How the ancient ore mines of Lavrio changed the course of Western history

When the allied Greek cities found themselves facing the invading Persian Army in 480 BC, it was an existential battle between East and West. Greece, representing all the values of the West, as we know it today, used its “wooden walls” – its ships – to face the Eastern invaders.

Many historians have dealt with the “what if” question: What would the history of humanity have looked like if the outcome of the Battle of Salamis had been different. However, history is not written with “what ifs.”

The priestess Aristonike, with her famous second oracle, pointed to the solution for the Athenians: According to Herodotus, she said, “The wooden wall will be a salvation for you and your children, it will remain impregnable.” It took Themistocles’ bright mind, however, to convince the Athenians that the “wooden wall” did not refer to the old Acropolis fortification, but their fleet.

At the time of the Battle of Salamis, democracy in Athens was less than 30 years old. A Persian victory would have had an immense cultural effect both in the West and around the world. It would have changed the course of history significantly.

To write this significant page in Greek history, more was needed than the self-abnegation of the participants and Themistocles’ brilliance. And that was luck.

One significant variable that proved decisive for the Greeks, defenders of the West against the Persians, was the discovery in 483 BC of a significant deposit of silver in Maroneia (today Kamariza, west of the town of Lavrio). Themistocles, through his “Naval Law,” convinced the Athenians to give up their share of the silver found (10 drachmas each, about half a month’s wages for a craftsman) to fund the construction of 200 triremes for a “national cause.” The 200 triremes were among the 378 fielded by all Greeks taking part in the Salamis naval battle.  

Without this “silver vein,” nothing would have been the same in this Athenian “Golden Age.” With the money from the Lavrio mines, Athens was saved.

Dimitri Neonakis: the pilot making wishes of Canadian children come true

Dimitri Neonakis, a Greek-Canadian from Messinia who lives and works in Nova Scotia, Canada, impresses all in the local community with his inspiring way of expressing his solidarity with his fellow citizens — especially the younger ones.

Following the terrorist attacks of April, 2020 in Nova Scotia, where 22 people tragically lost their lives, Neonakis wanted to find a unique way to express his solidarity with his community.

So he decided to begin creating figures in the sky with his airplane as a way to transmit symbols and messages of solidarity in the air. After these routes are depicted on a map, they show what he says are uplifting images of hope.

Following this unusual gesture, Neonakis decided to take a further step and introduce the "Dream Wings" initiative, which gives children with mobility issues and serious health conditions the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime ride on his plane.

Giorgos Hatziparaskos: One of Greece's last authentic phyllo makers

At 86 years old, Giorgos Hatziparaskos is one of the last bakers in Greece making phyllo pastry by hand. With the help of his wife and son, he keeps the business going thanks to tourists visiting the Greek island of Crete.

 

Κεφαλή του Ερμού βρέθηκε μόλις 1.30μ κάτω απ'τη γη της Αθήνας

Στις αρχές του 3ου αιώνα π.χ χρονολογείται η κεφαλή του Ερμού που βρέθηκε την Παρασκευή κατά τη διάρκεια εργασιών του Δήμου Αθηναίων στην οδό Αιόλου.

Σε σχετική ανακοίνωση το Υπ. Πολιτισμού αναφέρει:

«Την Παρασκευή 13 Νοεμβρίου 2020, κατά τη διάρκεια εκσκαφικών εργασιών στο πλαίσιο του έργου «Κατασκευή αποχετευτικών δικτύων ακαθάρτων και των συνδέσεων των ακινήτων 4ης και 5ης Δημοτικής Κοινότητας» του Δήμου Αθηναίων, που εποπτεύει η Εφορεία Αρχαιοτήτων πόλεως Αθηνών, έναντι του Ιερού Ναού Αγίας Ειρήνης, στο ύψος της οδού Αιόλου 25 και σε βάθος 1.30μ. από το οδόστρωμα, απεκαλύφθη κεφαλή Ερμού, εικονίζουσα τον θεό σε ώριμη ηλικία, προφανώς απότμημα ερμαϊκής στήλης. Η εικονογραφία του γλυπτού προσιδιάζει στον τύπο του Ερμού Προπυλαίου του Αλκαμένους.

"Staellinika" platform reconnects Greeks around the world with their heritage language and culture

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University and the General Secretariat for Public Diplomacy and Greeks Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the full release of Staellinika, a new online platform which reconnects Greeks abroad with the homeland of their ancestors.

