Volume II, Issue 5 / Winter 2007A PERIODICAL OF THE GREEK OLYMPIC SOCIETY- COLUMBUS, OHIO

Once again co-chairmen LeeAdamantidis and GeorgeSourvanos succeeded in organ-izing an Apokreatiko DinnerGlendi that had κεφι, excellentmusic, and lots of people enjoy-ing the congenial atmosphere,dancing and bonding. Thankyou all for your support of thistraditional annual event spon-sored by the Greek OlympicSociety. Part of the proceedsfrom the event will be given tothe Church, as always.Once again, many thanks to

our ex-president and memberof the Greek Olympic Societysince its inception some 40years, to Chris Bouzouniswho untiringly and on his ownedited and published the 2007-2008 edition of the CEN-TRAL OHIO GREEK

COMMUNITYRESOURCE GUIDE [pic]. Hehas improved it this time with easy indexing, pho-tos, maps, list of community-wide organizations andcommercial enterprises that we should be support-ing. The guide was mailed to all those registered inthe Church mailing lists. If you did not receive it ,check if you are on the Church community list, orpick one up at the Church.Once again, many thanks to Lee Adamantidis

who attended on behalf of the Greek Olympic Soci-ety the Christmas party given at the SOS house inGlyfada, Greece. Orphans from all the family hous-es came together, sang Christmas carols and recei-ved the blessing from the Bishop of Glyfada [pic],who also thanked the Society for its fine contribu-tion to the this philanthropic project. Anyone inter-ested in supporting www.sos-villages.gr either go to

their webpage or call Lee Adamantidis [his phonesare listed in the Resource Guide].We celebrated the first year anniversary of our

marvelous periodical GREEK ETHOS-ΕΕΛΛΛΛΗΗΝΝΙΙΚΚΟΟΣΣ ΗΗΘΘΙΙΣΣ with a champagne breakfast[pic] cooked by our untiring editor PaulTaiganides. Volume II of Greek Ethos starts withthis issue, and as usually it will be launched with anopen FORUM ON BYZANTIUM scheduled forMarch 2007, during which the contributors highlightthe articles they wrote, Paul gives his usual humor-ous sermon on Greek History while we enjoy freedrinks and the mezedes served by gourmet chefGeorge Tornick.Many thanks to our advertisers and Patrons

whose support has made the publication of GreekEthos possible. We are very proud of the fact thatthe original advertisers are renewing their support ofGreek Ethos, and also the Patrons. We received a$100 contribution from Professor Kozyris whomailed the check from Greece. M. Perakis fromCalifornia sent $200 upon receiving the first issue.$250 came from Charles Dickson in Lousiana.We need to expand our coverage from 16 to 20

pages so we can publish with a little bigger fonts sosome of us elders can read. We are limited now tothe size of the articles, that is why the pictures aresmall. Would you please support Greek Ethos bysending $100 check to the Greek Olympic Society?We would like to get 4 more ads.If you are interested in joining the Greek

Olympic Society fill out the application form in theResource Guide, or come to our meetings and/orparticipate in any of our philanthropic projects suchas the Blood Drive of April 15 and the Mother’sDay flower sales in May. Or, just come to our meet-ings the second Thursday of each month.

Nick Geldis

from our President N. GELDIS Greek Olympic Society

Officers 2007-08President: Nick GeldisV. PRESIDENT: Denny C.MardasSECRETARY: Harry RuskaASST.SECRETARY: Greg PoglosTREASURER: Jim DracopoulosASST.TREASURER: John GeorgitonPast President: Chris Bouzounis

Greek EthosEDITOR: Eliseos Paul TaiganidesBUSINESS MGR: Chris BouzounisSUPPORTERS: George SourvanosPUBLIC RELATIONS: Lee AdamantidisGRAPHIC DESIGN: Silver Moon Graphics CONTACT: Editor:eptai@aol.comWEB PAGE: www.greekethos.orgBUSINESS: c/o Artina, 215 N.Fourth St. Columbus.OH 43215

Advisory CommitteeNick Geldis, Chris BouzounisGeorge Sourvanos, Lee AdamantidisInternet: www.greekethos.orge-mail: editor@greekethos.org

The mission of the Greek OlympicSociety is to promote fraternal fellow-shipand social interaction among allwho embody and embrace the Hellenicprinciples and traditions.The mission of Greek Ethos is to enrichour knowledge with the publication ofstories and historical facts on our epicHellenic past,traditions,language,andunique religion,which we are practicingin complete freedom in the heart ofAmerica, Columbus, Ohio, USA!The goal of Greek Ethos is to raise theawareness of and pride in our ethos andethnicity so that the next generationswill continue to celebrate and preservethe Hellenic traditions and heritage.

Κυριος σκοπος του συλλογουΕΕλλλληηννιικκηη ΟΟλλυυµµππιιαακκηη ΛΛεεσσχχηη ειναινα προαγουµε την αδελφοτητα καιτις κοινωνικες σχεσεις µεταξυ ολωνεκεινων που συµµεριξονται τιςΕλληνικες αρχες και παραδοσεις.

Αποστολη του περιοδικουΕΕλλλληηννιικκοο ΗΗθθοοςς ειναι να πλουτισειτη γνωση µας µε τη δηµοσιευσηιστορικων γεγονοτων σχετινκϖν µετο επικο µας παρελθον, τιςπαραδοσεις , τη γλωσσα, και τηµοναδικη µας θρησκεια, πουεξασκουµε µε ααπποολλυυττηη εελλεευυθθεερριιααεδω µεσα στην καρδια τωνΗνωµενων Πολιτειων, στοΚολοµπους του Οχαιο!

Σκοπος του περιοδικου ΕΕλλλληηννιικκοοΗΗθθοοςς ειναι να αφυπνισει την εθνικηµας συνειδηση και τηνυπερηφανεια για το ηθος και τηνεθνοτητα µας ετσι ωστε οι εποµενεςγενιες να συνεχισουν να γιορταζουνκαι να διατηρουν τις παραδοσειςµας, τα ηθη και τα εθιµα της

GREEK ETHOS / 22

ON THE COVERI was inspired by new knowlege I gained from reading the Elisaios’ article on Apostle Paul. It gave me a new insightinto how Christianity faced down the ancient gods at thefoot of their most powerful temple of Athena, to win thehearts and souls of the Greeks and through them, of theworld.

— Evangelia PhilippidisPrints, of this and other works, are available by contacting theartist at 614-354-6557,or at evangeliaphilippidis@hotmail.com

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The mission of the Greek Olympic Socie-ty is to promote fraternal fellowshipandsocial interaction among all who embodyand embrace the Hellenic principles andtraditions.The mission of Greek Ethos is to enrichour knowledge with the publication ofstories and historical facts on our epicHellenic past,traditions,language,andunique religion,which we are practicingin complete freedom in the heart ofAmerica, Columbus, Ohio, USA!The goal of Greek Ethos is to raise theawareness of and pride in our ethos andethnicity so that the next generations willcontinue to celebrate and preserve theHellenic traditions and heritageΗ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ ΜΑΣ

OUR MISSION

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he trauma of theprematuredemise of

Alexander the Great atthe young age of 33 atthe apogee of his fameand might [issue 4],before he could achievehis megalomania for theconquest of Italy andArabia, left a vacuum ofleadership that his gener-als filled with acrimo-nious dynastic struggles.They carved out the Hel-lenic Empire from theAdriatic Sea to the

Himalaya Mountains in Asia into kingdoms that confrontedeach other polemically!In the meantime, in Italy where the Trojans fled after

their defeat by the Greeks avenged their loss by going toRome where they built an empire and conquered Greece 11centuries later, but not culturally as Kritsotakis points outon p 9.In Arabia, Mohamed awakened the nomadic tribes into a

formidable force empowered by a new religion, Islam, cap-turing Greece 16 centuries afterAlexander. The occupa-tion of Greece ended her political hegemony but Greeceremained the dominant cultural force in the westernworld to this day as is explained in the article on p13.Greeks captured the leadership of the

