Greece This month
In this issue:
• Alexis Tsipras: Europe of ‘multiple speeds’ or ‘multiple options?’ • FM Kotzias on a two day visit in the US • SNFCC officially handed over to the Greek state • Minoan Palaces And Spinalonga Candidates For UNESCO Monuments • ‘The Cretan’ by Dionysos Solomos on London Stage • Uncovering.. Ancient Messene
Alexis Tsipras: A European strategy for growth and solidarity needs to be at the center of the debate for the future of the EU Europe needs to open a honest debate and to take bold decisions for its future, in order to avoid degenerating into little more than a free-trade zone, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wrote in an article published this Monday 13.03 in “Efimerida ton Syntakton” daily, under the title “Europe of ‘multiple speeds’ or ‘multiple options’?” “The policy of austerity and fiscal restrictions has increased distances and speeds between European economies and has further exacerbated the problem of social cohesion. The refugee crisis strengthened xenophobic and Euro-sceptic trends in the conservative social strata, politically empowered far-right wing populism and, of course, tested the unity, cohesion and authority of the Union in implementing 1
common commitments and decisions,” Tsipras wrote. This economic and geopolitical uncertainty has been further amplified by the repercussions of Brexit and the ‘uncharted waters’ of developments on the other side of the Atlantic. The increasing influence of Euro-skepticism and even Euro-negativism, at a time when crucial elections will be taking place in big EU countries, gives cause for concern not just as to the future, but even as to the very existence of the EU. In light of these facts, Tsipras proposes that we must open an honest debate about what each member-state believes the future of EU should be, and take bold and realistic decisions. “It is clear that the member-states’ declaration for an “ever closer Union” has lost
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its momentum and its meaning. On the contrary, the dominating trend appears to be in favor of Europe ‘a la carte’, where each member-state seeks to maximize the
benefits of the single market, the structural funds and the cohesion fund, but to minimize its contribution” the Greek Prime Minister wrote, citing the closed borders across Europe in response to the refugee crisis as an example. Tsipras likened the EU to a team of mountain climbers connected by a rope: “They move at a single speed. If they remove this rope […] each individual member must keep up with strongest group or walk alone, in any direction he or she thinks best. This is not freedom, it is a denial of the responsibility the stronger have for the weaker” he wrote. Therefore, if Europe needs to redefine itself, it is better to talk not about a Europe of “multiple speeds” but about one of “multiple options”. If Europe wants to allow “those who want more, to do more” and aim for different degrees of integration, this must be done under specific conditions that ensure that the EU remains open, democratic and cohesive, Tsipras notes. In practical terms, he continues, this means that any discussion towards moving in that direction must take place within the framework of existing treaties. Any further integration in specific policy areas
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should have as a starting point the enhanced cooperation procedures that exist now, abandoning suggestions for the fragmentation of structures like the Eurozone or the Schengen zone. Furthermore, Tsipras posits that we must give up all ideas of a “closed club” that would include only the powerful or the core Eurozone countries. “All levels of closer cooperation must be open and freely accessible to all member-states,” he stresses. The Greek Prime Minister emphasizes the need to continue and strengthen the European policies for cohesion and convergence, as these are the policies that can guarantee that a Europe of “multiple options”, will not mean the deconstruction of Europe as we know it. Greece, Tsipras points out, now really close to achieving the goals of concluding the second review, entering into the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program, and receiving medium-term debt relief, “is exiting a long and
very dark tunnel. The Greek people have carried a disproportionate burden of both the economic and refugee crises and did so because they chose to remain inside Europe’s core, the Eurozone and Schengen. We have gained the right to play a leading role in the debate on the future of Europe.” In any case, Tsipras stresses, a European strategy for growth and solidarity needs to be at the center of this debate. 2
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Ending the article, written ahead of the March 25 Summit in Rome, that marks the 60th anniversary since the foundation of the EU, Tsipras urges “progressive Europe, workers’ unions, social movements, and the forces of the Left, Social Democracy and Ecology to seek a new leadership role” and to work together in order to establish a progressive alternative agenda for Europe. This agenda will aim at furthering democracy, ensuring dignified work, defending the welfare state and diminishing social and regional inequalities. “Such an agenda is the only effective answer to the forces of far-right populism, isolationism, and xenophobia and thus the only way to keep Europe united,” the Prime Minister concludes.