Now, Staellinika users will be able to experience the full version of the web application, which has been available for several months in pilot form, according to the online tool’s developers.

Since its inception, Staellinika, an online platform and suite of apps developed by the SNF New Media Lab at the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies, has sought to provide individuals ranging from preschool-aged children to young adults with an innovative and engaging product designed to re-connect Greeks around the world with their heritage language and culture.

The platform’s creators have now realized their goal with the launch of a full course curriculum for beginner heritage learners in schools and for individuals at home. The platform can be used either as a stand-alone program to assist schools or to supplement their existing curriculum. It is offered for free thanks to very generous funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

Greek athlete Marios Giannakou carries disabled student to peak of Mount Olympus

“There is nothing more real than the dream. 09:02 am We reached the top of Greece with Eleftheria and our team,” Marios Giannakou's Instagram post read in reference to Mount Olympus.

This was the post of the long distance athlete who informed about the successful completion of, what he described a few days ago, as the most important and beautiful race of his life. He conquered the top of Mount Olympus, carrying on his back, in a specially modified backpack, 22-year-old Eleftheria Tosiou, who has mobility problems.

“There is nothing more real than a dream,” writes the athlete from Drama in northern Greece, accompanying his post a photo of himself with the young biology student on his back, the Greek flag in his hand and a wide smile of satisfaction on the faces of both.

When Eleftheria met Marios through one of their common friends, she confided in him that she wants to ascend to Mount Olympus.

Without a second thought, the Drama athlete checked the diary, studied the meteorological forecasts, organized the appropriate support team and made his young friend’s dream come true.

Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, scientist who saved thousands of infants, dies at 90

Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, an internationally known scientist in the field of neonatal medicine who helped save thousands of infants through her groundbreaking research, died Friday, Sept. 11, of endometrial cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

During a 50-year career, Dr. Delivoria-Papadopoulos was a professor of pediatrics, physiology, and obstetrics/gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine, and director of neonatal intensive care at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Both are in Philadelphia.

She was regarded as the “mother of neonatology” and “a legend in the field," Greece’s Neonatal Society said in an online tribute.

“She remains alive in the hearts and memories of the hundreds of doctors she trained and inspired to have a love for sick children, of the hundreds of Greek doctors she opened the way for, and of the thousands of Greek patients who found treatment at specialized centers with her help,” the society said on Sept. 14.

Born in Athens, she was the daughter of Constantine and Kalliopi Delivoria. She earned a medical degree from Athens University.

She came to the United States in 1957 to pursue postdoctoral study in physiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the faculty and created the neonatal unit at Penn, which she ran before leaving as professor emeritus in 2000.

She was on the Drexel faculty from 2000 to 2006, when she was given the Ralph Brenner Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at St. Christopher’s Hospital.

She was honored globally for her achievements and continued research in neonatal medicine throughout her life. Her most important contribution was taking the iron lung used to treat polio victims in the 1950s and adapting it to support the breathing of premature babies. Another was the use of magnetic resonance imaging to assess the infants' brains.

She was the first doctor to place an infant on a respirator to help with respiratory distress syndrome, her family said in a statement. She was also the first woman and doctor to demonstrate the effective use of mechanical ventilation to treat lung disease in premature infants, the family said.

The mechanics of philotimo: volunteers repair cars damaged in Evia floods (video)

In early August, the Greek island of Evia was hit by a catastrophic flood that killed eight people and caused incalculable destruction. In the wake of the disaster, residents found their homes and possessions destroyed. 

They were left to wonder how they could ever recover from this catastrophe. Now, a group of mechanics from Athens has volunteered to fix vehicles that were heavily damaged in the flood as soon as they saw the aftermath of the natural disaster.

The flooding was caused by the extraordinary amounts of rainfall that fell over a relatively short period of time. While the weather forecast had called for 63 mm (2.5 inches) of rain, Evia was deluged by 300 mm (11.8 inches) in just 8 hours, making the natural disaster one of the most devastating in the region’s history.

Tragically, eight people, including one infant, lost their lives in the terrible storm. Thousands of homes on Evia were flooded with water and mud, and many cars were swept away into the sea by torrents of water.

The amount of damage left by the flood is simply unimaginable. The most heavily-impacted regions on the island were Psachna, Politika, Bourtzi, Vasilikou and Lefkandi.

Upon seeing images of the destruction left in the wake of the flood, car aficionado Vasilis Papanikitas decided to go to Evia with his friends to help the residents there. “It started when I saw the cars in Bourtzi that were destroyed. People were saying that local mechanics didn’t believe that the cars could be repaired, and they should be discarded,” he explains.