Roman Empire and continued its hege-mony for 11 centuries in the new capitalin Byzantium, named Constantinopleafter Constantine the Great the firstemperor of the Roman-Greek-ChristianEmpire as Professor Kaldellis explainson p 8.A Hellenized Jew by the name of Soul

took advantage of the global use of theGreek language to spread a new religionto the gentiles of Greece and from thereto Europe and the rest of the Mediter-ranean as is explained by ProfessorsTaiganides p4 & 14, Daniel p12, Jusda-nis p11.Constantine foresaw the power of the

new religion as unifier of the East andWest for which he was proclaimed aSaint by the Church. Read articles byProfessor Kaldellis p6 & 10.Just as Pericles built the Parthenon to

show case the cultural achievements ofclassical Athens in the 5 th century BC,Justinian the Great, in the 5 th centuryAD erected a pioneering marvel, themajestic Christian Cathedral of AgiaSophia in Constantinople, to show off thepower of Christianity. The splendor andunique architecture of Agia Sophia aredescribed by Professors Yessios on page14 and Monica Fullerton on page 7.My personal experience with Agia

Sophia was an graceful surprise. I had

booked hotel Yasmak Sultan through the Internet. Wearrived late at night by train [see map on p 10]. Breakfastwas served on the terrace. As I picked my coffee cup, therewas Agia Sophia in front of us. When we walked on thehistoric grounds, Maro noted buckeyes on the pavement. Ibegan picking them up while looking up at the majesticbuckeye trees in the courtyard.I watched on Greek television www.ert.gr Pope Bene-

dict being guided through Agia Sophia not by the Patriarchbut an Imam [p14]. The reason for this anomaly is theTurks do allow the Patriarch of Rome but never the Ecu-menical Patriarch to enter the Cathedral, a medieval act ofpettiness for a country that wants to join sophisticatedEurope.But let us go back to the aftermath of Alexander’s death.

The dynasty that contributed greatly to the Hellenic heritagewas that of General Ptolemy who established a kingdom inAlexandria Egypt. He built theAlexandria Library on theisland of Faros, one of the 7 wonders of the world.His last descendant Queen Cleopatra was wooed by

Julius Caesar himself and Mark Anthony who could haveprolonged the Greek dynasty with the twins AlexanderHelios and Cleopatra Selene he sired with Cleopatra attheir union in Tarsus [p 4], had he not lost the naval battleagainst Octavian near Preveza in western Greece, 31 BC.In the meantime, a Greco-Indian Empire in the valleys

of the Afghanistan, Byzantium, Islam, Renaissance inItaly were the next to rise to the World Stage. But more onthat in the next issue of Greek Ethos, Autumn, 2007.ENJOY this one!

PATRONSWe thank our Patronsfor supporting ourmission and goals!

Adamantidis, Dean & ElpiAdamantidis, Lee & VoulaAgganis, Harry & GeorgiaAlexander, Nick & BarbaraAnasis, Steve & NickiAntonoplos, Bill & JanAvradopoulos, PetrosBavelis, Christos & RoulaBavelis, George & GiaBrown, GeorgeChakeres, David ESQChakeres, Don & LindaChase, Thomas & JosieCollis, Nick & NoelleDestounis, Nikos & AnnaDickson, CharlesDuros, Dena & BessGeldis, Nick & DebbieGeldis, Sam & AnnGerris, Nick & SusanGiannopoulos, Stelios & BarbHutras, Aristotelis & BethKontras, Nick & KarenKozyris, Phaedon & LitsaKritikos, Ted & RosaLeakas, Ted & VetaMalas, Ernie & StephanieMardas, Denny & SuzanneMichaelides, Tom & JackiePapaleonardos, Dimitri & HollyPatitsas, Peter & EffiePerakis, MihalisPetikas, Bill & ViRuska, Harry & AnnaSicaras, George & GaryfaliaSicaras, Jimmie & ChristinaSoulas, Nikos,Sr.Sourvanos, Jerry & NancyStambedakis, Geo., Eleni, AngieStefanidis, George M.The Susi FamilyTaiganides, Eliseos & MaroTaiganides, Paul & AnnaTrocchia, Robert & CarolTzagournis, Charles & GlennaTzagournis, Manuel & ModelineYessios, Christos & AlexZissis, Angelo & Theano

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 33

T

Maturing of the Greek ethos from Hellenism to Byzantine Christianity

GREEK ETHOS / 44

Taiganides, ΕΕλλιισσσσααιιοοςς PaulProfessor, OSU

t is a world where the majority of thepeople are poor. The poor endureboundless injustices, while he most

powerful empire spends its wealth on mak-ing its military even more potent. It is theworld of Apostle Paul, who sets out to saveit from an apocalyptic end!In the world of 2007 years ago, the

Roman Empire is the sole superpower, butits Republic democracy, emulated from theGreeks [read article by Kritsotakis] is nowsupplanted by the dictatorial rule of belliger-ent emperors. Then, as now, globalization istaking roots in the Greco-Roman world.Trade is booming, in part because of a lin-gua franca in commerce and communica-tions, Hellenistic Greek; in part because ofnetwork of super-highways built for theRoman military [like our Internet electronicnetwork highways developed for the milita-ry, which was made available to the worldin the 1990s at the end of the Cold War].The policy started by Alexander is emulat-ed; people can exercise their religion free-ly, but they must not challenge the authorityof Centurions for they can be declared "ene-my combatants", for which they can be cru-cified; Rome has all the power!One religion gives the emperors head-

aches. It is the Jewish monotheistic religion;Jews believe in an ineffable, universal godof mercy who forgives anyone who asks forit in penitence and good faith. It is a highlystructured religion with mandatory rules andregulations, strict dietary laws, belief in eter-nal life for martyrs of faith. Although ensla-ved and persecuted, Jews claim to be God’sfavorite people standing apart from the restby circumcision of males within 8 days oftheir birth, or with a painful ritual for oldermale converts to Judaism [in a brilliantmove, Paul substitutes baptism for circumci-sion] .The inner sanctum of the Solomon’s Tem-

ple on the Rock, [which had burned down,but was rebuilt by king of Arab-blood Herodthe Great and his descendants; a mosquestands on top of it now], is off-limits to non-Jews, the Gentiles, not unlike the sacredsites of Mecca, which are not open to non-Muslims, the Infidels! The Jerusalem Tem-ple is guarded by the High Priest who isauthorized to punish, even kill by stoning,or by crucifixion, after referral to theRoman magistrate [i.e., Pontius Pilate],anyone who defiles the Temple [i.e., Jesusof Nazareth]. The Torah is for the Jewswhat the Bible is for the Christians who

establish themselves 3 centuries later thanksto Constantine the Great [see article byProf. Kaldellis], and what the Koran is forIslam founded by Mohamed 6 centuries lat-er. The Torah is taught by the Pharisees,who are teachers and thus proselytizers, inthe synagogues. There are many Jews indiaspora all over the Mediterranean, asthere are Greeks and other nationalities liv-ing in peace as long as they obey Romanlaw. One such Jew of the diaspora, Saul[which is ΠΠααυυλλοοςς in Greek; Paulus in Lat-in; Paul in English] is born around the timeof Jesus.Saul is born in Tarsus of Cilicia, [map], a

typical, prosperous, free, autonomous Geekcity. [Alexander recuperated from a commain Tarsus on his way to nearby Issus to bat-tle Darius; see Issue 4]. The majority of thepeople of Tarsus worship either irenic Greekhero Hercules [Herakles], who is born aman but through his struggles, good deeds,and atonement for his sins is elevated todeity; or Mithras, the Hellenized Persiangod of sun light, who like Heracles goesinto the underworld to rescue human soulsfrom Hades. The “pagans” of Tarsus appealto Hercules for salvation as his statue isparaded once a year through the city, whilethe Mithraec devotees end their weekly lita-nies with a communal dinner fete.Saul attends the local synagogue but he

reads in Greek the Jewish Scriptures of theOld Testament that had been translated inAlexandria, the preeminent world capital ofculture, knowledge, and commerce, at thattime. His families are well-established tentmakers, a business that is booming with allthe armed conflicts, rebellions, and re-build-ing of conquered cities. Nevertheless,Jerusalem is the center of Judaism plus atourist attraction for Greeks and other gen-tiles because of the opulent palaces andentertainment facilities built by the kings ofthe Herod Dynasty. Saul moves to Jerusa-lem, continues his studies, and helps in the

family business through his work in theTemple where thousands of lambs arebutchered by the priests during the Passover.Caiaphas is the High Priest serving with theconsent of the Procurator of Rome.As member of the staff of Caiaphas, Saul

is an eyewitness to events of cosmic signif-icance that fundamentally shape the mores,morals, culture, history of the world eversince! As a devout Jew to his last days andas staff member of the Temple, Saul isamong those who persecute and prosecutethe newly emerging “heretics” in Jerusalem,i.e., the believers in the resurrection ofJesus. On his way to Damascus, on a mis-sion to persecute such “heretics”, he beco-mes a heretic himself; as such, Paul is per-secuted by Jews in synagogues fromJerusalem to Rome.Unlike today’s nuclear-armed Israel, the

