answers to each question. He noted that improving the quality of education, skill training and retraining, and adjusting school curricula to match the needs of employers will be the keys to solving skill mismatches, unemployment, and underemployment. Savage asked the final question on what to invest in this year and the next 18 months, and Dr. Levy replied for the US, long in the stock market, and light on bonds, and in ETFs (exchange traded funds) in Europe, diversifying a touch out of the US. He would not be an investor in China, he said.
Among the professionals in finance in attendance at the event were HABA Treasurer Manny Caravanos, and Directors James P. Gerkis, Costas Kellas, Nick Lionas, Evdokia (Michelle) Moukios, and Demetri Papacostas. Also present were Peter A. Dedousis, John Giapoutzis, and George Zapantis, as well as other professionals interested in the economy and financial issues.
WASHINGTON – President Donald J. Trump Proclaims March 25, 2017, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy
March 24, 2017
By the President of the United States of America.
This year marks the 196th anniversary of Greek independence. Greek and American democracy are forever intertwined.
American patriots built our Republic on the ancient Greeks’ groundbreaking idea that the people should decide their political fates. As a young Nation, only recently free from Great Britain and securing its place on the world stage, America served as a source of inspiration for the revolutionary and freedom-loving Greeks who sought their own independence. Indeed, American citizens stood united with the people of Greece in its “glorious cause” of democracy and freedom, as expressed by Philadelphia’s Franklin Gazette at the time.
The ideas and ideals of the ancient Greeks altered the course of human history, from our own American Republic to the modern Greek state and many other nations.
All those who believe in the refrain “liberty and justice for all,” and who are devoted to democracy and rule of law, owe a debt of gratitude to Greece and the foundational principles that took root in the ancient city-state of Athens. On this Greek Independence Day, we express our deep gratitude for Greece’s enduring friendship in a region that has experienced great uncertainty. Greece is an important partner in our engagements throughout the international sphere.
We look forward to strengthening our excellent bilateral defense relationship, and recognize the value and importance Greece’s role as a strong ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The American people join Greece in celebrating another milestone in its independent history, and we look forward to a future of shared success as partners and allies.
Now, Therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2017, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
For Greek Independence Day, Greeks around the world will celebrate with church services, parades, and events to honor the freedom of the homeland. In this busy season, setting aside time to read Greek authors is a great way to celebrate Greek Independence and reminds us of the tremendous literary tradition from ancient times to the present. Here are a few books to read in honor of Greek Independence Day.
The Memoirs of General Makriyannis, 1797-1864 translated into English by H.A. Lidderdale was published by the Oxford University Press in 1966. A hero of the Greek War of Independence, Yannis Makriyannis rose to the rank of general and led his men to many victories. His real name was Ioannis Triantaphyllos, but because of his height, he was known by his nickname. He wrote his memoirs in the years before some of the most dramatic events of his later life including his incarceration, death sentence, and then pardon, occurred, though even by the end of 1850, when he completed his Memoirs, he had a great deal to share about his life and times.
The book is an extraordinary achievement not only for recounting an incredible life story but also because Makriyannis wrote the original in Demotic Greek, giving readers the chance to experience the language as it was spoken at the time. It was first published in Greece in 1907, and garnered little attention until an article appeared about Makriyannis during the German occupation in World War II. After that, Makriyannis’ popularity as a historical figure, writer, and hero of the War of Independence grew. Nobel laureate Giorgos Seferis called Makriyannis one of the greatest masters of Modern Greek prose.
Austerity Measures: The New Greek Poetry.
Austerity Measure: The New Greek Poetry edited by Karen Van Dyck is required reading for poetry fans and those interested in the toll of the economic crisis on the Greek people, and the abundant inspiration it is providing for artists and poets in particular. If we believe that great art requires suffering, then Greece is truly poised for a renaissance in all artistic endeavors. Some scholars suggest that the cultural renaissance began in 2008 at the start of the economic crisis.
Poetry seems to be especially potent amid the crisis, with poets somehow able to capture the spirit of the time in their writing, the verses rapidly and vividly telling the individual stories of struggle. Austerity Measures captures that spirit in its pages, some of the poems translated for the first time into English. The six sections of the book group the poets into emerging schools of poetry, a positive sign for the state of Modern Greek poetry.
This unique view of the real-life experiences in Greece is framed in the lyrical and often brutal words of the poets. Poems by native Greeks, immigrants, and refugees are presented in this volume reflecting the changing demographics of the nation as everyone struggles to come to terms with the crisis. Poetry is everywhere in Greece now as it always has been, but the poems appearing in graffiti, on blogs, in literary magazines, and in public readings wherever people gather to protest and be heard, has taken on an urgency in these desperate times.
In her poem Heads, Elena Penga writes poignantly, “I remember caresses, kisses, touching each other’s hair. We had no sense that anything else existed.”
Stamatis Polenakis’ Elegy is heartbreaking. He writes, “Nothing, not even the drowning of a child, Stops the perpetual motion of the world.” The images of the refugees are now a part of the global consciousness, but Polenakis’ line cuts through to the heart of the matter. The death of a child is the death of hope, and yet, the earth keeps turning.
On Tuesday, March 21, editor Van Dyck and poets Maria Margaronis, Hiva Panahi, Gazmend Kapllani, Stephanos Papadopoulos, and Yusef Komunyakaa appeared at McNally Jackson, the independent bookstore in New York’s SoHo for a discussion and readings from the soon-to-be released collection of poetry. More information on the book is available at mcnallyjackson.com.
White House Celebration For Greek Independence
March 24, 2017
Dear Mr. President,
Following a tradition established many years ago, we have the distinct honor and special privilege to be once again at the White House on the occasion of the celebration of the Greek Independence Day. We are deeply grateful as the Greek Orthodox American community for such recognition of our people and for your kindness to sign the Proclamation that pays tribute to the historic 1821 Greek Revolution, a revolution that led to the liberation of Greece, after four bitter centuries under the painful occupation and rule of the Ottoman Empire.
