Proceedings of the 7th Biennial International Conference of Greek Studies, 2007

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https://hdl.handle.net/2328/8034

This conference was structured around themes related to the wider significance of Greek History and Civilization, including papers on Greek and Cypriot studies from the wider spectrum of the following areas: Literature and Language, Classical Studies, Philosophy, Society and Culture, History and Migration.

The aim of this cross-disciplinary conference was to celebrate the diachronic achievement of Greek culture and allow academics from different fields of research to come together and share their knowledge of related areas, and perhaps to discover ways in which they might collaborate, from their different specialisations, on complex themes. The search for common ground was a major focus of the conference, but it also provided intellectual stimulation for the dynamic Greek community of South Australia and for the many individuals from the wider society who have an interest in Greek studies.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 77

A cultural transition. The different lifestyles of Cyprus and Australia and how the move betweeen countries has impacted my life
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Sidiropoulou, Despina
Australia and Cyprus are two countries at the opposite ends of the earth, and the lifestyles of the two countries often seem to be of an entirely opposite nature. The two countries have evolved in different ways: where Cyprus has a deep Greek tradition, Australia is a new country with modern viewpoints; where Australians allow modernity to infiltrate their lifestyles, enjoy quiet nights at home, and value mateship, Cypriots are — in today’s modern world — still highly traditional, prone to summer-long, all-night partying, and tend to value family over all else. While there may be more differences that could be placed on this list, tradition versus modernity, recreation, and loyalties provide a general overview as to the widespread differences between the two countries. The differences in these three areas will be broadly shown through the examples of wedding ceremonies, nightlife, and finally in the family togetherness that is often unseen in Australia.
The case for the return of the Parthenon Marbles
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Comino, Emanuel J.
When we speak of the Parthenon, we are speaking about the birth of western civilisation, the birth of democracy and the symbol of Greece. The Marbles were and remain an integral part of the Parthenon as a monument to the glory of Classical Greece and the civilisation it gave to the world. Ownership might never be resolved but present intransigence attracts increasing diplomatic pressure. Surveys of British MPs reveal 66% support for the return of the Marbles. This paper will look at the legality of the ownership of the Marbles, the preservation of them and the current position. The Acropolis Museum allows Britain to show goodwill on this important cultural property issue.
Ο μηχανισμός της εντύπωσης στο 'Άσμα Ασμάτων' του Νικολάου Επισκοποπούλου
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Pieri, Angela
Please note: this article is in Greek. The mechanism of impression in Nikolaos Episkopopoulos’s “Asma Asmaton”: Representation, reality’s artistic transformation, present in literature and visual arts, is expressed in various ways; among others, by impression, the later defined as the object’s representation through the senses of the recipient. In this paper, we discuss the ways of presentation and activation of the mechanism of impression in Nikolaos Episkopopoulos’s (1874–1944) “Asma Asmaton”. Impression serves, firstly, author’s exclusive task to represent the “ideal–perfect” love and secondly the recipient’s engagement in terms of comprehension of the multi-level theme’s representation. The process towards achieving impression and reaching synaesthesia is inhibited by words that directly or indirectly refer to the human senses.
Η θεωρητική και λογοτεχνική διάσταση της 'διηγηματικής εγκυκλοπαίδειας' του Εμμανουήλ Ροΐδη: 'Τοις Εντευξομένοις', 'Ιστορία μιας γάτας'
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Stamataki, Joanna
Please note: this article is in Greek. The theoretical and literary aspect of the roidian “narrative encyclopedia”: “Tois Entefksomenois”, “Istoria mias gatas”: This paper deals with the generic definition of “narrative encyclopedia” which was first introduced in Emm. Roides’ Papissa Ioanna in 1866. The roidian encyclopedia brings together different types of speech and at the same time it exemplifies the stylistical theory of the writer. The result of the above process is that the so called “pezografimata” (prose works) of Roidis, are turned into both literary and theoretical texts, which permits their reevaluation and their reinterpretation. The introductory text of Papissa Ioanna, which is entitled “Tois Entefksomenois” (“To the readers”), exemplifies the roidian stylistical theory and so it acquires — apart from it’s informative character — a literary hint. So the “Tois Entefksomenois” becomes a primary element of the main narration of Papissa. The counter-march (literature-theory) is followed by the text “Istoria mias gatas” (“The story of a cat”) which has a strong theoretical character, despite it’s literary covering. This theoretical character is brought on the surface through certain relative correlations, which transform the text into an allegorical narration. So, it turns out that the roidian “narrative encyclopedia” combines both theoretical and literary speech (and in some other cases the philosophical speech) and so it gets beyond the one-dimensional nature of other genres. By following the example of German Romanticism Roidis forms a new genre, which thematizes theory and at the same time it gains an exemplary value.
