The Athenian Magazine

09/11/2023

The Centenary Canal: Cebrations will mark the 1893 opening of the Corinth Canal which realized a dream 2500 years old to connect the Adriatic with the Eastern Mediterranean. By JM Thursby / July 1, 1993

Article Selection The Centenary Canal Later this month celebrations will mark the 1893 opening of the Corinth Canal which realized a dream 2500 years old to connect the Adriatic with the Eastern Mediterranean. By JM Thursby / July 1, 1993 Naval salvos and bunting marked the official opening of the C...

20/09/2023

THE TEMPLES OF RHAMNOUS: The temples of Themis the Titaness and the dread goddess, Nemesis, stood cheek by jowl on a rocky promontory overlooking the Gulf of Euboea. Today, the site, and the beach below, are accessible to city-weary Athenians.

By Kelly McCormick / April 1, 1989

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1989/04/01/the-temples-of-rhamnous/

26/08/2023

THE MIDAS OF MYCENAE AND TROY: At seven, a German parson’s son set himself a task: to unearth Homer’s Troy. He was 51 before the deed was done, and there are still those who question whether Hissarlik’s ramparts are Priam’s capital, but one thing is certain: wherever Schliemann went, he struck gold. By Michael House / April 1, 1989

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1989/04/01/the-midas-of-mycenae-and-troy/

25/08/2023

ROSS DALY: MASTER OF THE CRETAN “LYRA”: Born in Norfolk, England, Ross Daly has spent the last 20 years researching the traditional music of Crete and the Middle East. Based in Hania, Daly is now performing more often for Athenian audiences with his “music workshop”, Lavyrinthos. By Chris Williams / April 1, 1989

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1989/04/01/ross-daly-master-of-the-cretan-lyra/

08/07/2023

The Athenian cover of July 1974, by Joan Henley "Akti Koumoundourou".

06/07/2023

TREKKING ACROSS TAYGETUS: Between Laconia and Outer Mani, Mount Taygetus displays its Pendadaktylo summit line, a roller-coaster of pinnacles and passes. By Michael Cullen / August 1, 1992

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1992/08/01/trekking-across-taygetus/

05/07/2023

Lesson #14

04/07/2023

THE VILLA ON THE CORNER: The restoration of the Kosmas Politis house, which will serve as the new municipal building of Psychiko, brings a gratifying end to a long and close relationship between a Greek author and his wife and the family of an American diplomat.
By Kathryn J. Angelis / August 1, 1990

Article Selection The Villa on the Corner The restoration of the Kosmas Politis house, which will serve as the new municipal building of Psychiko, brings a gratifying end to a long and close relationship between a Greek author and his wife and the family of an American diplomat By Kathryn J. Angelis...

01/07/2023

THE AGORA EXCAVATIONS, A POPULAR HISTORY: If you you are riding the electric railway from Omonia to Piraeus, take a look outside just after you pass the Monastiraki stop. You will see on either side of you the ruins of the ancient Agora, the civic and commercial centre of classical Athens. By Susan Rotroff / July 5, 1974

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1974/07/05/the-agora-excavations-a-popular-history/

30/06/2023

THE DIONYSIAN SPIRIT OF CARNIVAL: Carnival in modern Greece is celebrated in a great variety of ways. Its highly colorful customs derive from many sources, but some of its most interesting traditions can be traced back to antiquity. By Thanos Velloudios / March 1, 1975

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1975/03/01/the-dionysian-spirit-of-carnival/

29/06/2023

WINDS OF CHANGE: Four Kolonaki ladies, Mimica, Fifica, Titica and Lilica, met for their customary Sunday afternoon card game a week after the elections. By Alec Kitroeff / December 1, 1981

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1981/12/01/winds-of-change/

28/06/2023

GREECE THROUGH NEW EYES: Contrary to a widely-held misconception, there are many active women’s organizations in Greece, most associated with political parties or professional groups, and focussing on issues within a local framework. This year, the Women’s Union of Greece (EGE) embarked on a broader approach which culminated in September with the arrival of representatives from groups abroad to participate in a unique international gathering. “This is the first time,” said a sixteen-year-old village girl, “that women from all over the world have come to discuss our problems.” By Ellen Lesser / October 1, 1978

27/06/2023

OLD CIGARETTE CARDS REFLECT THE GREECE OF YESTERYEAR: The cigarette cards manufactured by the British to***co companies in the first half of the century are regarded today as miniature gems of social history. By William J. Drinkwater / August 1, 1990

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1990/08/01/old-cigarette-cards-reflect-the-greece-of-yesteryear/