FM Nikos Kotzias meets his American counterpart in Washington Greece’s role in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, the stability and security in the region, the geostrategic shifts that are taking place, Turkey and the energy projects in the region, were some of the topics discussed between the Greek FM Nikos Kotzias and his American counterpart Rex Tillerson in Washington on March 13. Speaking to the Press after the meeting, Mr. Kotzias said that during his meeting with Mr. Tillerson he referred to Turkey and explained his analysis regarding Turkey’s restlessness, adding that ‘’we didn’t have a discussion of specific issues or specific questions. He mostly listened. And this is known right now: At this time he his mostly listening. Listening to our thoughts on what has to be done for peace 3
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to prevail in the region. I also explained our position that, for there to be human rights, we have to safeguard people’s lives, also stressing, by extension, the importance to us of security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. I also described for him all of the initiatives we have undertaken in Greece over the past two years: trilateral cooperation schemes, the spirit of Rhodes, and so on’’. Regarding energy, the Greek FM said that ‘’I explained the energy projects that exist in the region. I think he knows them better than I do, but I referred to how we see them and the importance to Greeks of Greece’s developing into a transport hub for various forms of energy. At the same time, I referred to other projects as well, such as the creation of road and rail networks, networks of stability in the region. The networks of energy, of railways, of cooperation between universities and research centres. I explained that, first of all, we need networks of stability, and then generation of economic gains for us.’’ Mr. Kotzias also underlined Greece’s cooperation with Israel and Egypt by saying that ‘’ I referred to the very good and intenive cooperation we have with them, and I imagine he was very interested to hear that. I
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have to say that, after us, he had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, with whom I had quite an interesting conversation in the interim.’’
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation officially handed over to the Greek State The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) has been officially handed over to the Greek state in a ceremony on Thursday, February 23. The Foundation announced it will continue to finance the cultural centre for several years, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the donation. “The 617 million euros is a generous donation which gains even greater significance as it was made in conditions of major practical difficulties,” Tsipras said at Thursday’s ceremony. The event opened with the screening of a short video on the history of the SNFCC, and was followed by speeches by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Co-President and Director of the SNF, Mr. Andreas Dracopoulos and the Prime Minister, Mr. Alexis Tsipras. Following the speeches, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Euclid Tsakalotos, along with the SNF’s Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Christina Lambropoulou, signed the agreement transferring SNFCC SA’s only share to the Greek State by means of a gift, on the stage of the packed Stavros Niarchos Hall. The signing was followed by an original artistic program, which attempted to highlight both the diversity of events that can be hosted in the premises of the SNFCC, as well as the technical capabilities of
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the stage. “The economic value of this project may be significant in itself, but its cultural value is even greater”, said PM Alexis Tsipras. “In a country where culture defines our national capital, the possibilities created with this Cultural Center are vast, and can have a positive ripple effect. Not only for cultural events of international scope which will highlight the city of Athens and Greece as a nation.”
“Today is a day of joy for us because, after a journey of more than 10 years, we deliver the keys of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center to its real owners, the Greek people”, said Co-President and Director of the SNF, Andreas Dracopoulos. Located in Athens, the SNFCC first opened in August 2016 and is one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects housing the Greek National Opera, a two-millionbook National Library and the Stavros Niarchos Park. The evening was concluded with a unique party featuring fireworks, music and dancing, at the SNFCC’s Agora. 4
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Minoan Palaces And Spinalonga Island In Crete, Candidates For UNESCO Monuments The subsidiary convention committee of UNESCO held a meeting on Saturday 11th March at the Basilica of St. Mark at Iraklion, Crete. The participants (35 members from 18 different countries, representing Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America), discussed about the promotion
of Cretan cultural heritage and the protection of Crete’s monuments against the trafficking of antiquities. The centre point of the discussion, chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs, Mrs Μaria Vlazaki, was the inclusion of Minoan Civilization palaces of Crete (Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros, Malia, Zominthos, Kydonia) and of the island Spinalonga into the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. The members of the committee visited the Archaeological museum of Iraklion and were informed about the value and the history of the above mentioned sites through guided tours and videos. While, the governor of the Region of Crete, Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis and the Mayor of Iraklion Mr.Labrinos, representing the local com5
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munity, underlined the importance of Cretan cultural values and the commitment of local authorities to assist the committee’s work to achieve its goal. It is worth noting that the palaces of the Minoan Civilization, with the most known amongst them to be Knossos and Phaistos Palaces, are great evidence of the Aegean Bronze Age civilization that flourished from approximately 3650 BC to 1450 BC. The term “Minoan” refers to the mythic King Minos of Knossos which is considered as Europe’s oldest city. The archaeological site of Knossos is situated 5 km southeast of the city of Iraklion and was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos.
The excavations in Knossos began in 1900 by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team and lasted 35 years revealing the greatness of the palace with the famous throne room. Respectively, the palace of Phaistos commands the Messara plain from its location on a low hill, and it is the second largest palace of Crete after Knossos. Phaistos was home of Radamanthis, the brother of Minos. At each of these sites, we witness large, complex palace structures covering several thousand square meters that seem to have acted as local administrative, trade, religious and possibly
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political centers. With their unique art and architecture, the Minoans made a significant contribution to the development of Western European civilisation. As far as Spinalonga is concerned, it is the second most visited archaeological site on the island of Crete. That small island, located in the Gulf of Elounda, functioned at first as a fortress during the Venetian occupation of Crete, however is most publicly known as the “leper island” as that is where lepers from Crete and the rest of Greece were quarantined until 1957. Spinalonga is also famous as it was used as the setting for the best-seller novel “The Island” by Victoria Hislop (the story of a family’s ties to the leper colony) which was later adopted as a Greek TV series with great success. Today thousands of tourists visit Spinalonga during their summer holidays, reaching the island by boat from Agios Nikolaos, Elounda or Plaka coasts. The 1052 sites that are included as of today at the World Heritage Sites list are selected on the basis of having “outstanding universal value”. That value could be measured at a cultural, historical, scientific or physical point of view, while they are all legally protected by international treaties. Greece has already 18 sites at the list hoping that this number will expand soon!