Λουκή Ακρίτα Ο Κάμπος: Ένα νατουραλιστικό μυθιστόρημα με αλληγορική λειτουργία
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Herodotou, Maria
Please note: this article is in Greek. Loukis Akritas’ The Plain: A naturalistic novel and it’s allegorical function: This paper having as a point of reference Fredric Jameson’s thesis that all literary texts should be read and interpreted as political texts, as well as national allegories, examines whether this could be applied to the novel The Plain (1936), [Ο Κάμπος] written by the Cypriot writer Loukis Akritas. This is an important novel as it was written in the inter-World War period when Cyprus was a British colony. The upheaval and unrest on the island at the time prompted the enforcement of a dictatorship (including a censorship) by the British. The analysis of the novel reveals that the writer’s use of naturalism indeed functions as an allegory to depict the harsh conditions suffered by the agrarian sector of Cyprus at the time. The ruthless masters of the “Plain” could be paralleled to the colonial rulers. Furthermore the problems of this sector of the society could to a great extent be attributed to their rule. The allegory also helps the writer to overcome the problem of censorship. The political interpretation of this particular novel therefore affirms Jameson’s thesis.
Δαρβινικό και θετικιστικό πνεύμα στις ιστορίες ζώων του Εμμανουήλ Ροΐδη
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Voyiatzaki, Evi
Please note: this article is in Greek. The Darwinian and the positivistic tendency in Roidis short stories dealing with animals: Focusing on “The story of a horse” (1894) and “The story of a hen-coop” (1897), it maintains that the metonymic and allegorical patterns of the animal short stories draw upon Darwin’s scientific thought, Taine’s aesthetics on fable, and Zola’s version of Darwinism as it appears in his preoccupation with the causal relations permeating phenomena. Darwin’s anthropomorphism and zoomorphism, and Zola’s notion of the human beast are employed in a web of reciprocal relationships between natural and social world to support Roidis’ aesthetic predilection for an art varying from the sublime to ridiculous. In drawing a constant parallel between man and animal for satirical and ethical purposes, Roidis’ text invites diverse discourses (philosophical or/and physiological treatise, social analysis, medical document and so on) thus creating the idiosyncratic and intricate style of his poetics.
Τζουμάκας, Τσιόλκας, Κόκκινος: Αναπαραστάσεις της αυστραλιανής πόλης σε σύγχρονα ελληνοαυστραλιανά κείμενα
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Frantzi, Kyriaki
Please note: this article is in Greek. Tzoumakas, Tsiolkas, Kokkinos: Representations of the Australian city in contemporary Greek Australian texts: How does the city as a meeting place of the social with the imaginary survive a globalised virtual reality? Which alternatives to the ordinary gaze do the travelers, the foreigners, the immigrants and the marginalized groups of the city offer? The aim of this paper is to examine ways in which the Australian mega city as anthropogeographical surrounding is represented and conceptualized by the young generation of writers and filmmakers of Greek origin in Australia. The paper locates ways of viewing and experiencing, and the cultural, social and other aspects of the city life that are intertwined with geography. Information is drawn from Dimitris Tzoumakas Merry Sydney, Christos Tsiolkas Loaded, and the Greek Australian director Ana Kokkinos’ film Head On.