Although Papanikitas is not a professional mechanic, but a cafe owner – his ‘Cafe Racer’ is a popular spot among car aficionados, in the Athenian suburb of Kifissia – he’s happy that he has now proved them wrong.

“I really like cars and I love repairing them. I couldn’t accept that the cars couldn’t be fixed. Nearly every car can be fixed,” he stated as he cleaned car parts that had been covered in mud during the flood.

John Mavroudis is the artist behind the powerful new TIME Magazine cover

John Mavroudis’ cover for the latest issue of TIME magazine pays tribute to all 200,000 Americans who have lost their lives to COVID-19 this year.

Mavroudis’ concluding ellipses serve as a stark reminder of what will only continue during the pandemic in the absence of true leadership at the highest levels.

“I really hope this cover awakens the consciences of those who stand apathetically in the face of this catastrophe. Science and common sense are the answer to this crisis,” the Greek artist told local Greek media.

The good side of Greece radiates

Elona Angoli sewed 600 masks in Grevena. The Saabo family is doing the same in Trikala.

In every corner of Greece an "outbreak" of donations and volunteering and a strong mobilization in the battle against the coronavirus is manifesting.

Residents of Nea Filadelfeia donated more than 200 units of blood. In Agia Paraskevi, 114 units were collected. In Petrana and Kroko Kozanis, 15 and 21 units respectively.

A network of Emergency Seamstresses is created in 37 prefectures to arm the front line with 40,000 reusable masks. The volunteers of Covid-19 Response Greece design and manufacture more than 25,000 face shields. And they keep going.

Η καλή πλευρά της Ελλάδας που ακτινοβολεί

Η Ελόνα Αγκόλι έραψε 600 μάσκες στα Γρεβενά. Η oικογένεια Σααμπό κάνει το ίδιο στα Τρίκαλα.

Σε κάθε γωνιά της Ελλάδας εκδηλώνεται μια «έξαρση» δωρεών και εθελοντισμού και μια ισχυρή κινητοποίηση στη μάχη κατά του κορωνοϊού.

Δημότες της Νέας Φιλαδέλφειας δώρισαν περισσότερες από 200 φιάλες αίμα. Στην Αγία Παρασκευή μαζεύτηκαν 114 φιάλες. Στα Πετρανά και τον Κρόκο Κοζάνης, 15 και 21 φιάλες αντίστοιχα.

Ένα δίκτυο Μοδιστρών Άμεσης Ανάγκης δημιουργείται σε 37 νομούς και εξοπλίζει την πρώτη γραμμή με 40.000 επαναχρησιμοποιούμενες μάσκες. Οι εθελοντές της Covid-19 Response Greece σχεδιάζουν και κατασκευάζουν περισσότερες από 25.000 προστατευτικές ασπίδες προσώπου. Και συνεχίζουν.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation announces $100 Million COVID-19 Global Relief Initiative

Responding to the severe and unprecedented challenges posed around the globe by COVID-19, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has announced a major new initiative which aims to help address the impacts of the pandemic.

This initiative, rooted in SNF’s philanthropic philosophy of public-private collaboration and working closely with grantee partners around the world, will focus both immediately and in the long term on some of the most pressing issues related to the pandemic.

The first area of focus is medical research. Knowing that combating the virus effectively at the global scale will require both new vaccines and new treatments, SNF will provide support for research efforts focused on effective testing, treatment, and prevention. To this end, SNF has provided an immediate grant of $3 million to The Rockefeller University to support the world-class institution’s round-the-clock research related to COVID-19. Rockefeller’s Nobel Prize-winning researchers are well positioned to speed development and deployment of vaccines and treatments that could have global impact.

Μοδίστρες απ'όλη την Ελλάδα ενώνονται για να ράψουν επαναχρησιμοποιούμενες μάσκες - ήδη περισσότερες από 30.000! (video)

Τις τελευταίες μέρες υπήρξε μια πρωτοβουλία που κινητοποίησε 253 μοδίστρες σε 37 νομούς της χώρας.

Οι «Μοδίστρες Άμεσης Ανάγκης» όπως αυτοαποκαλούνται κατάφεραν μέσα σε πολύ σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα να κατασκευάσουν 31.400 μάσκες προστασίας οι οποίες και πρόκειται να παραδοθούν στον Ερυθρό Σταυρό της Θεσσαλονίκης ο οποίος θα τις διανείμει εκεί όπου υπάρχει ανάγκη.

