Manos Eleftheriou , is a famous Greek author, songwriter. He also wrote poems as well as short stories. Since he was born and raised on the island of Syros (1938-2018), the Omilo students often hear his name while attending a course on the island. Manos Eleftheriou loved Syros and edited books about his island, specifically about Markos Vamvakaris and Syros society, about theater in Ermoupolis in the 20th century, and about Ermoupolis in Greek literature.
The Great Chimera is a Classic Greek Novel, which is for sure worth it to discover, by reading it in Greek, or the translation in another language.
This Greek novel is written by M. Karagatsis and is considered a modern Greek classic. It tells the story of a young French woman, Marian, who falls in love with a Greek sea-captain, marries him, and moves with him to the Aegean island of Syros (where the Omilo summer courses take place!)
Even though it was first published in 1936, it remains an extremely timely piece of work – read below to discover more about it.
Constantine P. Cavafy is a distinguised Greek poet and was also one of the most original and influential Greek poets of the 20th century, who, though, remained virtually unrecognized in Greece until late in his career. Nowadays, his poetry is widely celebrated and taught in school in Greece and Cyprus, as well as in universities around the world.
The life of Constantine Cavafy
Constantine Cavafy was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 29, 1863. His father died when he was seven, leaving the family poor. Shortly after this, the family moved to England, where Cavafy stayed until he was sixteen and became fluent in English. [He also picked up French and Italian during his life.] His two oldest brothers were supposed to take over their father’s business but they were young and inexperienced. Combined with the Long Depression of 1873, financial problems forced the family to move back to Alexandria in 1876, where they lived in great poverty. Read more
If you are looking to learn more about Greek history of the 19th and 20th century in a way that does not remind you of school textbooks, we would recommend giving Greek author’s Nikos Themelis trilogy a try. The three novels describe the socio-political conditions of the time as well as important historical events that took place in mainland Greece, Asia Minor and the Balkans, which are woven into the stories of the key characters – never a dull moment!
Yiannis Ritsos is one of the most famous and internationally acknowledged Greek poets, with many of his works having been translated and published in many languages.
He worked tirelessly and his output was enormous; he has published more than one hundred poems and poetry collections as well as some novels, plays, articles, and translations.
Today, Ritsos is considered one of the great Greek poets of the twentieth century, alongside Constantine P. Cavafy, Kostas Kariotakis, Angelos Sikelianos, Giorgos Seferis, and Odysseas Elytis. Let’s have a closer look into his life and work.
What does modern Greek history look like?
It’s easy to get caught up with the exciting and dramatic times of Ancient Greece, but the history of the Greek state and nation ever since the Greek Revolution in 1821 (2021 was the 200th anniversary of Greece’s War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire), can be equally fascinating – and stormy!
Click below to read the article in Greek
The book Ζευγάρια που έγραψαν την ιστορία της Ελλάδας (= Couples who wrote the history of Greece) by Lena Divani is a crossroads between history and fiction. In this book, the author sheds light at the relationships between famous and powerful figures of Greek history, examining their personal lives against the context of the social, political and economic circumstances of their times.
Needless to say, since most of these couples lived in the 19th and 20th centuries, their lives were marked by the Greco-Ottoman war, the creation of the Greek state, World Wars I and II, a civil war, and the Balkan Wars.
Discover the works of the greatest representative of ancient Greek comedy, Aristophanes, through cleverly illustrated comics versions of his plays and learn more about the importance of comedy in ancient Greece.
Comedy in ancient Athens
Ancient Greek comedy was one of the three main dramatic forms of theatre in classical Greece; the other two were tragedy and the satyr play. The term classical Greece refers to the period from the beginning of the fifth century B.C and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. It was a period of intense conflict, first between the Greeks and the Persians, then between the Athenians and the Spartans. Aristophanes used the political circumstances of his time as the historical context for his comedies. Read more
Would you like to traveling to Greece or participate in an Omilo Greek Langauge and Culture course this summer, but you are not confident to travel yet, due to the corona pandemic?
Do not worry, if you’re still looking to ‘travel’ from the comfort of your own living room whilst staying safe and practicing your Greek skills, we have the perfect idea for you: why not give the Greek TV series Η Αίθουσα του Θρόνου a try?
This Greek TV series was shot in both Attica (Athens, Lagonisi and Nea Makri) and the island of Syros, where the Omilo summer courses take place.
Continue reading to learn more!
For better or for worse, due to the coronavirus-crisis, nowadays we need to spend more time indoors… #menoumespiti #westayathome
And is there a better way to keep ourselves busy than by watching a good Greek TV series?
“To Nisi” is a Greek period drama series based on the best-selling English novel The Island by Victoria Hislop. Eager to know more?
Read more
Eugene Trivizas is one of Greece’s leading writers for children. Although he studied law and specialises in criminology, he has published more than 120 children’s books and has become the most well-known and beloved Greek storyteller (or as we’d say in Greek, “paramithas”).
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