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Category: Culture
Not Wittenberg, in Anafiotika
A recent social media storm has taken place in this little church on the edge of Anafiotika, the Greek islander settlement on the foot of the Acropolis, St Nicholas Rangavas. When I realised it was right next to me as I was touring Plaka, I thought it fitting to make a detour. As detailed in […]
Fear and loathing in Exarchia
Had dinner in Exarchia tonight, at Lacantina. … what, take photos at Exarchia?! OF COURSE NOT! THEY MIGHT HAVE KILLED ME!!!! Ok, not really, but yes, those of our party that had not been to Exarchia before entered it with some trepidation. The place has quite the reputation. Exarchia is Athens’ long-standing haunt of people’s […]
The Niarchos Centre
The new digs of the National Opera and the National Library: the completely awesome Niarchos Cultural Centre, complete with musical fountain, which has only been in place for the past decade. I am told that if you are trying to study inside the national library, you will grow to hate the musical fountain and its […]
The navel of Athens
The navel of Athens is not the Parthenon. OK, strike that. The navel of ancient Athens is the Parthenon, but not for me. The navel of Athens is not Parliament. OK, strike that. The navel of contemporary Athens is Parliament, but not for me. The navel of Athens is not the Orthodox Cathedral, nor is […]
The books of Athens
Remember how I pointed out in Salonica the National Bank Educational Institute bookshop, and how it is kryptonite for my wallet? Remember too, how I said that I wasn’t familiar with the Athens bookshop, because it was in a side street. It was indeed in a sidestreet. Two blocks away from the Dialect Research Centre. […]
Uphill and downhill in Kolonaki
Athens CBD involves two hills (pictured: zoom in and you might see a bit of the Parthenon). One is the Acropolis. My accommodation is near the other one, Lycabettus. (Specifically, I am next to the original Roman water tank that fed the city. The water company still uses it as backup. It’s a couple of […]
The Historical Dictionary
My business in Athens, aside from continuing to work for my employer and visiting my kin, was to visit the Research Centre for Modern Greek Dialects in the Academy of Athens, publishers of the Historical Dictionary of Modern Greek. My friend Io Manolessou is now director of the centre, and my friend Dion Mertyris has […]
Dialect death and Sior Nionio
I’m going to conclude with something silly. Except it isn’t. Like many Greeks of my age, I was brought up with the televised shadow puppetry of Karagiozis, as performed (for colour TV!) by Evgenios Spatharis; in fact, one of the few Greek recordings of anything my parents had in Tasmania was a recording of Karagiozis. […]
On the songs of Italian retirees
A random observation, as I sit in Foscolo café-and-cinema. Greece is full of retirees from elsewhere in Europe. Some of them find out how the place works; some of them pick up some of the language. There was a tableful of Italian tourists behind me. There was a tableful of Italian retirees in front of […]
Kalvos, Foscolo, and not letting exiles be exiles
I don’t like the poetry of Andreas Kalvos. I don’t like it, because I find his archaic Greek stanzas stiff, and lifeless, and bombastic. Especially compared to the vigour and passion of his contemporary, Dionysis Solomos. I may well continue to hold that judgement, but there is yet another bias behind it; the legacy of […]