Jews of the epoch of Saul are weak, power-less, and troublesome. Frequently they rebelto protest religious infringements by Romansoldiers, such as carrying military emblemsinto their holy Temple. [Bin Laden accusesus Americans, too, for sacrilegious infringe-ments on his holy homeland, Saudi Arabia,i.e., military bases of infidels; Americanwomen working outdoors without being cov-ered from head to toe!]. After a major Jew-ish insurrection in 65, in a show of supermight, Roman legionnaires destroy the Tem-ple and wipe out the entire city of Jerusalemin 70 AD. The “heretics”, who by now callthemselves by the Greek name Christians[ΧΧρριισσττιιααννννοοιι], to avoid the wrath of Rome,distance themselves from Judaism in theirwritings. Anti-Semitism spreads to Europeand beyond.In the year 0050, Paul begins his first of

many unendurable for a normal manevangelical missions to Greece [map]preaching that the crucified and resurrectedJesus is the anointed by God Christos, i.e.,the Messiah! One of the towns he visits inMacedonia is my hometown Veroia [map;also Berea; several towns in the USA arenamed Berea; one in Ohio; or Beroea, orVeria]. He makes a convert who follows himto Athens. In Athens, he has another epi-phany [see cover page art by Evangelia]and, in another brilliant move, Paul beginsto concentrate his preaching on the gentiles,for which he is known as the Apostle of theGentiles!It is 1950. The city of Veroia [Berea] is

being spruced up because important dele-gates from around the world are to visit themarble Steps from which Apostle Pauladdressed the Jews in 0050. [Berea had abig Jewish population; 800 before WWI;

Apostle Paul the Hellenized Jew:Protagonist of Christianity

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none now]. It is the 1900th year anniversaryof the apostolic journeys of Paul, and thedelegates are visiting the cities in which hepreached. Metropolis church rector ReverendPaul [my father], as assistant to Veroia BishopAlexander, is excitingly busy with the localarrangements. I, on the other hand, find itsilly that people would travel that far to seethe soiled bare marble slabs in the unfenceddusty yard of my elementary school. Twocypress trees stand tall between a neglectedmosque and the Steps. I hide there, steppingover the Steps while playing hide-and-seekduring school recess.The clergymen came in funny garbs.

Never before had I seen priests withoutρασσα[black robes; I never even saw myfather without his ρασσα]. Some of themwere in sutane but most were in suits andties; even some were women! For me, itwas exciting to watch civilian foreignersinstead of soldiers parading through ourstreets, after 10 years of continuous bloodywars. Soon thereafter, Olga Michaelidou, adevotee of Lydia, the first European convertof Apostle Paul, helped my father raise,funds to build a historical monument [pic].After rereading the Bible plus several

books, I realize that the revered evangelistof Orthodoxy Paul is not only a religiousgiant, but also a major historical figure. TheBerea Steps where Paul stood in Macedoniaare the Steps on which Alexander wouldstand during the Pythian Games that hisfather Philip sponsored in Veroia 3 centuriesearlier. Apostle Paul is the “Alexander-the-Great” of the Jews [see article P. 12]. How-ever, Paul conquered the world with Reli-gion; for religion is the strongest of allhuman motives, as we can readily see, eventoday, in the post Cold War conflicts!His first convert is Greek:Τιµοθεος

[Timothy], a young man from Greek fatherand Jewish mother, whose baptismal namemeans honor to god. Timothy becomes atrusted assistant sent to several congrega-tions in Greece and Anatolia to resolvechurch issues. The first European city vis-ited is Greek: Philippi, [map], a city inMacedonia founded by Philip the Great; aprosperous town thanks to mining opera-tions and commercial trading, and thus has a

large Jewish community. The first Euro-pean Christian is a Greek woman: Lydiafrom Philippi, a rich cloth merchant ofunusual talents, as she runs her own busi-ness, even though women are not given theright to own and operate property in thosedays. The first gentile church is in Greece:In his walks around Athens, he sees a statuededicate “to the unknown god”. QuotingGreek theologians like Epimenides of Creteand Aratos of Cilicia, monotheist Plato, hetells Athenians that he is the messenger ofthe unknown God. His first converts are awoman named Damaris and Dionysios, thefirst bishop of Athens, The first bishop ofRome is Greek: Clement from Philippi. Paul’s first of many Epistles, all written

in Greek, is written in Corinth where hestays for 2 years working with tent-makersPriscilla and Aquila, a Jewish couple whohad moved there fromRome. His first Epis-tle is to the congregation in Thessalonica[map], in which he praises the gentiles ofVeroia. Everyone who studied Apostle Paulhas a favorite Epistle; mine is Paul’s letter tothe Corinthians in which he list his 3 majorhuman virtues: FAITH [ΠΙΣΤΙΣ], HOPE[ΕΕΛΛΠΠΙΙΣΣ], LOVE [ΑΑΓΓΑΑΠΠΗΗ]! ΠΠιισσττιιςς [Pístis]is faith but the Greek word means not onlyfaith to God but also credible trust inHim.Ελπις [Elpís] is the Greek word forhope, but it means also the expectations forthe blessings that come with a pious life.

ΑΑγγααππηη [Agápi] is a Greek word for love,

which in the Hellenic tradition and Greeklanguage comes in 4 forms: ΦΦιιλλιιαα [Filia] isthe unflinching love among friends, like thatof Achilles and Patroklos; Alexander andHefaestion!ΕΕυυσσεεββιιαα [Efsevia] is the devo-tional love for parents and family, filial pietyas that of Hector, the son of King Priam ofTroy; of Telemachos of Ithaca, the son ofOdysseus; of Argos, the dog of Odysseus.’Ερως[Eros] is the love of procreation asthat of Menelaus for Helen of Sparta; ofHector for Andromache; of Penelope forOdysseus; and vice versa! ΑΑγγααππηη is the lovepreached by Apostle Paul, i.e.,ααγγααππααττεεααλλλληηλλοουυςς;; for love is potent, love is kind;it is the greatest virtue of all!

editor@greekethos.org

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ADVERTIZEIN GREEK ETHOS

Rates for 4 issues full colorFront page: $10001/4 Page: $8001/8 Page: $400

For information callGeorge Sourvanos614/ 263-2665

e-mail: adsmgr@greekethos.org

Anthony KalellisProfessor Greek and Latin, OSU.

onstantine isundeniably one ofthe most important

figures in European andNear Eastern history, inthe sense that his personaldecisions had an enormousimpact on the future, buthe is also one of the most ambiguous figures,both morally and in the sense that we havevery little reliable information about him. It ispossible to imagine different “models” ofwhat Constantine was really like.Constantine was a reformer of the Roman

state, following in the tradition of his prede-cessor Diocletian (284-305 AD). Diocletianwas the Roman emperor who moved the courtfunctions from Rome to the eastern provinces,especially Nikomedeia, south of the Sea ofMarmara, in Anatolia. He also promotedConstantinos Chloros, the father of Constan-tine from his first wife Helena, to the rank ofCaesar in charge of North Europe and theBritish Isles. Under the auspices of his father,Constantine rose in the ranks distinguishinghimself in the battle and in governance. Hetook over as Caesar upon the death of hisfather. Once he established himself as the soleemperor, a saga that is most intriguing, Con-stantine founded an imperial capital in theEast, Constantinople, which soon becameequal in rank to Rome itself and the capital ofthe Byzantine and Ottoman empires.Constantine is the first political ruler to

convert to Christianity, an act the conse-quences of which cannot be calculated.Of course, it is difficult if not impossible to