Η πρόκληση του πολυπολιτισμού και η ελληνοαυστραλιανή παροικία στη δεκαετία του 1970
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Fifis, Christos N
Please note: this article is in Greek. The challenge of multiculturalism and the Greek-Australian community in the 1970s: Australia and the Greek-Australian community went through considerable developments and changes in the 1970s. The beginning of the decade is marked by the election of the Whitlam Government, the end of the White Australia policy and the introduction of legislation recognizing the multicultural character of the Australian society. Finally the Galbally Committee Report advanced the establishment of SBS and several other services for the needs of migrants. At the same period, the Greek-Australian community, which had been over-doubled in the 1960s, was now in a position to seek the attention of the Australian politicians in matters such as the restoration of Democracy in Greece, the support of the Greek-Cypriot issues, in fields of social welfare and the introduction of Greek in the universities and Government schools. Despite negative occurrences as the Sydney Greek conspiracy case in 1978, which eventually proved groundless, the Greek-Australian community contributed significantly to the Australian multicultural developments. This paper aims to present the development and the dynamics of the Greek-Australian community in the 1970s.
Who was Aspasia?
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Roux, Suzanne Raymonde; O'Grady, Patricia Frances
Paper given as a performance activity during the conference.
Τα 'μικρά καθρεφτάκια' και το 'πελώριο λοξό μάτι': η περίπτωση του Δημοσθένη Βουτυρά
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Matsaggou, Elena
Please note: this article is in Greek. Narrative techniques and the fantastic in Demosthenis Vouteras: Demosthenis Vouteras is a writer that led Greek critics to an impasse while trying to specify the quality and generic identity of his work. Thematic and structural peculiarity, as one of the strongest features of his literary texts, has many times prevented any attempts might have been done as part of a process aiming at the incorporation of the writer in a school, a literary movement or a philosophical current. During the years, many generic characterizations have been ascribed at Vouteras’ narratives but they were so various and diverged that made any further attempt of approaching and analyzing the texts looking just impossible, deprived of literary criteria. Nonetheless, we just may find a way of understanding Vouteras if we take into serious consideration the intense and strange commixture of realistic elements as well as the elliptic description and the allusiveness of his texts as data that impoverish the traditional way of representation and can lead us to a typology of synaeresis throughout a poetics of abstraction.
Ο μοντερνισμός και το 'ανοιχτό έργο'
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Drakopoulos, Antony
Please note: this article is in Greek. Modernism and the open work of art: The paper examines the rise of polysemy within the context of modernist poetics. Taking its lead from U. Eco “Opera Aperta” and R. Barthes “S/Z”, it develops the idea that polysemy blossomed as a result of a new epistemological and cultural paradigm which emerged in the western world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It argues that the rapid development of specialisation and fragmentation of knowledge, which are central to this change, contributed to a new perception of reality which in turn gave rise to the open work of art.
Ζητήματα υποδοχής και πρόσληψης του Franz Kafka στην Ελλάδα
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Bakogiannis, Michalis G.
Please note: this article is in Greek. Aspects of Kafka’s reception in Modern Greek Literature: The main objective of this article is to discuss some key aspects of Kafka’s reception in Greece, an issue that has not been studied extensively by Greek criticism. Kafka’s modernism emerges for the first time in Modern Greek Literature during the Inter War years through the translations of Dem. St. Dimou, which were published in the Thessaloniki periodical Makedonikes Imeres. However, the impact of his work can best be perceived in the prose fiction writing of the so-called Second Post-War Generation (or the Generation of the 1960s). Even before though, during the period between the decades of 1940 and 1960, elements of Kafka’s work are to be found in some of the poems of the First Post-War Generation. What insights could we draw from such a finding? What type of stylistic and genealogical relations can be traced in these poems and Kafka’s parabolic writing if examined in parallel? This article will attempt to provide some answers by focusing on the examination of Miltos Sachtouris’s, Manolis Anagnostakis’s, and Giorgis Pavlopoulos’s poems in relation to Kafka’s renowned parable “Before the Law” (The Trial).