America has been connected to Greece in a special way even before the Revolution of 1821 and the creation of Greece as an independent state. Allow me to share with you an example of how far back this strong bond extends:
Most people when asked the question what was America’s first war on foreign soil, have no response. The answer is the Barbary Wars of 1805 when Thomas Jefferson was President. At that time, President Jefferson sent special envoy General William Eaton on a secret mission to stop the Barbary pirates who were demanding tribute from ships travelling near North African States, especially Libya. At 2:00 pm on April 27th 1805 General Eaton along with Lieutenant O’ Bannon, leading an attack force of 7 United States marines and 26 Greek recruits as well as 24 European mercenaries advanced on the city of Tripoli, Libya. In that battle, Greeks who signed an oath to protect and defend the United States of America, led by Captain Constantinos Lucas, fought side by side with the American Marines and many fell heroically on the battle field.
Then, we should remember that Greece with the United States fought on the side of democracy and against tyranny in two big wars WW1, WW2, and then in the Korean War where the soldiers of the Greek Sparta Battalion were among the many Greek and Greek Americans who sacrificed their lives and received US Congressional citations.
More recently, together we suffered unspeakable tragedies especially on September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, a victim of which was also our Saint Nicholas Church at Ground Zero. Yet, determined to overcome any adversity and proving that the spirit of freedom is victorious over evil, we are rebuilding together the new World Trade Center, part of which raised from the ashes, is the new Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, a symbol of hope and victory against evil and barbarism.
Through history, both nations have exercised their uncompromised right to break the yoke of tyranny and to recover the priceless gift of self-governance and independence.
All the more this has been a central focus in defense and in protection and promotion of the very priceless religious freedom. During our very honorific meetings in this White House, we repeatedly have indicated how the ideas of independence and religious freedom painfully apply to special situations related to our Ecumenical Patriarchate, to Cyprus, and to the name of FYROM.
Today, however, allow me to offer in addition a strong plea for the very country where the historic revolution of 1821 occurred. Greece is this country, a faithful, unyielding dedicated ally of the United States who remained valiant despite demanding and life sacrificing conditions in numerous wars in which the United States has been involved.
Yet, Greece, this precious and loyal ally of the United States, has been at least for the last 6 years in a continuing financial ordeal and affliction. On this occasion, the people of Greece, and I am speaking from personal experience, remember very well the impact on Europe, and especially on Greece, of both the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. We know and are deeply grateful to the United States of America which saved a devastated Europe after the Second World War. The contribution of America was truly monumental — helping to restore financially a war ravaged Europe. Today, compared to the gigantic assistance needed for Europe after World War II, a significantly less assistance is needed for Greece to recuperate financially and function again as a dynamic state. By doing so, the possibility will be given to Greece to resume and continue a vital role as a faithful ally and nation that produced waves of succeeding cultures and civilizations for 6000 years.
On this Day of Greek Independence, we fervently pray that God put an end to the ordeal of Greece, the mother of democracy, culture, philosophy, science and even a model of philanthropy towards the hundreds of thousands of refugees. We ask for peace in our wounded world. We pray for the United States, the staunch defender of freedom and justice for all; for the noble first family, the President, and the Vice President of the United States, and for all the people who are in need for divine and human assistance.
We pray and we believe. We pray and we hope. We pray and we are in grateful anticipation of your positive initiative.
NEW YORK – Dr. George Yancopoulos, President and Chief scientific officer of the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, is the Grand Marshal for the Greek Independence Parade on March 26 in New York. One of the leading scientists and the head of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Dr. Yancopoulos, spoke with The National Herald about his life and work and the full circle moment of being selected as Grand Marshal. His achievements have honored and continue to honor the Greek community.
The American-born Yancopoulos grew up in Woodside. He was class valedictorian at both the Bronx High School of Science and Columbia University, and earned MD and PhD degrees in 1987 from Columbia’s College of Physicians & Surgeons. Yancopoulos worked in the field of molecular immunology at Columbia with Dr. Fred Alt and received the Lucille P. Markey Scholar Award for his efforts. In 1989, he left his academic career and became the founding scientist for Regeneron with Leonard Schleifer (to whom he refers as “Len” throughout the interview). Among his honors, Yancopoulos was awarded Columbia’s Stevens Triennial Prize for Research and its University Medal of Excellence for Distinguished Achievement. In 2004, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His father was not, however, very enthusiastic about his choice to become a scientist, as he explained to TNH.
GY: My father was very unhappy because he knew scientists didn’t make very much money and he wanted me to become a conventional doctor. Back then being a doctor was a great job and you could make money…The family had been destroyed by two wars in Greece and so we were pretty poor, he never finished his education because he went into the army, so he wanted his son to succeed and it was all about education. So he pushed education and he pushed education so much, he didn’t realize you push, and then you want to become an academic, you want to become a scientist, and a couple of days later he comes to me, he had cut out an article from the Ethnikos Kyrix, the Greek newspaper because he only read the Greek newspaper, about Roy Vagelos leaving academia to go become head of research at Merck.
His curiosity and genius made Dr. George Yancopoulos a success.
My father said to me, so if you want to become a scientist, don’t become any scientist, at least become like this scientist, become like Roy Vagelos and Roy was a big hero in the Greek community and still is. You may not know this, but he really built Merck to what it became, Merck was the most admired company for ten years in a row and he was the most admired CEO in the world for ten years in a row, and this was all documented in the Greek paper, and my father kept cutting out the articles. He cut them all out and said “this is the guy you want to be like.”
Roy wasn’t only my hero, he was everybody’s hero, so even when we started the company, my partner, Len, he also of course, we all wanted to be like Roy, and we all thought Roy was the greatest.