be a successful emperor in such troubledtimes and also a saint. Constantine wasundeniably ambitious, ruthless, and even mur-derous, executing many relatives and rivals,including in-laws, his valiant son Crispus, hissecond wife Fausta, and others. He did notallow treaties to get in his way and he wagedwars of aggression against other emperorsuntil only he was left (by 324 AD).On the other hand, he was hard working

and capable; he defended the frontiers againstmarauding barbarians; was concerned withsecuring justice and prosperity for his sub-jects, and in all this, he enjoyed considerablesuccess. On balance, most provincials benefit-ed from his rule. For Christian writers of theperiod, of course, he could do no wrong, buttheir testimony was influenced by their enthu-siasm for having a Christian ruler after somany years of persecutionEager to maintain unity in the Church,

which was being torn apart by controversiesover theology, Constantine convened in 325the first Ecumenical Council in Nikaia, atown near Nikomedeia and across the sea ofMarmara from Constantinople, the future cap-ital of Christendom. The Nicaean Synoddrafted the Symbol of Faith that contains theword οοµµοοοουυσσιιοοςς proposed as a compromiseby Constantine himself, i.e., Christ being con-substantial with the Father.Constantine was clearly a figure who stood

above history in many ways. He cannot bejudged by conventional moral standards.Some of his actions can, however, be put

into perspective. He was not the first emperorto create a capital in the East. In fact, the Easthad gradually become far more important forRoman policy and strategy; by the early third

century, morelegions were sta-tioned there than inthe West. Previousemperors had heldcourt Nikomedeiaand Thessalonica.Constantine had usedSerdica [modernSofia in Bulgaria]for a while. Constan-tinople was, howev-er, a far grander ver-

sion of these prior attempts, and a more suc-cessful one.It was also not Constantine who terminat-

ed the persecutions against the Christians thathad been initiated by Galerius and Diocletianin 303 AD. Constantine began his career inthe West, in fact in Britain, where there werealmost no Christians. The persecutions wereended by Maxentius in Rome and by Galeriushimself and Licinius in the East. Constantinedefeated most of these men in war and killedthem, and merely continued and extendedtheir policy of toleration.Constantine did convert to Christianity,

but we should not imagine him as a regularChristian. He was not baptized until his death-bed; he did not attend church services; hebelieved that disputes over theology were awaste of time (here he obviously disagreedwith the Church Fathers); and he seems tohave thought of himself as an apostolic figure.Despite these peculiarities in his beliefs and

personal conduct, he gave money, power,and legitimacy to the Church, and so earnedits support and praise. We should not be cyni-cal about this: there is no question that hisbelief was sincere, in its own way. Besides,there were simply not enough Christiansaround at the time to justify the level of sup-port that he gave them as a cynical political

ploy. As always, Constantine remains ambigu-ous, his motivation shrouded in mystery.Consider the arrangements that he made for

his burial. His mausoleum had twelvecolumns, one for each of the apostles, withhis sarcophagus in the middle. The Churchreinterpreted this as meaning that he was the13thApostle, and made him a saint in gratefulrecognition of his service to the Faith.

kaldellis.1@osu.edu

GREEK ETHOS / 66

Constantine The Great: Protagonist of the Christian Church

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Monica FullertonOSU and Kenyon College, History of Art

he Byzantinechurch of HagiaSophia (Holy

Wisdom) in Constantino-ple [modern Istanbul,Turkey] ranks as one ofthe greatest architecturalachievements of all time.Built in the short span offive years, 532 to 537, the church isremarkable for the design of its immensedome and the magnificence of its richlyappointed interior. The Emperor Justinian[pic] commissioned Hagia Sophia toreplace an earlier church of the same name

that stood on thesame site. The lat-ter, itself areplacement for anearlier church, hadburned down inthe disastrousNika Riots of532. These riots,so-named for thechant “nika” (win)uttered by rebels

aiming to overthrow the government,resulted in tens of thousands of deaths andthe destruction of a large portion of the cityof Constantinople. Construction of the newchurch began within weeks of the suppres-sion of the revolt..Byzantine sources seldom list the names

of individual architects, yet in this case weare fortunate to know the two men respon-sible for the groundbreaking design:Anthemios of Tralles and Isidoros ofMiletos. They were not architects in thetraditional sense but scholars trained inmathematics and physics. We know littleabout them and have no other buildingswith which to associate them, but theirfame is assured through the construction ofthis one exceptional edifice. The effect wasimmediate: Justinian, upon entering thenewly completed church, is said to haveexclaimed, “Solomon, I have outdoneyou!”The building has survived numerous

earthquakes, reconstructions, and politicalvicissitudes that have transformed it fromchurch (Orthodox and Catholic for a while

after the 4th Crusade) tomosque to museum. Time hastaken its toil, yet HagiaSophia continues to amazejust as it did when Justinianfirst set foot in the church1,470 years ago.The inside of Hagia Sophia

was once extensively adornedwith mosaics and coloredmarbles from throughout theempire. In 558 the easternpart of the dome collapsed, necessitatingthe first of many reconstructions. When thechurch was rededicated in 563, Paul theSilentiary wrote a poem describing theinterior [pic]. He tells us that gold mosaicscovered the dome, half-domes, tympanumwalls, and ceilings of the narthex, aisles,galleries, and vestibules—a space estimatedto cover more than 4 acres. The decora-tion on this gold ground consisted of col-ored geometric and floral designs withnumerous crosses done in outline, includ-ing one at the center of the great dome.It is clear from Paul’s description that the

interior of Hagia Sophia contained no fig-ural mosaics at the time of Justinian. Thiscomes as a surprise when one considersother contemporary churches such as SanVitale in Ravenna [Italy] with its splendidmosaics of Justinian [pic] and Theodora

on the walls of the sanctuary and theChurch of the Virgin at the Monastery ofSt. Catherine at Mount Sinai with itsfamous apse mosaic of the Transfiguration.Even the Great Palace in Constantinoplewas decorated with floor mosaics depictinglively scenes of hunters pursuing their prey.The figural mosaics that survive fromHagia Sophia, including one depicting Jus-tinian, dating from the 9th century and later.The initial aversion to figural scenes has

been explained in numerous ways but twofactors are likely to have played a role inthe decision-making process: the rapid paceof construction and the immense size of thechurch. It is simply more time-consumingto make mosaics depicting people and it isextremely difficult to “read” such sceneshigh up on the walls and ceilings of such alarge structure. In addition, perhaps therewas a conscious decision to avoid anythingthat would distract one’s attention awayfrom the mystical experience created bythe architecture itself.Light enters Hagia Sophia [pic] through

a series of windows, 40 of which are strate-gically located at the base of the dome.According to the historian Procopius, thedome seemed to hang suspended “on agolden chain from Heaven.” Light struckthe gilded mosaics and was reflected anddiffused throughout the interior, dissolvingmatter and creating an environment farremoved from the outside world. Thisbrings us back to Anthemios, the archi-tect/physicist who was especially interestedin optics, the science of light and vision.Through his manipulation of light andspace he was able to create a buildingwhose interior evoked the heavenly king-dom of Jerusalem. In an age where therewas no separation of Church and State, itwas all about science in the service of reli-gion.

Fullerton.2@osu.edu

Constructing Sacred Space:The Church of Hagia Sophia

T

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 77

GREEK ETHOS / 88

Anthony KalellisProfessor Greek and Latin, OSU.