Η αρχαιογνωσία στο έργο του Νικηφόρου Βρεττάκου
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Xanthaki-Karamanou, Georgia I.; Panagoulea, Nadia K.
Please note: this article is in Greek. The reception of Greek antiquity in the poetry of Nikiforos Vrettakos: In this communication an attempt is made to trace the influence of ancient Greek literature on the poetry of N. Vrettakos. The poet is proved to be familiar with the ancient Greek language, Greek mythology, and classical texts. Echoes of mythological and historical figures, of vocabulary, imagery, especially metaphors, and motifs from Homer, Aeschylus (Prometheus), Sophocles (Antigone) and other classical authors are found in poems published from the beginning to the end of his prolific poetic career. Special attention is paid to themes prevailing in his poetry and speeches, such as his sensitivity for human beings, for peace and justice, for bravery against invaders, as well as his respect for human rights and Greek language. Some of his typical poems, as that dedicated to R. Oppenheimer, The Return to Delphi, Farewell to the Sun of Greece, and, especially, his Prometheus, clearly reveal the decisive stimulus to his inspiration by ancient Greek culture. More specifically, the examination of Prometheus shows the typically Aeschylean concepts of freedom of mind and man’s struggle against violence and oppression. Vrettakos succeeded in enriching today’s pursuits and perspectives with the values of classical antiquity.
O 'άπλαστος αιθέρας': ειδολογικές επισημάνσεις για την ελεγεία του 19ου αιώνα στα Eπτάνησα (Iουλ. Tυπάλδος και Γερ. Mαρκοράς)
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Angelatos, Dimitris
Please note: this article is in Greek. The “unformed ether”: Some points about the genre of elegy of the 19th century Ionian Islands (Ioulios Typaldos and Gerasimos Markoras): This paper will focus on the one hand on the genre of elegy as it evolved in the Ionian islands during the second half of the nineteenth century and, on the other hand will present some exemplary analyses of poems of two of the most distinguished representatives of this genre: Ioulios Typaldos and Gerasimos Markoras.
Προφορική ιστορία και μνήμη: η μυθοποίηση μιας πραγματικότητας. Η περίπτωση των Ελληνίδων “νυφών με προξενιό” στην Αυστραλία
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Nazou, Panayiota
Please note: this article is in Greek. Oral history and memory: mythologizing of a reality. The case of Greek “proxy brides” in Australia: In this paper we attempt to analyse the narrative conventions through which the experience of Greek “proxy brides”, who came to Australia in the 50s and 60s, is reconstructed and re-told today. Contrary to the official historical narratives which try to persuade their reader about the authenticity and objectivity of their content, these oral narratives are both subjective and “unprocessed”, representing the immediate essence of lived experience. In all their forms, they testify to the selective, somehow falsifying, even mythologising function of memory, as a result of the restrictive barriers imposed on it, not only by the social and cultural reality of today, but much more of an oppressive past. Finally, through such oral narratives we can clearly see the way through which the individual, social/cultural and more importantly the gender identity/conscience of these women has been formed and expressed.
Η μεταναστευτική πολιτική της Αυστραλίας προς την Ελλάδα και οι έλληνες έποικοι της Νοτίου Αυστραλίας 1917–1930
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Palaktsoglou, Maria
Please note: this article is in Greek. The Australian national policy for immigration towards Greece and the Greek settlers of South Australia (1917–1930): In the years after the First World War Australian Immigration Policy towards Greece was stringent and regulated by the “White Australia Policy” and the employment needs of the country. Despite all these, during the period 1917–1930, Greek settlers or immigrants arrived in Australia in greater than before numbers, with the majority of them settling in Western Australia and New South Wales. A relative small number of Greek immigrants chose South Australia as a place of settlement, where their prospect of finding employment was relatively promising and prosperous. With many employment opportunities in the State’s West Coast townships of Port Pirie and Port Augusta (smelters, gypsum, salt works and railway expansion) Greeks congregated there in large numbers and formed a Community as early as 1924. In this paper we examine the Greek presence in South Australia during the years 1917–1930 in relation with the Immigration Policy of Australia at the time.