In the early days of Regeneron, when we were very small and there were only ten people and so forth, my dad knew Len very well and he was always coming over, there was a much different environment if you can imagine because we were a small operation and my father would come by and he would give us a hard time all the time and he would say to us “you guys don’t know what you’re doing, what you should do is call up this guy Roy Vagelos and he’ll want to help a young Greek guy like George.” So my dad was saying that all the time and Len would get annoyed, he wouldn’t get really annoyed, but he would joke around and I still remember, he would say “Mr. Yancopoulos, you’re going to have to stop, otherwise I’m going to have to call security and have you removed from the premises”; he was joking. So anyway, a few years go by and I’ll never forget it, I was sitting in Len’s office so we had some calamity, and luckily for me I had Len so I never worried about things, and he’s not panicking but he’s very concerned, [and says] “you know George, maybe we’re not quite as smart as we think we are and maybe we’re not quite ready to be the next Roy Vagelos neither of us together, maybe we should call up the real Roy Vagelos and see whether he might come and help us out, figure it out for us.”[I said ] you’re sounding like my dad and sure enough right then and there, he called, this was in the early to mid-90s and you had to call information. I remember him calling, finding out what the area code for Raleigh, NJ which is where Merck headquarters were and he dialed and asked for the chairman’s office at Merck Pharmaceuticals and you know Roy didn’t pick up but he left a message and I said Len, you know we’re never going to hear back and sure enough a week later he comes to me and says “George, Roy called back,” and anyway, the rest is history.
So my dad made Roy my hero from the age of 15 and I am still trying to, though there is no way you can catch up to Roy, he is just still the most amazing human being of all time. Roy is just the most incredible on so many levels, he may very well be… the best human being I know.”
TNH: You know, we are interviewing you to give our children and grandchildren another hero to follow. We congratulate you as the Grand Marshal of this year’s Greek Independence Parade, commemorating 196 years of freedom and to honor you as the person of the week for our Periodiko, dedicated to the leaders of the community. Your experience is inspiring. You’re here at Regeneron 28 years, you have arrived, and you have built an empire.
GY: Well, it’s amazing to me, but I was just a typical Greek kid from the Woodside-Astoria area and you know I was raised on the songs about [the Greek War of Independence], it’s so close the timing of Greeks in terms of their subjugation under the Turks, and my part of Greece wasn’t freed until the early 1900s, so all four of my grandparents were actually born under Turkish subjugation, some people call them slaves and the songs I was raised on were the songs of slavery or subjugation and I sang these songs, Feggaraki mou Lambro and Mavrin H Nyxta Sta Vouna. One song is about the children under Turkish rule and they’re not allowed to learn Greek and so forth, so at night lit by the moon they would go to secret schools in caves to learn and keep up the Greek because the Greeks were enslaved by the Turks for over 400 years and they maintained their Greekness, believe it or not, for that whole period of time, it’s one of the longest, maybe the longest periods when one group of people were enslaved and rose up and maintained their identity after all that period of time and how did they do it? By these secret schools and among other things. And the other song, Mavrin H Nyxta sta Vouna, which was my favorite. and I remember being on my bed when I was like four years old and making believe, so it’s about Greeks fighting the Turks and my town and my area is from the mountains where it was very real to me, where they were on the mountains fighting with the Turks with swords.
My town is called Kastoria. So it was all very real to me and all four of my grandparents had their stories about this and so it was with a lot of pride that you get dressed as a freedom fighter and you go to the parade when you’re a kid, and you have your sword and you’re playing with your friends. So, it is amazingly full circle 50 years later to be the Grand Marshall of this parade that I was marching in as a tsolia 50 plus years ago.
It’s sort of amazing but the history is so close, all four of my grandparents. And my grandfather, which is a phenomenal story he was a freedom fighter against the Turks and the Bulgarians in the late 1800s he was born in 1883 and he was sentenced to die and he escaped and he had no education so at the time, there was no education and somehow he got to Vienna, Austria. So think about this, he’s growing up in the late 1800s, he was born in 1883, so let’s say this is the late 1890s and he is in Vienna and sees electric lights for the first time because in Greece obviously, he had never seen it. He told me this story when I was a very little boy, he sees electric light and thought it was magic and was so fascinated by it that he decided he was going to devote his life to this magical miracle of these electric lights. He had no education, he had a job at the famous Vienna Opera House cleaning the floors, sweeping the floors and he would save the little librettos, the little books that would have the text in German and he taught himself how to read German, and he somehow, we still don’t know all the details, I have his diploma.
Dr. George Yancopoulos in the lab.
This is an amazing story by the way, so [back to] Roy Vagelos. So I want to be like Roy Vagelos, everyone wants to be like Roy Vagelos and there’s so many parallels I draw but you can’t make this stuff up. He got a bunch of Greeks including me and Michael Jaharis to donate to Columbia Medical Center to build this beautiful new building, the Vagelos Building, which is a spectacular building, anyway, and he gave the opening address at the building, the most incredible talk. He talked about his roots and where he came from, and one of the most amazing things that he said was that his parents were raised in war and they had nothing and they had to come over in the early 1900s as immigrants from the turmoil that was going on then, because they’re actually from around Constantinople and probably Smyrna and they somehow got displaced and they came over here but the previous generation, his grandfather, had been educated and about the only thing they brought with them was his grandfather’s diploma and the amazing thing is that my grandfather somehow got to university and became an electrical engineer in Austria and about the only thing that my family brought over when they came in the late 1950s from Greece was his diploma. I have his diploma on my wall and I have his name, you know Greeks name the first grandson after the grandfather, so his name is George Damis Damianos Yancopoulos and it’s the same name and I have a diploma from this university in Austria from the early 1900s with my name on it, and he became an electrical engineer, and he went back to Greece.