25/06/2023

EMBARKATION FOR KYTHERA: Favored by rococo painters and poets as the birthplace of the Goddess of Love, it is still almost a magical island “lying in the realm of dreams” according to the archaeological couple who will be digging there this summer. By Ann Elder / June 1, 1993

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1993/06/01/embarkation-for-kythera/

23/06/2023

THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD: When a navy ship called Poseidon dredged up a stone in the shape of a gigantic fist out of the harbor at Rhodes on July 3, it was not only antiquarians who hoped it might have some connection with the celebrated Colossus of Rhodes. By Sloane Elliott / August 1, 1987

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1987/08/01/the-eighth-wonder-of-the-world/

22/06/2023

ATHENA LIVES IN TENNESSEE: Not only is the Nashville Parthenon more complete than the one in Athens, it now houses an ‘improved’ version of Phidias’ colossal chryselephantine cult statue of Athena reinforced with fiberglass. By Wilson Strand / July 1, 1990

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1990/07/01/athena-lives-in-tennessee/

21/06/2023

THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART: The National Gallery of Art, founded ninety years ago, was finally inaugurated on May 17. A section of the gallery has been open for several years, but the new museum provides a home for the gallery’s permanent collection which has long been stored in various warehouses in Athens. By Catherine Cafopoulos / August 1, 1976

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1976/08/01/the-national-gallery-of-art/

20/06/2023

THE ABDUCTION OF THE GENERAL: One of the most dashing exploits of World War II was the kidnapping of General Kreipe from Crete, but its cliff-hanging and colorful details are very little known. By Michael House / June 1, 1989

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1989/06/01/the-abduction-of-the-general/

The Athenian Covers For the complete gallery of the magazine covers click here Greek Idioms For the complete gallery of all the Greek Idiom Lessons click here

18/06/2023

THE HILL OF THE NYMPHS: The Feast of St. Marina will be celebrated once again on July 17 with a fair or panigiri atthe Church of Agia Marina on the eastern slope of the Hill of the Nymphs, opposite the Acropolis, just below the Observatory. By Otto Meinardus / June 1, 1975

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1975/06/01/the-hill-of-the-nymphs/

16/06/2023

THE ATHENS-LONDON EXPRESS: The bus trip from Athens to London had been all that was promised: fifty hours for fifty-five dollars, non-stop. My two sisters and I and a friend had set off in good spirits with four chickens, forty hard-boiled eggs, five pounds of raisins and nuts, and innumerable oranges. Except for occasional grouses about the temperature of the interior of the bus and one thirteen-hour stretch when our stoical driver chose not to stop, all went well. So a month later in London, faced with a choice of how to get back to Athens, I succumbed to my dislike of flying and decided to do it again. Alone this time. Ι called and got the last seat on a bus leaving the next day. By John Camp / March 1, 1978

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1978/03/01/the-athens-london-express/

13/06/2023

The Athenian cover of November 1974 by Σπύρος Βασιλείου - Spyros Vassiliou

12/06/2023

HAVEN IN AEGINA FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES: There is a cormorant standing on my feet! Oh, yes, he is from the Wildlife Hospital down the road. By Anne Yannoulis / April 1, 1992

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1992/04/01/haven-in-aegina-for-endangered-species/

09/06/2023

KING PRIAM’S VANISHED TREASURE: The sudden appearance under the archaeologists’ spade of a golden hoard at Hissarlik in Turkey in 1871 astonished the world. Its equally sudden disappearance when the Red Army occupied Berlin in 1945 has mystified it ever since. Perhaps Boris Yeltsin holds the key to this intriguing cultural enigma. By JM Thursby / Feb 1992

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1992/02/01/king-priams-vanished-treasure/

09/06/2023

THE REPTILES OF GREECE: In ancient times snakes played an important role in rituals and healing. In modern folklore, however, they are seen as a ‘repulsive vermin’. Reptiles are in fact, a precious national heritage. By Achilles Dimitropoulos / December 1, 1990

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1990/12/01/the-reptiles-of-greece/

07/06/2023

Lesson #10

06/06/2023

ALEXANDRIA STILL: It may be the very lack of real ancient remains that contributes to the city’s occupying such a substantial place in the imagination. Even after the disappearance of the worlds of Cavafy and Durrell, Alexandria remains the most magically disorienting of cities. By Hugh Barnes / March 1, 1993

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1993/03/01/alexandria-still/

03/06/2023

The Athenian cover June 1982 by Paris Prekas

03/06/2023

SANTORINI’S UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: The III International Congress on Thera and the Aegean World reopened the debate on just when Thera’s volcano erupted, how long the event lasted, and what the ramifications were for the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean. By Floyd McCoy / Nov 1989

https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1989/11/01/santorinis-unanswered-questions/