ISSUE 144
Greece This Month – April 2012
Greece this month In this issue: General Election Date Set for May 6 Stephen Fry lends support to Greek calls to return Parthenon marbles to Athens Sifnos in the Top Ten Islands according to National Geographic EMBASSSY OF GREECE Press & Communications Office 1a Holland Park, London W11 3TP Tel.: 020 77273071, Fax: 020 77278960 pressoffice@greekembassy.org.uk
THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM, ATHENS
Google Art Project Offers Digital Tour of Greek Museums Would you like to take a closer look at lesserknown works of art from the Benaki Museum’s photographic archives, go on a virtual tour of the Acropolis Museum’s Archaic Hall and study rare laboratory images of objects at the Museum of Cycladic Art? Google is extending its artwork collection by including, among others, the Museum of Acropolis, the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Benaki Museum, in its Google Art project. This project offers a virtual and online presentation of hundreds of museum exhibits from all over the world, which can be reached at the following link: www.googleartproject.com. Powered by Google, the website aims to facilitate access to works of art and cultural institutions all over the world by offering a platform for personalized viewing and navigation of information for further discussion and educational purposes. Google’s collaboration with the Acropolis Museum, the Benaki Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art is part of the Art Project’s current development. The Google Art Project, which got rolling in February 2011 with 17 museums in nine countries, has now grown into a network of 151 partner museums in 40 countries. The Google Art Project
collection currently includes over 30,000 works of art. The Cycladic Art Museum is taking part in the Google Art Project with 159 works created by 19 artists, while the Benaki Museum is participating with 510 works of art by 95 artists. Meanwhile, the Acropolis Museum is showcased through 24 highdefinition images as well as virtual tours of its permanent collections developed through the “street view” technology also used by Google Maps. This means that any visitor will now be able to get a 360 degree tour inside the Museum of Acropolis in Athens from the comfort of his own house. Furthermore, 46 museums (up to now) have each selected one work to be photographed in particularly high resolution through “gigapixel” state-of-theart technology. This technique allows viewers to study the works in all their detail, by exploring paint strokes and verdigris, for instance, something which would have been impossible to do with the naked eye. At a recent press presentation in Athens of the collaboration between Google and the three Greek museums, Minister of Culture Pavlos Geroulanos underlined the importance of safeguarding and promoting the country’s heritage, which is indeed the aim of the Google Art Project.
Akrotiri: Santorini's Gem opens again The Akrotiri archaeological site in Santorini, a characteristic example of urban life in the Minoan era, is reopening. Due to volcanic ash, which covered in the 17th century BC the entire island, guests can still admire the 40 buildings uncovered so far and various two and three storey edifices with famous frescoes.
Stoa of Attalos’ first floor opens to public The first floor of the Stoa of Attalos, one of Athens’s finest monuments, will open for the public in May. The ancient shopping mall was built in 150 BC by Attalos II, king of Pergamon. The opening is part of an initiative for the revival of the Ancient Agora, run jointly by the American School of Classical Studies and the Culture Ministry.
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Greece this month – April 2012
Issue 144
General Election Date Set for May 6 Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, on April 11, visited Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias to request the dissolution of the Parliament. After the meeting, an early general election was set for May 6. Addressing a cabinet meeting, Papademos said that his government has produced positive results leaving behind an important legacy, considering that "in the
past five months it became obvious that we can cooperate, compromise political views when necessary and put our differences aside making decisions for the good of the country." He also said that the Cabinet is due to meet two or three more times before the elections as several outstanding issues, including the recapitalization of Greek banks, still have to be settled.
Investments in Renewable Energy Sources a National Priority, PM tells Energy Conference Investments in renewable energy sources, is a national priority, and Greece has the ability to become an energy hub in Europe and the wider region, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said. Addressing a conference on Renewable Energy Sources organized in Athens by the environment, energy and climate change Ministry also attended by European Commissioner for energy Gunther Oettinger, Papademos said that the deregulation of the energy market, access of third parties to lignite, the denationalization of the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) S.A , the further privatization of the Hellenic Petroleum S.A. (ELPE), the entry of a strategic investor in the electricity networks and the procedures for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, together compose the potential of the sector in the coming years. The conference focused especially on the Helios Project for the production of electricity from photovoltaics in Greece and its export to countries in central Europe with less sunlight, and Papademos noted that the project will render Greece a mode European country in energy export. "Energy should be produced where it costs less," he said, adding that if the same investment were to be made in central Europe, where there is less sunlight, it would cost an additional 6 billion euros on estimate. The premier also reiterated that over the last two years Greece has reduced its primary deficit by 8 percentage points of GDP, an achievement that has not been made by any other country in
the OECD, adding, however, that the fiscal adjustment is a necessary but not a conducive condition for development, "and growth in the future, in order to be sustainable, must be founded on the country's comparative advantages and exports". Addressing the same conference, environment, energy and climate change minister George Papaconstantinou announced that the long-term energy plan for up to 2050 would be put on Tuesday to public debate. The plan, he said, provides for the electrification of transports, reduction of oil consumption, increase in use of biofuels, and improvement of the energy efficiency in the building sector. The goal is to reduce dependence on imported energy, while the scenarios anticipate that the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions could reach up to 60-70 percent in 2050 compared with 2005, while electricity production from renewable sources could reach 85-100 percent, and RES could account for 60-70 percent in the energy balance, Papaconstantinou added. On the Helios project, Papaconstantinou said that the development of photovoltaic panels would cover less than 0.1 percent of the country's expanse, will not burden the consumers, and will enable the
country to export energy not only to the EU but to other neighboring countries as well, such as Turkey. He said the full development of the project, which envisages the installation of 10 GW (gigawatt, or 10,000MW) of photovoltaics, requires a reinforcement of the networks, which currently have a maximum absorption capacity of 2,000 MW (megawatt). The minister also stressed that the project does not mean concession of "the Greek sun to foreign powers...we will continue to tan ourselves in Greece in the summers". Oettinger, in turn, noted that RES provide an opportunity for the creation of jobs, innovation and exports that could help Greece overcome the recession. He acknowledged that the existing infrastructure was not sufficient for the full development of Helios, for which reinforcement of the networks will be required, as well as the hook up of the islands and new connections with the neighboring countries, all of which are steps that also serve the target of creating a European single energy market. The Commissioner underlined that Greece has a key role to play in the integration of the regional energy market, while also stressing the need for liberalization of the markets, adding that he will support efforts of the Greek government.