Φυσικά και δεν είναι η μόνη πρωτοβουλία ραφής μασκών που γίνεται στη χώρα μας. Χθες η πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας, Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου, επικοινώνησε με την Ελόνα Αγκόλι, τη γυναίκα που έφτιαξε 600 μάσκες για το Νοσοκομείο Γρεβενών, για να την συγχαρεί για το ήθος, την ανθρωπιά, την ετοιμότητα και την προσφορά της. Στην αρχή του ξεσπάσματος του κορωνοϊού στην χώρας μας υπήρξαν και ορισμένες Αφγανές πρόσφυγες οι οποίες πήραν επίσης την πρωτοβουλία να φτιάξουν μάσκες για τον ευάλωτο πληθυσμό που διαμένει στο στρατόπεδο της Μόριας ενώ πρόσφατα και ορισμένοι εργαζόμενοι στο Δρομοκαΐτειο, με γνώσεις μοδιστρικής, έφτιαξαν κι εκείνοι τις δικές τους μάσκες προστασίας.

WWII Resistance Hero Manolis Glezos Dies at 98

Second World War Resistance fighter turned politician Manolis Glezos passed away today at the age of 98.

Glezos is best remembered for his heroic act, together with Lakis Santas in 1941, of climbing Athens’ Acropolis Hill at night and taking down the Nazi swastika flag flying there early the next morning, dealing a powerful symbolic blow to the powerful occupying forces.

Santas, a 19-year-old law student at Athens University, and Glezos, his 18-year-old friend, determined to remove the Nazi flag which, as they put it, "offended all human ideals". They discovered, from a library book, that the north side of the Acropolis contained a natural cave leading from the base to the top which had been used as a secret passage in ancient times and seemed to offer a chance of evading detection.

Σε δοκιμαστική λειτουργία από σήμερα το gov.gr! (video)

Σε δοκιμαστική λειτουργία βρίσκεται εδώ και λίγες ώρες το gov.gr, ένα μεγάλο έργο που είχε προαναγγείλει η κυβέρνηση και το υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Διακυβέρνησης και προγραμματιζόταν να βγει στον «αέρα» τον Ιούνιο.

Λόγω των έκτακτων συνθηκών στην χώρα το υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Διακυβέρνησης επίσπευσε την διαδικασία και από το πρωί του Σαββάτου είναι πλέον διαθέσιμο στους πολίτες, δίνοντάς τους την δυνατότητα να διεκπεραιώνουν κάποιες από τις επαφές τους με το κράτος. Εξουσιοδοτήσεις, υπεύθυνες δηλώσεις και συνταγογραφήσεις συμπεριλαμβάνονται στις δυνατότητες της νέας ενιαίας κρατικής πύλης.

Στο εξής, θα διεκπεραιώνονται πιλοτικά από τον προσωπικό μας υπολογιστή ή από το κινητό μας τηλέφωνο χωρίς μετακινήσεις και περιττή γραφειοκρατία.

Το gov.gr συγκεντρώνει το σύνολο των υπηρεσιών (περισσότερες από 500) που παρέχονται ψηφιακά από το Δημόσιο και κάθε υπηρεσία που θα ψηφιοποιείται στο μέλλον θα ενσωματώνεται στην πλατφόρμα. Επιπλέον, ο πολίτης από σήμερα έχει τη δυνατότητα να συμπληρώνει και να υπογράφει ηλεκτρονικά εξουσιοδοτήσεις και υπεύθυνες δηλώσεις, αλλά προστίθεται κι η υπηρεσία της άυλης συνταγογράφησης. Παρέχεται, επίσης, η δυνατότητα άμεσης ηλεκτρονικής αποστολής εξουσιοδοτήσεων και υπεύθυνων δηλώσεων στην Αρχή, η οποία ζητά την έκδοσή τους, χωρίς ο πολίτης να χρειάζεται να μεταβεί σε αυτές.

Αστυνομικοί της ομάδας ΔΙ.ΑΣ. βούτηξαν στο λιμάνι του Πειραιά και έσωσαν από βέβαιο θάνατο οδηγό ταξί

Την ζωή ενός οδηγού ταξί, ο οποίος έπεσε το μεσημέρι του περασμένου Σαββάτου στη θάλασσα με το επαγγελματικό όχημά του, έσωσαν αστυνομικοί της ομάδας ΔΙ.ΑΣ.