“Byzantium” is a conven-tional name given by mod-ern historians (since the 16thcentury) to the state thatcontinued the ancientRoman Empire in the East.The Roman Empire, wemust remember, “fell” onlyin the West; in the East itcontinued until 1453 AD, when the Ottomanstook the capital Constantinople. Constantino-ple [now Istanbul, Turkey] was founded onthe site of the ancient Greek city of Byzan-tion by the first Christian Roman emperor,Constantine I (in about 330 AD), and namedafter him. It was also called the Queen ofCities, the Ruling City, and, more officially,New Rome, because it was meant by Con-stantine as a duplicate of Rome, a “branch-office” of the imperial capital in the East. So,then, Byzantium was really nothing otherthan the Roman empire, which had existed inthe East since the second century BC, the ageof the great wars of the Roman Republic[Rome had an empire before it had anEmpire]. In archaizing terms, the capitalcould be called Byzantion and its inhabitantsByzantioi, whence comes the modern usageof the name.The Byzantine Empire had a long history,

over 1,100 years, the longest continuous ex-istence of any single state in history. In fact,there is no reason to separate its political his-tory from that of its Roman predecessor,which means that we can extend its historyback to the days of Augustus [14 AD] andeven back before that, to the Roman Republic[founded around 510 BC; so it will make its

life as many as 1963 years; 20 centuries].The Byzantines were always aware that manyof their political and social institutions wentback to the days of the Republic. For exam-ple, the chariot teams of the hippodrome (theBlues, Greens, Reds, and Whites), who werestill around in 1200 AD when the Crusadersarrived, went back to the days of the Romankings (in the sixth century BC). So in termsof their nationality and political community,the Byzantines were thoroughly Roman.The second component of Byzantine iden-

tity was Christian Orthodoxy. The Churchwas widely integrated into social life as wellas the imperial system. All Byzantines weresupposed to adhere to the same rite, liturgy,and doctrines, and by and large they did so.Religious art and architecture were remark-ably uniform throughout the Empire, butthere was no Inquisition. As Christians, theByzantines recognized an affinity with Chris-tians elsewhere, but this never led to an ecu-menical Christianity that could challenge theirRoman identity: Slavs and other orthodoxnations were still regarded as barbarians andlooked down upon. In this respect too, Byzan-tium was an ancient culture that survived intothe Middle Ages.The Byzantines’ system of dating was am

[anno mundi] rather than AD [anno Domini],i.e., Year of the World rather than Year of theLord. For them, the world was created in5508 BC, so our 2007 year would be 7,515am. So, just as in a political and nationalsense they regarded themselves as Romans, ina religious sense they were the True Israel,and traced their history symbolically back tothe age of the Old Testament patriarchs likeAbraham and Moses.The third component of Byzantine culture

was the Greek Language and ancient Greek

literature. The spoken language had alreadybegun to deviate from classical Greekalready during the early Roman Empire andin Byzantium was already very similar tomodern Greek. This means that one had tostudy hard in order to learn ancient Greek,and this was something that few could affordto do. In this sense, however, a Byzantinecould become a Greek, a Hellene, whichmeant one who had studied ancient Greekpaideia, knew the philosophers, and couldperform in Attic Greek. [The other sense ofHellene in Byzantium was “pagan,” but thisconfusing meaning was mostly limited to theChurch). This meant that in the sphere of lit-erary culture the Byzantines had access to themost ancient body of literature, given that,compared to other languages, Greek haschanged the least since the time of Homer.Many Byzantines took pride in this fact anddefended Greek against other languages,especially Latin.These, then, were the main components of

Byzantine civilization. Their resilience andhistory gave Byzantium remarkable strengthand continuity, but also flexibility too, or elseit would not have survived for as long as itdid. Let us also consider this: Byzantium isoften depicted in the West as an “oriental”civilization, more Asiatic then European,trapped in “medievalism” rather than point-ing toward modernity. In fact, however, whatall “western” countries have in common isthat they trace their intellectual and literaryculture back to Greece, their laws and sys-tems of governance to Rome, and their reli-gion to the Christian Church. In this res-pect, Byzantium is the most western civi-lization of them all! It was the most durableand perfect combination of those three histor-ical elements.

Byzantium:A Greek, Roman, and Christian Empire

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 99

Demetrios KritsotakisClassics, OSU, PhD Candidate

he destruction ofCorinth by theRoman legion-naires in 146 BC

shattered the last hope ofthe Greek world for con-tinuous political hegemo-ny. The Greek worldwould not be the protago-nist in the political arena of the Mediter-ranean, but its supremacy as the culturalcenter of the world would never be chal-lenged by the Roman conquerors. Interest-ingly enough most of the Roman Emperorswere openly confessed Philhellenes, such asHadrian, and even notorious Nero.When a Roman by the name Maximus is

appointed governor of Greece, his mentorthe Stoic Roman intellectual Pliny urgeshim to treat the Greek cities with respectbecause of their great contributions to thewestern civilization: “Consider that youare sent to the province of Achaia, that real,genuine Greece where politeness, learning,and even agriculture itself, are supposed tohave first arisen. You will revere theirancient glory, and even their very age.Remember it was from this land we derivedour legal code, that she gave us laws not byright of conquest, but as a favor. Rememberit is Athens you approach; it is Sparta yougovern”.But how did the Greeks of the Roman

period manage to survive culturally? Howdid they preserve their “Greekness” andtransmit it to the next generations? Whatmade someone Greek?The Greeks gave great importance to the

good upbringing of an individual. Thiscould only be achieved by education. Thelearning of the teachings of the great philo-sophers of the fifth and fourth century such

as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle became afirst priority. An individual had to learn andrecite the great poems of Homer, the trage-dians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, andread the histories written by inquiringHerodotus and brilliant Thucydides. Thegreat orators such as Demosthenes werestudied, Cicero being a good example ofthat!Learning and mastering the glorious

achievements of the Greeks of the past wereprerequisites of anyone who wanted to be areal Greek. And that meant one had to learnthe Greek language. A Greek had to studythe language, especially that of the Atheni-ans of the fifth century. Many Greeks actu-ally were able to master not only theirnative language but also that of the Romans,of Syria and the Jews. Anyone, both Greekand barbarian, who could not speak pure,good Greek, was treated with contempt.Even the Roman officials who stayedamong the Greeks communicated with thelocals in Greek. Greek was the language ofbusiness and education.A third important component of Greek-

ness was origin. With the exception of thecities of the Greek mainland, a city, or apeople, who wanted to be catalogued amongthe Greeks, had to prove its Greek origin.The officials of a town either would adver-tise its Greek roots from a hero, such asHeracles or Theseus, or would claim theircity to be the colony of a great city, espe-cially of Athens, Sparta or Argos. Thus, inAnatolia cities such as Smyrna, Ephesus,Tarsus [see article on Apostle Paul page 4],Cyrene in Africa, were given local autono-my.Education, language, common origin, and

even religion connected the Greeks of theRoman world and distinguished them fromthe others, the barbarians. This feeling ofGreekness rose to new heights during the 1stand 2nd centuries AD, when a renaissance ofthe Greek spirit and culture reached new

heights. The Roman intellectuals encour-aged it. Its best exponent was EmperorHadrian, called Little Greek by his fellowRomans, who financed the construction oftemples, such as the magnificent Temple ofOlympian Zeus in Athens [pic], theaters[pic] that are still in use, the HadrianLibrary in Athens and organized festivals tocelebrate Greek culture.Hadrian also helped the Greeks form the

PanHellenion association, where all freeGreek cities would sent delegates to meetand discuss issues affecting them, some-thing like the PanCretan, PanLakedemon-ian, etc, associations here in the USA.In the years from the sack of Corinth to

the foundation of the Byzantine Empire, theGreeks of the Roman world lost their inde-pendence and political power but conqueredeveryone with their culture and the arts.Greeks of today’s diaspora identify them-selves as the continuators of a great civiliza-tion that began thousands of years ago whenthere was chaos everywhere else and contin-ue to seek excellence [ααιιεενν ααρριισσττεειιυυεειινν]!However, if Jefferson and the other foundersof America learned Greek, it behooves usGreeks of the Diaspora to master the Greeklanguage to propagate its glorious culture!

kritsotakis.1@osu.edu

T

The cultural supremacy of Greece continues even after the Roman Conquest

1C ΠΡΟΦΗΤΕΥΩ22 A ΑΠΟΓΕΙΟ3 B ΟΙΚΟUMENIKO4 D ΧΑΡΙΣΜΑΤΙΚΟ5 B ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΙΚΟΣ6 A ∆ΕΛΤΑ7 C ΚΡΙΤΙΚΟ8 B ΚΑΘΟΛΙΚΟ9 D ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ10 A ΕΙΚΟΝΑ

11 C ΗΡΩΕΣ12 A ΜΟΝΑΡΧΗΣ13 B ΕΜΦΑΣΗ14 D ∆ΡΑΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ15 B ΠΑΝΙΚΟΣ16 A ΕΠΙΚΟΣ17 D ΑΝΤΑΓΩΝΙΣΤΗΣ18 B ΞΕΝΟΦΟΒΙΑ19 A ΕΙΡΗΝΙΚΟΣ20 D ΠΑΝΟΡΑΜΙΚΟΣ