‘The Cretan’ by Dionysos Solomos on London Stage (Hellenic Centre, 18.3.2017)
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and director Marios Iordanou and the Greek choreorapher and actress Sofia Kazantzian, staged in London this time, one of Solomos’s greatest poems, “An Hymn to love”, an event organized at the Hellenic Centre (Saturday, March 18), under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Poetry, music, theatre, dance and physical performance combined to share with the audience the story of the ‘Cretan’, who faces supernatural phenomena in trying to save his fiancée.
It is about a story of a Cretan, who left from Crete after the revolution was lost in 1826, the shipwreck and his efforts to save his beloved from the tempest. A central point in the work is the apparition of an oracle, the ‘Feggarontymeni’ (meaning the one dressed by the moon). The narrator of the story is the Cretan himself: he starts telling his story many years later, when he is living alone as a beggar, doing flashbacks (from his life on Crete and the shipwreck) and talking about the future (the resurrection of the dead and his encounter with his beloved one in Paradise).
Marking the 160 years from Dionysios Solomos’s death and following relative performances in Athens, Zakynthos, Zurich and Munich, the famous Greek actor 6
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‘Greece this Month’ talked to the director Marios Iordanou, after the end of the play, who stated that this work is a debt to his mother. When he was around 5 years old, his mother gave him the ‘’Collected poems” of Dionysios Solomos (‘Άπαντα’’), a work that accompanied him during his childhood, pointing out that ‘Solomos raised the national consciousness of the Greek people’. The choreographer of the play, who is also his wife, Mrs Sofia Kazantzian stressed, on the other hand, that even though the performance was in Greek (with no English overtitles), many British people attended the two performances which were literally packed. ‘The strength of the art is really important… the theatre is universal… the poetry unites the souls of all the people around the world’’, she added.
Nevertheless, copies of the English translation were available for the non Greek speakers. It is worth noting that the two performers have been also awarded by UNESCO, for their aforementioned theatrical work. 7
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Uncovering.. Ancient Messene! Ancient Messene is a mind-blowing unspoiled archaeological site, set in a timeless Homeric landscape. It isn’t just a sanctuary but an important Hellenistic centre often referred to as “the city of statues” for its marble sculptures. It is situated at the foot of mount Ithome.
It is important to mention Petros Themelis for his contribution to the excavations in the region, having published more than 200 scientific articles and also being a member of many scientific bodies, such as the Archaeological Institute. In 2003 he received “The Gold Cross of the Phoenix Order” by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Stefanopoulos. Since 1986, he has been heading the reconstruction of Ancient Messene. After Professor Themelis took over the excavation and restoration works, rich findings have been discovered. What makes this site significant is that it is a fairly new excavation. Ithome was the strongest natural and man-made fortress in Messenia. The fortification walls are better preserved on the north - northwestern side. The top of mount Ithome was also fortified. The first monument one encounters on the way from the Museum to the archaeological site is the theatre. The theatre was used for large scale assemblies
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of political character. The cavea of the theatre sits on an artificial fill supported by a strong semicircular wall. The fact that the retaining wall of the cavea visible and accessible from the outside make the Theatre of Messene an exceptional building anticipating the theatres and amphitheatres of the Roman period. Pausanias informs us that the fountain house of the Agora was named Arsinoe later, the daughter of the mythical king of Messenia Leukippos. Also notes that the fountain house received the water from the Klepsydra spring.
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sanctuary of Zeus Ithomatas was founded by the rulers of the land, Polykaon and Messene. Aristomenes offered three hundred prisoners of war, as a noble sacrifice to Zeus Ithomatas. Games called Ithomaia were held in honour of Zeus Ithomatas. The village also has a small museum with a collection of fine sculptures found at the site. One of them is a rare marble statue of Hermes. The Museum extends on two levels and bears a simple architectural character. The first floor comprises three exhibition halls and balcony whereas the storage rooms are located on the ground level. To reach Messene from Athens you have to drive through the highway Corinth – Tripolis - Megalopolis - Kalamata. Plan your visit there and you won’t regret it!
Happy Easter, Καλό Πάσχα!!! The Agora covers a huge area. It is surrounded by stoas on all its four sides. Only the western part of the North long stoa has been brought to light. Pausanias represents the Asklepieion as a museum of art works rather than the function that this kind of buildings used to have sanatorium for sick patients. It was the most conspicuous site in Messene and the center of the public life of the city, functioning as such alongside the nearby Agora. The Stadium and Gymnasium are the most impressive and well preserve buildings of the site. The Heroon is part of the Stadium, a doric temple with four columns in front, made entirely of local limestone. The highest peak of Ithome is occupied by the monastery of Voulkhano. The monastery devoted to the worship of Virgin Mary and is built on the peak of mount Ithome. The
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