First, he went to Asia Minor and he built two of the first power plants in all of Greece in Smyrna which got destroyed in the Catastrophe of Smyrna, then he eventually moved around and he had a partnership with an Egyptian Jew and they built something like the first 15 power plants in all of Greece. Then, full circle, my father was born into a family that was actually quite wealthy, but then the Germans came and they took over all the power plants and somehow because he wasn’t willing to collaborate or whatever, they put my grandfather in jail and my father who was 15 at the time joined the army and became a freedom fighter. So, it basically came full circle. His father starts out with nothing, becomes very rich, builds an empire, has all these power plants, is left with nothing. My father now pretty much at the same age is now a freedom fighter and first against the Nazis and then against the Communists and so then he comes to America and raises me. So I tell my kids, they’ve got to be prepared there’s probably going to be a great collapse, they’re going to turn into freedom fighters and have to start from the beginning themselves because it’s all cyclical… you can’t make this up.
My mother, Vasiliki was also from Kastoria. She died last summer, at 91. I have a sister, Sophia, she was also pushed into a lot of education. She’s the smart one. She has a PhD in theoretical astrophysics from Columbia, and was actually in the same group with [famed astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium] Neil deGrasse Tyson. I went to high school with him, and my sister got her PhD with him.
TNH: Do your children also want to pursue careers in science?
GY: I have 4 kids, Ourania, Damis, Louka, and Demetra, ages 23, 21, 19, and 16 and well, unbelievably enough, they may all end up, and it was not sort of expected, they might all end up being scientists and engineers, though it didn’t start that way.
My oldest daughter is already famous by the way, because she identified some big controversy at the UN that they were covering up that they have very few women in positions of power and she exposed this. Her work was cited in the New York Times, but also the UN ended up then shifting gears and they had her put together a whole exhibition on this topic. So it was one of the largest public exhibitions they had at the UN that was highlighting women in the history of the UN and how women have not been given the prominence that they should be and my daughter became, for somebody who is so young, it was unbelievable how much attention she got, but then she got a little frustrated working at the UN and seeing how it was hard to make a change. So she decided to go back to medical school.
My son Damis is interested in environmental geology, and so he’s also going towards the sciences and my other son is majoring in a dual degree in physics and engineering, and my youngest is the smart one in the family, she’s still in high school but she is interested in astrophysics and aerospace engineering.
My daughter Demetra has made a name for herself as well. She is now one of the top female high school wrestlers in the country, and you know, how they have varsity teams, varsity wrestling, she is the captain of the boys varsity wrestling team and by the way, you may have seen recently in the news there was this controversy in Texas about this girl was transgender and she was taking steroids to become male but she ended up wresting against girls even though she was in transition. This year she had an undefeated season and she became champion, well, she was undefeated in the scholastic season, but during the tournament she lost to one person, my daughter. So my daughter beat the transgender boy, I didn’t know it either. I was following the story in the news and then her coach texted us that last summer she had wrestled against him and beat him.
TNH: How often do you get to visit Kastoria?
GY: We’re hoping to go this year. We went two years ago, so we try to go every couple of years.
TNH: How difficult was it to leave academia and open your own business in the pharmaceutical industry?
GY: There were really two separate things that got me into this world, one having to do with my father again and one having to do with Len. On the one hand, I was doing very well by some standards in the academic world. At a very young age I was offered professor positions and had gotten very large awards to fund research in my laboratory for several million dollars and my father at that time was very disappointed that I was pursuing this academic science career and when I won one particular award and this was in 1988 and it was for $2.5 million and that was a lot of money, it still is a lot of money, but in 1988 that was a lot more money and it guaranteed funding for my laboratory for eight years back then and I thought that it would show to my father that I had made it, that my science was so worthwhile that they were giving me all this money.
I went home to Queens because I always used to go home on Sunday to have dinner with the family and with my parents and I thought this would impress them and he said two things that I’ll never forget, he listened to this and the first thing he said was (in Greek-) “Exactly how much of that $2.5 million goes into your pocket?” That was the first thing and then when I tried to explain, yeah, but it’s the research and you don’t understand my goal is maybe I could do important science and someday I could maybe come up with something that could maybe help people suffering from disease. My dad said, because my dad was no fool, and I might choke up here, too, but he goes, “I brought my family here,” he was a big believer, like a lot of Greeks from that generation, in America. “I brought my family to the greatest country on the face of this planet and in this country if you really think you can do something like help cure disease,” and I had told them that into my pocket I was making $35,000 a year which by the way you don’t appreciate it now but in 1988 it was a lot of money, but he even with no education was making more than that. So he goes on, “this is the greatest country on the face of this planet,” he was a big believer, “and in this country if you really think you can do something as important as help cure a disease you can make a hell of a lot more than $35,000 a year doing it.”
So I thought I was going to impress my father and I left once again feeling like I had let him down, and then within a week I get a phone call from this guy who I didn’t know at all and he called me because back then it was in the very early days of cloning genes and there were very few people who had cloned genes and I happened to work with, though I was a young guy, but I already had a reputation because I had worked with one of the world’s premiere gene cloners which is another interesting story how I got into this field because once again it’s all the Greek connections. Because I had a reputation and because the guy I had worked with was so well known, Len talked to him and he said you’re never going to get one of these established, older superstars in gene cloning now, but if you want some guy who could be the next young superstar you got to talk to this guy Yancopoulos. So Len just sort of cold called me about getting together with him to help him start this company.
Honestly, if I didn’t have that juxtaposition of my dad being disappointed in me and sort of saying do something bigger and he was always into doing something in business and Len calling, that was the magic that sort of said, okay I’m going to walk. Nobody had ever walked away, by the way, from this actually pretty famous grant at the time, it was the Lucille P. Markey award and nobody else ever walked away from a $2.5 million grant. It was unheard of, and I ended up becoming somewhat legendary because people thought I was crazy. Then, about 20 years later I was invited back to be the speaker at this event about all these people that had gotten this award and everybody else said why didn’t we do that?