Greek Word Power Answers N0.5

Byzantium ScienceAnthemios of Tralleis and Leon The PhilosopherAnthony KalellisProfessor greek and Latin, OSU.

yzantium is oftenviewed as a highlyreligious civilization,indeed sometimes it

is virtually equated withOrthodoxy.Obviously, Orthodoxy wasvery important but recentlyhistorians have been fleshing out otheraspects of life. For example, it is not as wellknown that Byzantium was the most techno-logically advanced Christian culture of theMiddle Ages. It preserved and improved thetraditions of ancient Greek science and exper-imented with new technologies.In a remarkable book, The Birth of the

Hospital in the Byzantine Empire, TimothyMiller has shown that what we call a hospitaltoday – an institution where the sick go to behealed by specially trained medical doctors,rather than a place where one goes to die inthe company of compassionate monks – wasa specifically Byzantine invention. It wasmade possible by the combination ofChristian charity, Greek science, andthe Roman welfare state, which atthis time was the preserve of Byzan-tium alone. He brings forward evi-dence for manuals of surgery, medicalinnovations, and state licensing forpublicly paid doctors. Applied technol-ogy had other uses as well. Everyoneknows about Greek Fire. In effect,there was a special corp of army engi-neers who prepared, secretly stored,and used this incendiary weapon inbattle. What this meant, basically, isthat the Byzantines used flamethrow-ers.Let us look at the life and times of

two Byzantine scientists. In the earlysixth century, Anthemios of Tralleis[western Anatolia] came from a largefamily of lawyers, doctors, and secre-

taries. He was given a classical education andwrote commentaries on the works ofArchimedes, the ancient Greek physicist andmathematician. Specifically, we have one ofhis treatises on the use of mirrors to ignitefires at a distance [clearly, this had militarybenefits]. At some point, Anthemios movedto Constantinople and bought a large house.We are told by the historian Agathias thatAnthemios did not get along well with hisneighbor, the senator Zenon, so this is whathe did: he built vats of water in a part of hisbasement that was actually under Zenon’shouse. He connected the vats to the ceiling,and then lit fires under them. The steamrocked the floors of Zenon’s house, causinghim to run out into the street screaming“earthquake!” making him look like a fool.This is one of the first known uses of steampower, which would be impressive enough onits own. But here is the most important thingabout Anthemios: he was the chief architectof Hagia Sophia Cathedral [see articles byFullerton p 7 and Yessios p 14]. This monu-ment is a marvel of engineering and requiredall the knowledge of mathematics and staticphysics that one could learn from Archimedes

and other ancient thinkers. But, as usuallyhappens, Emperor Justinian got all the credit.The fraternity chapter of second oldest

architectural program in the USA, Universityof Illinois, named itself the “Anthemios chap-ter” to honor the architectural ingenuity ofAnthemios [look up www.anthemios.org]Leon the Philosopher [or the Mathemati-

cian] lived in the ninth century. He too was aclassical scholar, and prepared editions of thetexts of Plato and other ancient writers inmanuscripts that we still have. His knowledgeof science was so famous that the ArabCaliph of Baghdad offered him a job. Likeany clever professor, Leon showed this offerto the emperor Theophilos, who made him abetter one. In the 840s, he was brieflyappointed bishop of Thessalonica, but thispost did not seem to interest him. In the 860s,he was appointed Dean of the new Universityof Constantinople.Leon was also famous for his inventions.

His most amazing one was a system oftelecommunications that linked the capital tothe border with the Arabs near Tarsus [whereApostle Paul was born; see article p 4]. Hereis how it worked: two synchronized clocks

were set at either end of the relay, anda particular message corresponded toeach hour on the clocks. At the righttime, depending on the message thathe wanted to send, an officer wouldinitiate a sequence of fire signals thatreached the capital in an hour [theyalso know about the 1.2 hour-time dif-ference between Constantinople andTarsus]. A response could then be sentquickly by the emperor.These are only two men in a long

and impressive tradition of Byzantinescience. The Greek scientific traditionlay behind marvels such as HagiaSophia and the efficiency of theRoman Army that kept the empirealive for more than a thousand years.

kaldellis.1@osu.edu

GREEK ETHOS / 1100

B

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 1111

Gregory JusdanisProfessor, Greek Studies, OSU

t is widely known thatGreek poets and writ-ers have sought inspi-

ration in the classical past.But many have returned toearly Christianity and theByzantine period for poet-ic themes. ConstantineCavafy, for instance, was very interested inthe appearance of Christianity in the time ofthe Roman Empire, showing the strugglessome people felt between an old system ofbelief and the new. He also dealt with indi-viduals from the Byzantine Empire, whichsurvived for about 1000 years after the fall ofRome.Another famous Greek poet, who saw in

Christianity a source for his work, was Ange-los Sikelianos. Born in the Ioanian island ofLefkada in 1884 to a prominent family, hewent to Athens to study law, only to abandonhis plans after two years in order to join atheatrical group. Through his involvementwith the stage, he came to know the veryfamous American dancer, Isadora Duncan(1877-1927), widely considered the motherof modern dance. In the house of Isadora’sbrother Raymond, who had married Sike-lianos’ sister, Penelope, Angelos met EvaPalmer, the wealthy American director andchoreographer. Together they sought to resur-rect the Delphic Games of antiquity, whichwere akin to the Olympic Games, by organiz-ing the Delphic festival in 1927 and 1930, aseries of theatrical, and dance performances,along with athletic contests and art exhibi-tions. The current European Cultural Cen-ter of Delphi, which organizes conferences,exhibitions, and concerts, owes its inspirationto their tireless efforts to revive the Delphicidea.Disillusioned by the financial difficulties

in mounting these festivals with their ownfunds, Eva returned to American in 1933 and

the couple became estranged. In 1940 Sike-lianos married Anna Kamaranou with whomhe spent the dark days of the German occu-pation in Athens. At the funeral of KostisPalamas (1859-1943), then Greece’s greatestliving poet, he recited a poem that came to beseen as an act of resistance against the Ger-mans. “On this casket,” he declaimed, “restsall of Greece.” In 1950 Sikelianos died aftermistakenly drinking a disinfectant instead ofhis medication.Although Angelos Sikelianos is associated

with the revival of classical drama, he wrotepoetry with religious and moral themes. Thepoem, “Agraphon,” which he wrote in 1941during the Nazi occupation, is a good exam-

ple of this interest,seeking to findmeaning in the lifeof Christ during aperiod of nationaltrauma. (The poembecame a basis for amusical work by theEnglish composer,John Tavener, aconvert to Ortho-doxy, who soughtinspiration in Ortho-dox theology andliturgy. It was first

performed at the Athens Megaron Mousikis(Concert Hall) in October 29, 1995.)The term “agraphon,” which means literal-

ly an “unwritten thing,” signifies here a tra-dition or a saying about Christ’s life notrecorded in the official Gospels of the Bible.Like all poetry this could be read on many

levels. On the one hand, it deals with the lifeof Christ, as another, albeit unofficial parable,about the power of Christ to see hope andvirtue everywhere, even amongst corruptionand rot. In this case, Christ has the capacity tomarvel at the white teeth of a dead dogamong the stench of the garbage dumb. ButZion could also refer to Athens of 1941 in thehands of the Nazis where people were dying

of starvation. While the poem can be read as amodern day parable, it also functions as aprayer uttered by a person seeking redemptionfrom evil. What the poet sees here is the hopeand salvation from the Nazis, justice in a timeof turmoil and suffering.

jusdanis.1@osu.edu

“Agraphon”A Christian Poem - by Angelos Sikelianos

IAGRAPHON — ΑΓΡΑΦΟΝ

ΣΣιικκεελλιιααννοοςς,, ΑΑ..Once at sunset Jesus and his discipleswere on the road outside the walls of

Zion when suddenly they came to wherethe town for years had dumped itsgarbage:Crowning the highest pile, its legspointing at the sky, lay a dog’s bloated

carcass; such a stench rose up from itthat all the disciples, hands cupped overtheir nostrils, drew back as one man.But Jesus stood there, and He gazed

so closely at the carcass that one disciplecalled out from a distance, ‘Rabbi, don’tyou smell that dreadful stench? How canyou go on standing tahere?’Jesus, His eyes fixed on the carcass,

answered: ‘If your breath is pure, you’llsmell the same stench inside the townbehind us, but Look how that dog’steeth glitter in the sun: like hailstones,like a lily, beyond decay, a great pledge,mirror of the Eternal, but also the harshlightning-flash, the hope of Justice!’‘And now, Lord, I, the very least of

men, stand before You, give me, as now Iwalk outside this Zion, as I walkthrough this terrible stench, one singlemoment of Your holy calm, so that Imay also pause among this carrion andwith my own eyes somewhere see deepinside me, beyond the world’s decay, likethe dog’s teeth at which, Lord, that sun-set You gazed in wonder: a great pledgeEternal, but also the harsh lightning-flash, the hope of Justice!’