Η ψυχοδυναμική των διαπολιτισμικών επαφών
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Karalis, Vrasidas
Please note: this article is in Greek. Psychodynamics of inter-cultural encounters (Greek presence in Australian society and the emergence of Greek/Australian subjectivity): The paper explores the discursive practices introduced by the Greek Australian communities over a long period of time in order to express their experience of migration and relocation. It observes that throughout the existing narratives the most obvious trope of articulation is that of “the rhetoric of the victim and of self-victimisation” which permeates most forms of historiography and literature which came out of the Greek-Australian experience. The paper analyses how this trope of representation incapacitated Greek language for establishing symbolic connections and places of convergence with the Australian otherness and consequently how otherness itself remained inarticulate within the creative imaginary of the community. The paper argues that such existential silencing of the Other was due to the interests of the Greek-Orthodox Church which imposed an introverted fear of the Other and to the inability of civil organisations to secularise the political discourses within the Greek-Australian community. Finally the papers cites two testimonies from an ordinary woman and from a prominent politician relocating the centre of the problematic relationship within the Greek-Australian subject itself and its inability to see the different social structure and political representation of the self in liberal democracies of the Anglo-Saxon tradition, having itself being formed under conditions of social oppression and psychological repression. It concludes that migration is an experience which alters both the migrating and the host traditions by fostering a creative osmosis of cultural variables and culture is the space between the institutions of the state which make possible the rise of individuating processes, giving thus the ability to fulfil and develop the potential of the individual.
Εθνική ιδεολογία και νεοελληνική γλυπτική: Η περίπτωση των γλυπτικών απεικονίσεων των Φιλελλήνων
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Mavromichali, Efthimia
Please note: this article is in Greek. National ideology: Sculptural representations of the Fillelines in Greece during the second half of 19th century: In this article I shall examine three works which were created in honour of the Fillenines Byron and Gladstone: the statue of Byron (1881) in the Garden of Heroes in Messolongi, the statue of Gladstone (1885) at the Propylaia of the university of Athens and the group of Greece glorifying Byron (1895) in the Zappeion Garden. They are important works either for the way their realization was organised and completed or for their compositional idea or even for the diplomatic quakes that they caused at the time. Moreover research into the circumstances of their production and of their reception by the public will reveal that interest in sculpture and its works in the period 1878–1888 was rather for their historic importance than for their artistic value.
E-Learning στη Νότια Αυστραλία. Η χρήση των νέων τεχνολογιών στη διδασκαλία της Νέας Ελληνικής σε σχολεία της Νότιας Αυστραλίας
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Litinas, Antonios
Please note: this article is in Greek. E-Learning of Modern Greek in South Australian schools: This paper attempts to look into the usage of new technologies in teaching Modern Greek in five South Australian Schools, four of them public and one independent. A questionnaire was given to one hundred students with the objective of collecting and analyzing the results. Based on the data collected, a number of conclusions were drawn regarding whether new technologies are actually used, to what extent, and what should be done to utilize them with the best outcome in the future.
Το ελληνικό στοιχείο του Ρίβερλαντ
(Flinders University Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2009) Tsianikas, Michael
Please note: this article is in Greek. The Greek settlement in the Riverland: This paper will focus on the presence of the Greek element in the Riverland area. Firstly I examine the historical development of the Greek communities living in the main areas of Riverland: Paringa, Renmark, Berri, Barmera, Loxton and Waikerie by using census data from 1911–2006. Then I summarize the Greek involvement and their contribution to the agricultural sector in the development of the Riverland. Also describing and historically assessing the creation of the most significant cultural institutions like schools and churches as well as festivals and other cultural activities will be another focus. In some cases distinctive individuals will be highlighted. This research is based on official data, some limited previous academic research, the local press, interviews, as well as archival material from Greek institutions. In addition, over the last few years I conducted many interviews with local people and extracts from their stories will be presented.

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