Part of it is also, I really hit off right away with this guy Len and we’re still you don’t see us as much but we haven’t changed in the 28 whatever years it’s been. We’re exactly the same, we love each other but we argue, it’s like brothers. We argue, incessantly and we’re always debating and we’re always taking different sides in an argument, but it all helps the process because you have two people arguing it out and then we engage with [others in the company] Jay Markowitz there, Neil Stahl, and Drew Murphy and we engage everybody else in the different sides of the argument and it leads, I think, to a much better discussion and a much better decision at the end of the day when you’re sitting there having a high level debate over everything constantly instead of just one person saying do this or the other person saying do that.
So, nothing has really changed, I love it, I mean I loved him from the beginning, but our interactions and our relationship hasn’t really changed in the entire time and I knew from literally the beginning I just, something hit it off and I could see that he was a very honest guy who was very ethically motivated and you could see a lot of his motivation. He has a severely disabled son who was born with neurological deficits and one of the original, founding goals of Regeneron was to regenerate the nervous system and a lot of it was for his son and we’re still, believe it or not, almost thirty years later, we’re still working on that because it’s so hard and it’s related to Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s, so we’re still working on all those diseases.
In the meantime whatever success we had ended up being in a totally relatively unrelated area, but I knew from the beginning that he was just not only very smart, but just very ethical and very honest and very well-motivated and he told me something that my father also taught me and he said he learned this from his father and he was also very close to his father which very much was consistent with how I was raised. He said life was about doing well by doing good. And that was how I was raised and really he still lives by that and he really hasn’t changed and he’s never disappointed me in terms of his ethics and his viewpoint.
I believe we are the most ethically-driven company. The thing that makes us different I think we’re more like the legacy of Roy Vagelos’ Merck, which we all aspire to both me and Len, we aspire to this, but Roy was the greatest paradigm of doing things ethically and doing things based on the science. And almost every other company has moved away from that. They’re doing things for commercial reasons and to make money, and Roy said well, if you do things based on the science to try to improve the human condition and you’re ethical about it, everything else, the money, will take care of itself. We’ve tried to live by that and I think that we’ve, huge credit to Len because he’s never disappointed me, I think that we have stayed that way and especially when we actually brought Roy on board to provide a double check to make sure that we stayed ethical and based on the science, but Roy is a great mentor and I think Len and I have literally devoted our lives to try to live up to his example and bringing him in was just the actual physical symbol of what we’ve been trying to do and live up to.
But I should just mention that when I first went into science I was in a different field and very early on when I was in college I was excited by something unrelated. So in 1975 my dad tells me Roy Vagelos should be your hero. Then a couple of years later I’m going to college and I’m doing protein crystallography, a different field of science, and I’m struggling and not doing that well. Then they cloned the first gene and the authors of the paper that cloned the first gene were Efstratiadis, Maniatis, and Kafatos at Harvard. Three Greeks cloned the first gene or the first cDNA it’s called, and I literally, I read the paper and went wow, maybe I’m in the wrong field, maybe I should go into this new field of cloning genes because maybe this is what Greeks are good at. So Roy Vagelos was my hero but then I went into cloning genes because of Efstratiadis, Maniatis, and Kafatos, and ironically enough, all of those guys, but particularly now Maniatis who is still a very famous guy and is always being honored. He is a very prominent professor at Columbia and I talk and deal with him all the time. I had a phone conference with him just yesterday, so it’s ironic how people who are your heroes, Roy Vagelos or Tom Maniatis, you actually get to meet them so it is funny sometimes how things in life you’re inspired by and for me certainly these Greek connections, Roy Vagelos is my hero, and I go into what I go into because of Efstratiadis, Maniatis, and Kafatos.
We have a lot of Greeks here, Aris Baras is running our genetics center.
TNH: The campus here is impressive, but how did you start out?
GY: We had 10,000 square feet, sort of the equivalent of what would be that little corner of that building and then we slowly took over almost that entire building. Then we needed more space, and started building additional buildings. So now we have nine buildings.
TNH: What goes on in the buildings?
GY: So, it’s largely research, I mean there’s supporting activities here that we have that help the research people and we also have the people who are involved in providing our drugs to the patients, but mostly here, this is mostly our research campus and we do everything from what they call developing antibody drugs to gene sequencing. We have the world’s largest human sequencing effort going here that’s headed by this young Greek guy Aris Baras, the largest human genome sequencing effort is going on, on the other side of the street.
Up in Albany, in Rensselaer is where we have our manufacturing facilities and we also built another manufacturing facility in Ireland. Then we have some business offices in Basking Ridge, NJ and a couple of other places. It’s where we actually have some clinical people, so it’s not research laboratories, it’s where we have some people who are involved in organizing clinical trials and also doing the biostatistics involved in that.
TNH: The company has 6,000 employees, how many with advanced degrees?
GY: 630 with advanced degrees, 500-1,000 PhDs and I would say another 2,000 who have technical degrees either Master’s or undergraduate degrees in the sciences. Then the other half of the people are probably more support type people.
TNH: How many drugs have been approved so far?
GY: So far it’s four, but in the next 1-2 months we hope to have two more, important ones including one for severe atopic dermatitis or eczema, but we’re also testing the same drug [for other ailments] and it looks very promising for asthma and an assortment of other allergic diseases. That’s the first drug, and then the second drug that we hope to be approved is for rheumatoid arthritis which we’re also very excited about. Our other four drugs are for eye diseases it’s the leading drug that actually saves vision and actually gives back vision lost to people who have macular degeneration or diabetic eye disease, so it’s a very important drug. We have another drug for a rare disease called cold induced inflammatory syndrome, we have another drug for lowering cholesterol and hopefully preventing heart disease, and we have a cancer drug. So those are the four approved and we hope to get two more in the next two months.