Isaac DanielProfessor, Northwestern University,Evanston. IL

himon the Just wasthe High Priest in theTemple of Solomon

at the time of Alexanderthe Great. They met. Onhis way from Egypt, afterhe himself laid out the plansfor the future cultural center of the HellenizedWorld, the city of Alexandria, on his marchto Mesopotamia to battle Darius atGaugamela, Alexander was passing throughPalestine. Some local archons urged him todestroy the Jewish Temple. He marched toJerusalem. Shimon donned the white priestlygarments that he wore on the Yom Kippur(day of atonement) holiday when he wouldenter the inner sanctum of the Temple andwent out to meet Alexander. He offered himthe symbolic welcome of bread with a bless-ing. To the surprise of his entourage, uponseeing Shimon, Alexander dismounted andprostrated himself before the High Priest.Encouraged, Shimon took Alexander on a

tour of the Temple. Alexander was very im-pressed and offered a marble bust of him tobe placed in the Temple courtyard. Shimonexplained that it was forbidden by the Law ofMoses for the Jews to have images or statues,and certainly not in the Temple. He suggestedan alternative way to give homage to theEmperor: that all male babies born that yearwould receive the name ‘‘Alexander”. The

Macedonian king accepted, and that is how"Alexander" became a Jewish name.Following Alexander’s death and the wide

spread of Greek civilization throughout theknown world, the Jews adopted Hellenismwholeheartedly, Apostle Paul being a primeexample. I too was born in Veroia [Berea],the city that Apostle Paul visited [see articleon page 5 by Taiganides] and I survived theanti-Semitic Holocaust of the Nazis thanks tothe support of the local followers of ApostlePaul. I am Greek and now a Greek-Americanof the Jewish faith. The Synagogue you see inthe picture is the one I attended, and accord-ing to tradition the same one where ApostlePaul preached. As required by our Gymnasi-um, I attended also church services on specialoccasions with my fellow classmate Elissaios.Jews studied Greek philosophy, which they

harmonized with Judaism. A prime example isthe Jewish philosopher Philo [Φιλων ο

Αλεξανδρευς. Philo Ioudaios lived from 30BC to 40 AD within the large Jewish andGreek communities of Alexandria, Egypt.Influenced by Greek philosophers, like Plato,Philo wrote some of his many books in Greekreflecting a Hellenized version of Judaismthat was different from that of orthodoxJudaism of Jerusalem. It was said of him“η ο Φιλων Πλατωνιζει, η ο ΠλατωνΦιλωνιζει.The first translation of the Old Testament

Jewish Scriptures to another language was inGreek, known as the Septuagint translationby 70 scholars. It had been commissioned byKing Ptolemy [one of the leading generals ofAlexander] for the sake of the thousands ofJews who lived in Alexandria and under-stood Greek better than Hebrew. It was in usein Judea at the time of Jesus. Centuries later,it was translated into Arabic.

imdaniel@northwestern.edu

GREEK ETHOS / 1122

1. Prophesize:A. proofread B. prosize C. foretell D. prof-it size

2. Apogee: A. culmination B. apelikeC. basement D. from earth soil3. Ecumenical: A. house mend B. world-wide C. thrifty D. Ecuadorian mechanic4. Charismatic: A. charitable B. burnedC. of poor character D. charming5. Strategist: A. military officer B. skilledplanner C. protagonist in la StrataD. geology specialist6. Delta: A. alluvial deposit B. muscular

C. dealer in the Dells D. Dell minicomputer7. Critical: A. found in Crete B. bread madewith barley C. crucial D. way too high incalories8. Catholic: A. without B. universal C. cardiologist alcoholic D. where cats hide9. Apostle: A. Appalachian hustle B. post aletter C. no postage required D. messenger10. Icon: A. image B. against oneselfC. Apple computer virus D. I con everybody11. Heroes: A. not his woes B. hoagiesC. illustrious warriors D. sandwiches12. Monarch: A. sole ruler B. single archbridge C. one way bridge D. flatfooted

13. Emphasis: A. the act of disappearingB. intensity of expression C. Ethiopiandance D. emphysema hem14. Dramatic: A. unit of weight B. fromDrama C. with large RAM D. thespian15. Panic: A. satirical B. fear C. small Ital-ian bread D. totally yuckiest16. Epic: A. heroic B. spice grown in Suma-tra C. tiny D. picky17. Antagonist: A. ant soldier B. instead ofcorners C. abnormal D. adversary18. Xenophobia: A. nightmare fearB. fear of foreigners C. dislike of sour breadD. grapevine disease19. Irenic: A. pacific B. Irish mythC. Persian rug D. renal fluids20. Panoramic: A. oracle B. around theclock C. aromatic D. giving complete view

Alexander Legacy with the Jews

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Greece gave the world 50,708 words. Here are 20 of them compiled byNikos Apostolakis. The answers are on page 9Grading System: 5-10 GOOD; 11-16: EXCELLENT; 17-20 ARISTA.

greekwordeditor@Greekethos.com

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 1133

his eloquent, offthe cuff, quotefrom the Greekclassics was what

the-would-be-president ofthe United States RobertKennedy, had he not beencruelly assassinated 2months later, used to eulo-gize Martin Luther King, upon hearing ofthe murder inApril 1968 of the “Man for AllNations” Civil Rights champion. I wonderedhow was it that Bobby [as he was affection-ately known] was knowledgeable enough ofthe Greek tragedies to quote them verbatim?This was Jeffersonian!The mystery was solved for me last

November when I read in the NY Times anarticle by David Brooks. Brooks is an expo-nent of the Republican side of politics, whoquotes, however, from Greek classics andgives examples from Greek history in hiswritings and even on TV in the Lehrer newshour on PBS on Fridays. Brooks writes thatthe martyrdom of Bobby began on 23November 1963 when FBI chief Hoovercalled him on the phone and coldly an-nounced that his brother the President wasshot dead in Dallas Texas. Devoured withgrief and with excruciating pain in hisheart, Bobby went into seclusion and was ona road to self destruction. His miraculousrecovery was a book, a gift from his sister-in-law, Jackie Kennedy [later to become Mrs.Aristotle Socrates Onassis, the Greek ship-ping magnate]. The book was “The GREEKWAY” by Edith Hamilton. The cure wasAeschylus, who knew something about deathhaving fought both at the Marathon in 490and in Salamis in 480 BC battles against thePersians and lived to write about it!Edith Hamilton published “The Greek

Way” in 1930 when she was 60 and hadretired from teaching. It became a best seller;it has been re-published several times sincethen, and it is still available. It is a classic thatI had read in college, but I am now beginningto discover its profoundness by examininghow the book transformed Bobby Kennedyfrom doom to the most articulate spokesmanagainst the savage futile war in Vietnam.