Το περιστατικό έλαβε χώρα στις 12:35, όταν ένα ταξί έπεσε με ταχύτητα μέσα στη θάλασσα στο λιμάνι του Πειραιά και συγκεκριμένα στην Πύλη Ε7. Ο Υπαρχιφύλακας Ιωάννης Λεωντακιανάκος και ο Αστυφύλακας Δημήτριος Αλεξανδρόπουλος, που υπηρετούν στην ομάδα ΔΙ.ΑΣ. Πειραιά, με αυταπάρνηση και επαγγελματισμό, βούτηξαν χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη στα παγωμένα νερά και απεγκλώβισαν τον οδηγό ταξί την ώρα που το όχημά του βυθιζόταν.

Θεωρείται βέβαιο από τους αυτόπτες μάρτυρες ότι ο άνθρωπος αυτός δεν θα είχε καταφέρει να βγει από το νερό ζωντανός εάν οι αστυνομικοί δεν είχαν ανταποκριθεί τόσο άμεσα.

Greek-American scientist Dr. George Scangos heads global campaign for coronavirus treatment

As the entire world appears to be experiencing a new pandemic caused by the infamous Covid19 coronavirus, scientists have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to find a potential treatment which could save thousands — or even millions — of lives.

The key individual currently leading the world’s desperate efforts in this field is Dr. George Scangos, a Greek-American researcher from Massachusetts who was just tasked by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) to coordinate the scientific community towards a cure.

Dr. Scangos is currently the chief executive of the infectious disease biotechnology company Vir.

The hoped-for treatment could offer massive relief to the entirety of humankind, as the consequences of this sudden global public health emergency have already been complex and dramatic.

Before leading Vir, Scangos was the former CEO of Biogen, a pioneering American multinational biotechnology company based in Massachusetts.

Just a few days ago BIO tapped Scangos to lead the response to this global emergency because of his years of expertise and demonstrated excellence in his field.

Niarchos Foundation Health Initiative grants €420 million for new hospitals in Komotini, Sparta and Thessaloniki (photos)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announced a health partnership with the Greek government that will include three new hospitals and other initiatives worth a total of 420 million euros in funding.

The details of the partnership were unveiled by SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos at a discussion at the SNF Cultural Center, in the presence of Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leadership of the Health ministry, ministers and MPs, academics and the general public.

“Access to quality healthcare should be a fundamental right for all people—from the very young to the very old and from big cities to remote islands. Health is about something more essential than hospitals and equipment. It’s about hope, dignity, and respect. This belief drives the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s (SNF) vision for the health sector in Greece: improving health services to improve life for all of us,” SNF said in a statement.

Komotini General Hospital (to be completed June 2024), Sparta General Hospital (2025) and the Thessaloniki Pediatric Hospital (2024) will be designed by Renzo Piano, who also designed the complex that includes SNF’s Cultural Center, the National Library and the National Opera, and who attended the event. Each general hospital is budgeted at 90 million euros, and the children’s hospital at 150 million euros.

Anna Korakaki to become first woman to start Olympic torch relay

Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki has been selected to start the torch relay for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the first time in games history a woman is serving as the first torchbearer.

Greece's Olympic Committee said Thursday it picked Korakaki, who took gold in the women's 25-meter pistol event at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, to receive the Olympic flame from an actress playing the role of a high priestess in a flame-lighting ceremony to be held on March 12 at Ancient Olympia.

After Korakaki runs the first part of the relay, she will pass the torch to Mizuki Noguchi, the winner of the women's marathon in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Noguchi will be the first Japanese person to carry the 2020 Olympic flame when she collects it in Olympia, western Greece.

Tom Hanks: “Greece is Good for the Soul”

Greece is a “haven” and a “healing place,” Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, who was recently granted honorary Greek citizenship, told reporters at the Golden Globes awards in California on Sunday.

“I’ve been around the world, to beautiful places … none of them tops Greece. The land, the sky, the water, it’s good for the soul; it’s a healing place. Particularly if you get into that fabulous, fabulous Greek schedule of sleeping until noon, staying up until 3 o’clock in the morning, and arguing in a taverna until 3 a.m. It’s just the best life one can have,” Hanks said in comments to the press after being presented with the Cecil B. DeMille by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”

“I’ve been Hellenic for the better part of 32 years,” said the 63-year-old acclaimed actor and filmmaker, highlighting his marriage to actress and producer Rita Wilson whose mother Dorothea was Greek.