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Greece this month – April 2012 SIFNOS’ ATTRACTIONS
REVITHOKEFTEDES is a typical dish from Sifnos: a classic vegetarian starter of chickpeas with onions bound with an egg, floured and fried until golden - Worth a try!
SIFNOS’ POTTERY Visitors of Sifnos can find marvelous decorative ceramic objects, made by the dexterous hands of the potters, who have been working for ages with knack and artistry the earth of Sifnos, creating objects of unique beauty and art.
Issue 144
Sifnos in the Top Ten Islands according to National Geographic The serene island of Sifnos found its way to National Geographic’s Top Ten Islands. In its luxury edition Journeys of a Lifetime-500 of the World’s Greatest Trips, the leading nature and travel magazine, gives Sifnos the 9th spot in the Islands under the Sun category, with the note "if you find yourselves there, you’ll know there’s no other place of equal beauty in the whole world." With dazzling beaches, exemplary Cycladic architecture and lowimpact tourism, Sifnos is the archetypically idyllic island and a true hidden treasure of the Aegean. Although very popular, especially among Greeks, the island has remained unspoiled by mass tourism and retained its traditional way of life. The island boasts a rich culinary tradition. Legendary chef and guru of Modern Greek cuisine Nikolaos Tselementes, whose name is synonymous to "cookbook" in Greek, was born and raised in Sifnos. The island’s restaurants and tavernas carry on Tselementes’ legacy, with emphasis on local ingredients and age old recipes that have brought Sifnos the unofficial
title of the island with the best food in the Cyclades. Endowed with rich argil deposits and Cycladic inspiration, Sifnos hosts a pottery tradition that passes from generation to generation for centuries. The knack and artistry of local potters can be witnessed at any of the island’s tsikalaria (pottery workshops),
where red-handed potters create the island’s signature ceramics, but also on the roofs, gardens and balconies of the white-washed houses, as locals traditionally decorate their homes with their pottery. On this picturesque island, there is one church for each day of the year. Among them is the monastery of Chrisopigi, situated on a rocky precipice right outside the village of Faros.
Kalymnos
Climbing in
A Once in a Lifetime Experience
In the past decade Kalymnos, with its pebble beaches and lack of ancient sites, has been transformed from one of the less-favoured Greek islands into an international climbing Mecca. Kalymnos is a sport climbing venue with more than 2,000 routes – 100 more were established this winter alone – and with vast tracts of rock still left unexplored. What that means is that the climbs are pre-equipped with permanent drilled-in bolts. So all that is required to climb are rock shoes, a 70m rope and around 20 quick draws (little slings with two carabiners for attaching the rope to the bolts). While it is not without some risk – accidents still occur – it is one of the safest forms of climbing. It is perhaps because of this that Kalymnos attracts such a wide range of climbers both in terms of age and ability.