Edith Hamilton found in the classical Greeksthe wisdom that causes and sustains great-ness. Her book contains essays on greatminds of the Golden Age of Greece when theGreeks broke away from the theocraticphilosophies of Egypt and India, where reli-gious priests formulated government respons-es to crises, to throw light on an anthro-pocentric universe where the supreme com-mandment is γγννωωθθιι σσ εεααυυττοονν [know thyself],as true today as it was 2500 years ago whenSocrates first invented it. Her analyses of the great tragedies of

Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides; of the sig-nificance for modern man of the philosophiesof Plato and of Aristotle; of the deep meaningof Aristophanes comedies; of the globalunderstanding of history by Herodotus; of theidea of Thucydides that war history repeatsitself; of the impartiality of reporting byXenophon embedded with the Greek merce-nary forces in the war in Meso-potamia[Iraq]; of the astounding Pindar whose lyricsso inspired Alexander the Great that he pre-served his home when he burned uncompro-mising Thebes; all are simplified in her book,and she relates them to our modern life.But let us go back to the Bobby Kennedy

story. Brooks write that Bobby found inGreek tragedies the tragic sensibility of hisown; the strange mixture of doom and exalta-tion, that good grows out of bad, virtue out ofhardship, and that wisdom is born in suffer-ing. After memorizing segments of the bookand understanding their meaning, Kennedywas able to recover from the death of hisbrother and found in the ancient Greeks a civ-ilization that could look death in the face andlearn from the experience. He carried aroundin his pocket his gift copy of “The GreekWay”, beaten from frequent readings, under-lined, and annotated, and did not hesitate toread excerpts to everyone that would listen. Itwas Bobby, who in his presidential campaign,was often quoted as saying, what is classicalGreek: “There are those who look at thingsas they are, and ask why? I dream of thingsthat never were, and ask why not?”Before we leave the Kennedy story, let us

go back to Jackie Kennedy-Onassis, whoupon living on the Onassis island of Scorpios

next to Ithaca, became enamored with thepoetry of Greek poet K Cavafy. Cavafybecame an overnight success in America afterJackie chose his 1911 poem “Ithaca” as herepitaph. It was read at her funeral. The K.Cavafy poem is a classic, it is an admonitionto be “Odyssean” in our life, welcomingadventure, facing and overcoming threats anddangers on our ννοοσσττοοςς, as we long and strug-gle to return home, like Odysseus in his nos-tos to Ithaca after 20 years in diaspora. So itwas not only money she inherited from Onas-sis but also the love and zest of flamboyantOnassis for our common ancestry in classicalGreece. [Prof. Jusdanis wrote about Cavafy inthe 4th issue of Greek Ethos].Edith Hamilton learned Greek by herself

starting at age 7 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Aftergraduating from the University of Munich inGermany [the first woman to be admitted],she taught in a girls school. In 1957, at theripe age of 90, she traveled to Greece for thefirst time. In a public ceremony at the theaterof Herodes Attikus, under the Acropolis, MsHamilton was deservedly proclaimedhonorary citizen of Athens.

—Taiganides, Elissaios Paul, edi-tor@greekethos.org

"In our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon theheart and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through

the awful grace of God."

TAeschylus, Greek Tragedian 5th century BC

GREEK ETHOS / 1144

BE A PATRON OF GREEK ETHOS -ΕΕΛΛΛΛΗΗΝΝΙΙΚΚΟΟΣΣ ΗΗΘΘΟΟΣΣ ΧΧΟΟΡΡΗΗΓΓΟΟΣΣ Χορηγος, the Greek word for Patron originates from the old tradition of throwing money to the orchestra by the man whowants to lead the next dance. We are asking you to be such a Patron of the Greek Ethos to lead the celebrations of our epic

cultural heritage.For a tax-deductible $100 be a Patron of Greek Ethos. Call George Sourvanos 614-263-2665 or Lee Adamantidis 614-291-2002.

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ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΗΘΟΣ / 1155

Cradle of Orthodox Monasticism:Mt. Athos -Αγιον Ορος

ne of the holiest, historical, and oneof the most scenic tourist attractionsof Greece, or maybe even of the

world, it is UN World Heritage Site, is theMt. Athos peninsula, the eastern-most of the 3legs of Chalkidiki province [map], southeastof the city of Thessaloniki, capital of Macedo-nia. Millions of tourists flog into the beautifulbeaches of Chalkidiki every summer, but notto the third peninsula. Why? Because, no fe-male, human or animal, is allowed on the“Mountain” by a decree of Byzantine Emper-or Alexios Komnenos [not unlike OlympicGames where women not even mothers of ath-letes were allowed to watch the Games]. Yet,the peninsula is called Inheritance and Gardenof the Mother of God. Legend has it that Vir-gin Mary rested on Athos when her ship toCyprus was thrown off course by high winds.Even males cannot visit without first getting

not easy-to-get visa because Mt Athos is anindependent autonomous state within therepublic of Greece with its own constitution, acharter that was decreed by Emperor Tsi-miskis in 972. Another major uniqueness ofMt Athos is that is officially recognized as the“Holy Mountain”, [ΑΑΓΓΙΙΟΟΝΝ ΟΟΡΡΟΟΣΣ], decreedso by Emperor Constantinos IX, in 1046.Mt Athos is a welcoming haven of spiritual

tranquility in a world that every day is gettingmore materialistic. It is worth noting that inthese days when acquiring riches are the goalsof most, there are indeed young men who for-sake the comforts of that type of life, choosepoverty, and devote themselves to a monasticlife of daily prayer and isolation away fromTV, radio, and scandalous ads.The prevalent notion is that those who

choose such life are weak who want to escape

competition. Not so! I know of a financiallywell-endowed friend in Greece whose 2 sonsand 3 daughters, all well educated and ext-remely talented, have chosen monasticism, butit was out of deep conviction that the life theychose is of higher calling, serving the gloryof God.Monks attend ecclesiastical services in the

middle of the night chanting those melan-cholic hymns that our Byzantine forefatherscomposed.Visitors can sit alone by the terrace of their

isolated cell gazing at the historical blueAegean Sea contemplating without beingbombarded with commercials and time com-mitments. One can invite one of the monks tochat and explore the Power of Faith. Many ofthe monks have written scholarly books, arebeing invited as guest speakers in forumsaround the world. There are, of course, uniquephysical sights on the Mt. Athos peninsulawhose forested summit rise to 6000 feet rightoff the sea. Some monasteries have spectacu-lar architecture [see fotos], built off the rockycliffs washed by the white froth of the fero-cious waves of the Aegean Sea. They are in-deed impressive sites. All the monasterieshave precious libraries full of religious and

secular books hand copied and hand paintedby monks before the printing machines wereinvented, thus preserving our heritage, pluspriceless icons painted by famous hagiogra-phers like Theophanes of Crete, Panselenosof Macedonia, et al.The number of visitors to Mt Athos is

increasing exponentially. Every man, no fe-male, must apply for a visa for a 4-day stay.Prince Charles of England is a regular visitor,but his is a pilgrimage. He comes with anentourage of officials, intellectuals, scholarswho spend some of their time clearing walkpaths that used to connect the monasteries.President Putin of Russia comes to MtAthos, and so do other heads of State. Thereare Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian,and Ukrainian among the 20 monasteries. Oneof the saddest days was in September 2004,when the helicopter carrying Patriarch Pet-ros of Alexandria and of All Africa, a brightstar of Orthodoxy, plus 9 others went downjust before reaching Mt Athos killing every-one.Young people take their backpacks and

walk the mountain paths enjoying its uniqueflora, history, heritage of the spiritual power ofthe cradle of monasticism, bastion of ChristianOrthodoxy, the holy place for the renewal ofChristian values. The aerial fotos below show-ing the magnificence of some of the morespectacular monasteries are taken fromwww.ert.gr! They say once you visit Mt Athos that you

will continue to return; spiritual yearning isinherent in our Greek ethos!

—Taiganides, Elissaios Paul, edi-tor@greekethos.org

O

24 March 2007 Saturday: GREEK INDE-PENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS!Following the Liturgy at the Greek Cathe-dral of Annunciation and a special Doxolo-gy, we will proceed on buses to the StateCapitol for the raising of the Greek Flag.Folk dancing by our children will follow.We will adjourn for lunch at the ChurchHall, served by Vasili Kostantinidis.

19 April 2007 Thursday: THOMASLEONTIS LETURE SERIES. Dr. FaniMallochou-Tufano will lecture on therestoration of the Acropolis in Athens. Thelecture will begin at 3:30 PM in the loungeof the Faculty Club on the OSU campus.Everyone is invited. Refreshments!

26 April 2007 Thursday: GREEKOLYMPIC SOCIETY FORUM! Dr. Anto-nios Kotidis, Professor of History of Art,Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, willlecture on modern Greek art at the ChurchHall, 7 PM. Everyone is invited. His tour ofthe USA is sponsored by the AristotelisOnassis Foundation. Refreshments will beserved.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER AND HONOR WITH YOUR PRESENCE

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