TNH: A remarkable achievement.
GY: In the entire world last year there were only 20 drugs approved by the FDA and half of them were actually not new drugs, they were generics. Our company by itself just in the next two months is going to get hopefully two important, important new drugs approved.
It took us over 20 years for our first approval and that was because what we really did which is very unlike any other company is we built the whole foundation and an assembly line to make the drug and since then we’ve had at least one drug almost every year and now we’re hoping to even accelerate, two in the next couple of months and we’re hoping to get a couple more maybe even either at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. So we built a machine that can really now produce regularly because it’s all coming from our own science.
Most other companies buy opportunities and they’re licensing. We’re actually doing from the beginning science all the way to the manufacturing of everything. And we’re, we may be, I have to say, we’re certainly the only company in history of our size that has produced these many drugs already and such a pipeline all internally. It’s never been done before so we are very proud of that.
In the job I do, it’s not really how many hours you’re grinding away, I think that for the people who are really exceptional at this they are sort of addicted to it, basically it’s all what’s going on in there, and basically you can’t really turn it off and the most important ideas can happen when you’re at your kid’s soccer game or running on a trail in the woods.
The most important thing I think is to have your mind be free and be creative because what you have do is you have think of new things that nobody’s ever thought about before, so you can’t do that by whatever and like I said I consider it part of the training of my children. If you ask my kids, hopefully, you’ll see several of them at the parade. We talk about these things all the time. My viewpoint is that you don’t really understand what you’re doing if you can’t explain it to a smart fifth grader. That’s my perspective and so I explain what we work on and talk about to my kids and sometimes they ask questions and their perspective is often some of the best that I’ve gotten because it’s not biased by their experiences, and they’re very smart. I think my kids are very smart so a lot of ideas come from either conversations that we have amongst ourselves all the scientists around here whether it’s Len or Neil Stahl or all these great people we have internally but also some of my good ideas come just from talking with my kids and they say well why don’t you guys do this and I say wow, why didn’t we think of that, because they think with a virgin mind, so basically when your job involves thinking you’re doing it all the time.
TNH: What takes more of your time, managing the business or the scientific aspects?
GY: I think I’ve been a very, very lucky guy. In life, if you’re going to do anything most of the time I think people who do big things are doing it with other people, and so I’ve been very lucky in that both on the business side I have people like Len and also Roy who are really doing a lot of the heavy lifting. On the science side which is where I concentrate more I also have incredibly brilliant scientific collaborators who have been with me some of them are relatively new, but some of them have been here almost from the beginning. So what I do most of my day, I just have meetings with all these smart people and they end up doing all the work and I just help cross-fertilize some of the ideas and maybe help out a little bit but my job hasn’t really changed in 28 years. It’s just meeting with my colleagues and brainstorming, that’s what we do around here.
TNH: Regeneron stock is doing very well, do you follow it regularly?
GY: Our market is up now, it varies every minute, I don’t actually follow it, Len follows it, so we’re about 372, and we’re a $40 billion company now. I don’t follow it day-to-day, I just follow it over the long term. I believe what Roy Vagelos says, you do the science, you come up with important drugs for patients and then the stock price and everything else will take care of itself and I really don’t worry about it day to day. Even weeks go by sometimes and I don’t even look at the stock price, but honestly we’ve done well over time, and back then, when we went public in 1991 it was, at the time, one of the record IPOs in the industry I think we raised about $100 million which was huge back then. It set some sort of record.
TNH: Where did the name Regeneron come from?
GY: The funny thing is, the title of my high school science project was The Molecular Basis of Regeneration, so I was always interested in regeneration, but it’s sort of coincidental. What happened was in the early days of the company we were talking about the nervous system and regrowing nerve cells and somebody, I believe it was Mike Brown suggested why don’t we come up with regenerating neurons or regeneuron and then Al Gilman said that doesn’t sound right and it doesn’t sound as much about genes, so why don’t we just drop the u and he made it Regeneron, so it came from three of our board of advisors.
PHILADELPHIA – On Sunday April 2nd the entire Greek-American community and Philhellenes of Philadelphia and the Greater Delaware Valley will march on Benjamin Franklin Parkway to celebrate the Greek Independence Day.
196 years ago, Greeks stood up against the Ottoman Empire and revived Hellenism after almost 400 years of oppression. Despite their non-existent military infrastructure, limited resources and size, our forefathers revolted against the tyrants.
“With love and respect to the ideal of freedom, they succeeded in liberating Greece and delivering the sacred land to the next generations. Their example keeps inspiring us! Our duty is to commemorate those heroes and pay tribute to the nation they fought for, Hellas!” says the press release from Nikolaos (Nick) Spiliotis, President of the Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of Philadelphia
“We are granted the honor again this year to have with us the Presidential Guard of Greece (the Evzones)! It’s the day to be Together, United and Proud of our Heritage!”
Read the PDF’s below to be aware of the celebration program, route and instructions, the parade line-up and the information sheet.
CAMPBELL, Ohio (WYTV) – Greeks around the world are celebrating their 196th year of independence from the Turks — and the Mahoning Valley is no exception.
Members of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church held a parade Sunday. They marched down 12th street — from the church to the Prodromos Society.
After the march, there was a wreath laying ceremony.
Organizers say this may be a community event, but it’s important to an entire culture.
Members of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church held a parade Sunday, March 25, Cambell, Ohio. Photo: TNH
“This is a huge day that goes along with the Feast Day yesterday and to the Greek culture,” organizer of the Greek Independence ParadeLisa Missos said to WYTV. “There were parades everywhere — all over Greece. Warren’s having their parade today, so it’s huge for the Greek Culture.”
After all ceremonies were finished, everyone was invited into the Prodromos Society for a Lenten lunch.