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Greece this month – April 2012
Issue 144
Stephen Fry lends support to Greek calls to return Parthenon marbles to Athens Greek campaigners seeking the return of the Parthenon marbles have renewed their efforts with an open letter imploring David Cameron to back the restitution of the classical carvings "to their historic home in Athens”. Stephen is lending his support for the return of what are also known as the Elgin marbles. Weighing in to one of the world's most controversial cultural disputes, the actor proposed that Britain "redress a great wrong" by using the occasion of the 2012 London Olympics to give up the fifthcentury masterpieces. Nearly 200 years after the sculptures were acquired by the British Museum their return would not only be "classy", he argued, but a much-needed morale booster for a country mired in crisis."Stephen Fry knows more about this issue than most Greeks," said Alexis Mantheakis, who chairs the International Parthenon Sculptures Action Committee. "He makes the superb point that the London Olympics would be a perfect opportunity for Britain to magnanimously put an end to what Greeks and the majority of people in the EU, including the UK, see as a historical wrongdoing."In the letter, the campaigning group cites a lengthy essay, Greece is the Word, that Fry recently penned on the issue."The Hellenic republic today is in heartrending turmoil, a humiliating sovereign debt crisis has brought Greece to the brink of absolute ruin. This proud, beautiful nation for which Byron laid down his life is in a condition much like the one for which he mourned when they [the Greeks] were under the Ottoman yoke in the early 19th century," the actor wrote. In its darkest hour, he said, Greece was now "owed" by Britain."What greater gesture could be made to Greece in its
appalling finance distress? An act of friendship, atonement and an expression of faith in the future of the cradle of democracy would be so, well just so damned classy."Global advocates of the antiquities' repatriation have pledged to step up pressure on the British government ahead of the July 27 opening of the Olympic Games. In Sydney at the weekend, activists launched a new push to reinvigorate the campaign. Committees from around the world, including Australia and the US, announced they will meet in London in June to decide how best to promote the "noble cause."Designed by Pericles's master sculptor, Phidias, the marbles were part of a monumental frieze that adorned the Parthenon. In 1801, they were removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. More than 60% of the frieze is now on display in Bloomsbury, while an ultramodern museum, custom-built to exhibit the artworks at the foot of the Acropolis, has had to make do with giant plaster-cast copies. With the Greek government noticeably abstaining from the dispute in recent years – with officials invariably citing Athens's dire financial straits – citizens exploiting social media have stepped into the breach. Mantheakis's own group has attracted 215,000 members worldwide since its foundation in 2009. "Prime minister, history and future generations will honor you, as will Greece, if you take that one small but monumental step of amending the 1933 Museums Act to allow for the return of the Parthenon sculptures," said his open letter."If Britain could give back India, then surely the emptying of one room of a London museum is a small price to pay to right a historical wrong." The Guardian, Sunday 1 April 2012
AROUND THE OLYMPICS The “Imagine Peace” Programme
An educational programme called Imagine Peace, as part of the Olympic Truce and the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London, was established by the British Council in cooperation with the International Olympic Truce Centre and schools in Athens. On May 10-17, during the Olympic Torch Relay which will be transporting the Olympic Flame from Ancient Olympia to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the programme will be extended to schools in towns on the torch relay itinerary, including games and activities with specialized British Council teachers and Greek Olympic champions. Presenting the Imagine Peace programme on March 28, British Ambassador to Athens Dr. David Landsman stressed that its core message was that children could transmit the spirit of Olympic Truce through dialogue and respect for differences. The Olympic Truce Centre has also set up a dedicated website Post for Peace where everybody can post messages, pictures photos and videos supporting peace and sport, to win prizes. Olympic Warship Plans cancelled
The Organizing Committee of London Olympics decided that it was not possible for the trireme Olympias, the ancient Greek warship, to be included in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games taking place in London this summer. The Olympias would have started its journey from Tower Bridge after receiving the flame from the Queen’s Jubilee barge and would have meandered down the river towards the packed Olympic Stadium in Stratford. The spectacle of the Greek trireme sailing down the Thames has been cancelled and is unfortunately a sight that Londoners and the world will never see.
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Greece this month – April 2012
Issue 144
Olympic Marathon Trophy to remain in Greece after fetching Record Price The winner's cup from the first Olympic marathon at the Athens 1896 Games is to stay in Greece after being bought by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation at an auction at Christie's. The Breal's Silver Cup, presented to Greek Spyros Louis, was bought for £541,250, which is believed to be a world record amount paid for an item of auctioned Olympic memorabilia. The cup will be put on permanent public display in Athens from 2015.
The “GREEKS CAN!” Campaign A series of presentations has been launched at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation on Pireos Street, under the initiative “Greeks Can!”. Its objective is to advertise and promote examples of creativity, vision, innovation and entrepreneurship in Greece. Apart from the presentations, social media have also been used to spread a message of optimism and inspiration. A different presentation has been scheduled every other week, starting from March 26, with researcher Dr. A. Kostantopoulos, head of the group that has developed the Hydrosol programme, a means of producing hydrogen by the use of water and sun.
Greek Relief Fund by the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain has founded a Relief Fund to support Greek people in need due to the financial crisis. The Greek Relief Fund was created with the support of the Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, the National Federation of Cyprus in the UK, and other Greek federations and organizations of Great Britain. The money that will be collected will be sent to the Archdiocese of Athens. Three bank accounts have been opened in London to that end: Laiki Bank 995 High Road, Finchley, London N12 8PW Account Name: GREEK RELIEF FUND Account Number: 90034469 Sort Code: 40-52-60 Bank of Cyprus UK PO Box 17484, 87 Chase Side London N14 5WH Account Name: GREEK RELIEF FUND Account Number: 34735111 Sort Code: 30-00-42
The National Bank of Greece S.A. 75 King William Street, London EC4N 7BE Account Name: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Greek Relief Fund Account Number: 39117411 Sort Code: 40-62-04
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