Members of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church held a parade Sunday, March 25, Cambell, Ohio. Photo: TNH
ASTORIA – On Saturday, March 25, a flag raising was held to celebrate Greek Independence Day at Athens Square Park in the heart of Astoria.
The President of the Federation of Hellenic Societies Petros Galatoulas welcomed the honored guests and all those attending the event including Vice-Admiral and former Greek Navy Commander Stavros Mihailidis, the President of the Presidential Guard Major Lazaros Rizopoulos, the Evzones, Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras, Consul of Greece Manos Koubarakis, and Manolis Vournous- Mayor of Chios.
Commemorating the 196th anniversary of the declaration of Greek Independence and the Hellenic Republic, the event began with the Star-Spangled Banner and the Greek National Anthem and was open to the public. The mild temperatures brought out a large crowd some waving Greek and American flags, and some with children wearing traditional costume. The sun even peeked out from the clouds at times during the event to match the bright spirits of the attendees and their enthusiastic shouts of Zito i Ellas, Long live Greece.
With flags waving, the celebration of Greek culture and heritage emphasized the fervent support for Greece and the hope for even more unity among Greeks everywhere. The crowd applauded the arrival of the Evzones who marched into Athens Square Park in their traditional uniform, and one in the black Pontian uniform to commemorate the Genocide.
The entire contingent of Evzones, 36 in all, is the largest ever to march in New York’s Greek Independence Day Parade. All were present though some were not participating in the flag raising and could enjoy the event as spectators. Among them, Jason Robertson, the Australian-Greek Evzone spoke to The National Herald. He said the experience has been amazing being in the US and in New York and having already participated in the Florida Greek parade. Robertson, whose father is Australian and mother is from Volos, takes pride in being an Evzone. He plans to continue his post-grad studies in business management in England after completing his military service.
All the speakers expressed their thanks and best wishes, looking forward to Sunday’s Greek Independence Day Parade. President of the Federation of Hellenic Societies, Petros Galatoulas encouraged everyone to join the march up Fifth Avenue encouraging all to join this expression of our pride in our Greek heritage and homeland.
The Pontian Society of New York Komninoi dancers. Photo by Eleni Sakellis
He introduced one of the two Grand Marshals of the Parade present at the event, Greek-Russian businessman Ioannis (Ivan) Savvidis, noting that he is the first Grand Marshal of Greek descent not born in the United States. Savvidis, who spoke mostly in Russian translated into Greek by an interpreter, offered good wishes and his thanks to the community.
He said that even as a child growing up in the Soviet Union, March 25th was a very meaningful day to him and his family and they longed to hear the voice of Greece. Being in New York, Savvidis noted that the Greek Revolution came from the Diaspora and that Greece will be saved from the current crisis by the Diaspora. He then spoke in Greek, saying he is proud to be Greek and proud to be a Pontian Greek.
Costumed dancers from Greece and the local area then performed traditional dances to inspire and entertain the crowd.
The Pontian Society of New York Komninoi dancers performed first, followed by the Deropoli Society dancers who are based in Athens, and the Hellenic Lyceum of Kavala who performed traditional dances and a song. The audience applauded enthusiastically.
Deropoli dancers from Athens. Photo by Eleni Sakellis
The General and former Greek Minister of Defense Frangoulis Frangos quoted the hero of the Greek War of Independence Theodoros Kolokotronis and spoke about the importance of unity with Greece at this difficult time, especially in the face of recent issues with Turkey. Mayor of Chios Manolis Vournous offered his best wishes and thanks, pointing out the double celebration of the Annuncoation of the Virgin Mary and Greek Independence Day, the unity between faith and freedom.
President of the Greek Parliamentary Committee on Greeks Abroad, Alexander Triantaphyllides thanked the Unites States for its support of Greece from the beginning of the War of Independence to the present day and mentioned the many Americans who took up arms and fought for Greece’s freedom and those who raised funds for revolution. He also spoke about unity and how Greece has suffered through many hardships in the past and will overcome its current problems, too.
Miss Greek Independence 2017 Julia Kokkosis, runner-up Florence Emmanuela Dallas, second runner-up Fotini Mamos, Miss Athens Panagiota Chasen, Miss Nisyros Stella Fragioudakis, and Miss Crete Irene Koutsoulidakis were also in attendance. The celebration then moved to the Cretans Association Omonia for the Exhibition of Greek Traditional Dances to be presented by various organizations and dance groups.
The flag raising at Athens Square Park in Astoria was just one of the events leading up to the Greek Independence Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City celebrating the 196 years of Greek Independence.
CHICAGO, IL – The Parthenon Marbles must return to Greece, ruled a jury, judges and a crowd majority at the National Hellenic Museum’s (NHM) “Trial of the Parthenon Marbles.”
The event, held on March 16at the Art Institute Chicago, was part of an acclaimed series of annual mock trials that have included the trials of Antigone, Orestes, and Socrates.Honorable guests include some of the city’s most revered legal professionals, who come together to debate on the trial at hand before a crowd of civilians who also participate in the voting process.
This year’s trial attracted over 800 attendees who came to hear proceedings and cast their final vote in favor of returning the marbles to their birthplace. “The marbles together tell a story. Apart, they tell a tragedy and that is what is happening right now,” said jury member Georgia Loukas. “The Parthenon is synonymous with Greece.”
The jury ruled 8 to 4 for the marbles’ return. “Greece was never paid for the marbles, and we all know in Chicago when you see people carrying things out the back of a building and you don’t see evidence recorded on the books…” jury member Chris Lawson said, amusing the crowd.
Other members of the jury opened the discussion of rightful ownership, and examined the moral implications of having a creation as globally admired as the Parthenon, taken apart for display in multiple areas.
“Justice, as well as equity require that the half [of the marbles] that is in England be returned to mother Greece, to be with its other half in the Acropolis Museum,” said Judge Anthony Kyriacopoulos.
Even some of those who voted against sending the marbles back to Greece alluded to the immorality of the pieces being there in the first place.
“My ancestors came over from Britain on the Mayflower,” said Anne Morgan, “Letting [the marbles] stay at the British Museum will allow the British to make the moral decision to give them back on their own,” she said.
Judge Richard Posner cast the sole dissenting vote in the 4 to 1 judge decision, asserting that the sculptures created by the Ancient Greeks belong to the world rather than Greece, and should remain at the British Museum, where they have resided for 200 years.
“If we really were to adopt the principle that the original home of cultural artifacts has an indefeasible claim for the return of them, think about what our museums would look like,” Posner argued. “This museum is full of foreign artifacts…as are many other museums, facilities, buildings and so on. Are we to return them whenever asked for them by a country from which the artifacts come? Half our art would go back to France,” he said.
But Posner’s position was not backed up by his peers, who voted to have the marbles returned to Greece for a number of decisive factors, both moral and legal.
Judge P. Kocoras pointed out a common British law stating that “a thief who steals the property of another does not acquire valid title to the property. A purchaser of stolen property from a thief can never gain title greater than that which the thief can transfer. The same legal principles apply when a nation is looted of its property by a conquering force,” he said.
Known as the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon Marbles are a collection of surviving sculptures dating back to the Classical Greek period. They were created by the sculptor Phidias and his group of assistants, and originally adorned the Parthenon and other Athenian Acropolis buildings before being removed from 1801 to 1805.
It is said that Thomas Bruce, British ambassador to the then ruling Ottoman Empire, also known as Lord Elgin, received a permit to remove the sculptures and transfer them by sea to Great Britain. The remaining marbles not taken by Lord Elgin were subsequently removed in the 1970s and are now on display at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
Priceless antiquities, the Parthenon Marbles date back to 447 BC and include, among other pieces, a number of panels that once adorned the 247-foot Parthenon Frieze. The marbles have been the center of international debate, especially among those concerned with cultural history.
Since the early 1980s, the Greek government has called for the return of the marbles to Greece, disputing the British Museum Trustees’ legal rights to the sculptures. The British Museum, however, has routinely denied this accusation and has advocated that the sculptures remain in place in its world class, encyclopedic museum in London where they have been on permanent public display since 1817.
“The question of where the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon should be displayed has long been a subject of public discussion,” the British Museum states on its website. “The Trustees remain convinced that the current division allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance for world culture and affirming the universal legacy of Ancient Greece.”
But the vast majority of judges, jury members and the crowd at the NHM’s “Trial of the Parthenon Marbles” believe otherwise.
“By having the marbles exposed and exhibited the way they are violates the intention of the creators,” said Michael Kosmopoulos, who voted to have the marbles returned. “I don’t think the Ottoman Turks, an occupying force, had the right to give [the marbles] away.”
Judges Richard A. Posner and William J. Bauer of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke, US District Judge Charles P. Kocoras, and Cook County Circuit Judge Anna H. Demacopoulos presided over the proceedings, providing insightful rulings at the conclusion of the events.
Greece was represented in its effort to regain control of the Marbles by Daniel K. Webb, Sam Adam Jr., and Robert A. Clifford, while the British Museum was represented by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Patrick M. Collins, and Tinos Diamantatos.
This year, two experts took the stage to provide the audience with important historical facts. Testifying on behalf of Greece was Dr. Fiona Rose-Greenland while Molly Morse Limmer served as the British expert witness. Both experts were cross-examined for a lively exploration of the nature of historical permissions and the treatment of artifacts that eventually reside in museums.
Both sides offered compelling cases that asked the judges, jury and audience to consider the complexities of law, history and heritage. The evening provided a robust debate on topics surrounding cultural heritage and its preservation, as cultural universalism, nationalism, and symbolic representation were discussed. Also questioned was whether law, morality, or justice should be the applicable aspect for debating the case.
“What I would say to the British is, ‘keep calm, carry on, and send them home,’” said Heraclea Karras, who was part of the jury.
The NHM Trial Series have since the very beginning attracted Chicago’s professional community for a night of passionate debate examining moral and legal angles to a number of trials, real, fictional and hypothetical, raising awareness aboutGreek cultural heritage and historical memory.
“This Trial was our most successful ever. The lawyers’ arguments were brilliant, giving many lay people a glimpse into what real life courtroom theatrics look like,” NHM Trustee and Trial Planning Committee Chair, Konstantinos Armiros said.
ALBANY — In mid-March, Greek-American Senator Michael N. Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, accused a group of eight breakaway Democrats, who have partnered with the Senate Republicans, of being President Trump’s “New York Democrats” — “happy to eat the crumbs from the Republican dinner plate.”
One of those renegade lawmakers, Senator Marisol Alcantara, a Manhattan Democrat and a member of the Independent Democratic Conference, soon shot back at Mr. Gianaris, saying he was a product of Harvard and guilty of having “white privilege.” (Mr. Gianaris is Greek-American, while Ms. Alcantara emigrated from the Dominican Republic as a child.)
The exchange prompted a new round of hand-wringing over the deteriorating relations among Democrats in the Senate, who technically hold a majority but whose divisions have effectively given power to the Republicans. Observers say the vitriol, tinged with allegations about race and class, does not augur well for a reconciliation anytime soon, New York Times reports.
“I don’t understand how Gianaris wants all of us to work together as a group when all he does is insult everyone in the I.D.C.”, Ms. Alcantara said in an interview.
Mr. Gianaris expressed frustration that, because of what he called the “collusion” with Republicans, his conference’s budget resolution never made it to the floor for debate. “Somehow today we are only left discussing the resolutions that the Republicans want us to hear,” he said in the chamber on March 15. “The Republicans are choosing which Democrats they want to hear from.”
