Greece

Athens is an historical anomaly. Excavations date itsfirst settlement to over seven thousand years ago, yet itonly became the capital of Greece in 1834. During theintervening centuries it was occupied by almost everymobile culture in Europe: from its earliest likelysettlers, tribes from what is now Albania, to Nazi forcesduring the second World War, and in between by successivewaves of Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Slavs, Goths,Venetians, French, Catalans, Turks, Italians, Bulgariansand the clans of various kings and tyrants of theregion's early city-states. There has been a structure onits 'high city', the acropolis, since at least the bronzeage, although it was subsequently altered by successiveoccupiers, becoming a fort, castle, temple, mosque,church and even a harem. its 'Golden Age' peaked in thefifth century BCE, with the great building projects ofPericles and Themistocles, and its later history is oneof a city already nostalgic for its past, although at atime when other European cities had yet to beginconstructing a past.

Jill Dudley writes about the earliest myths regarding the Acropolis, the strange birth of the goddess Athena, and the contest between her and Poseidon, god of the sea, for the patronage of the city. She explains the reason for the Panathenaia festival, and describes the importance of the goddess' image (said to have fallen from heaven) on which the defence of the city was thought to depend. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

Athens Unveiled is a photo essay book about late Nineteenth century Athens through her streets and neighbourhoods. This book will appeal to travellers, adventurers, architects, architecture lovers, artists, historians, and urban anthropologists who wish to experience the city off the beaten track by visiting quaint streets and neighbourhoods that hold a historical relevance to the development of modern Athens. An insider's view of the quaint streets and neighbourhoods that defined the character of Modern Athens. Every year millions of travellers arrive in Athens eager to catch a glimpse of the ancient city and savour its classical heritage. But what about the late nineteenth century Athens with her neoclassical buildings, wide avenues and literary salons? An Athens where music wafted from King Otto's palace and the aristocracy waltzed under crystal chandeliers. A city of dignitaries, scholars and architects drawing plans and reworking them, leaving their mark on every dimension of the young capital. An Athens where commoners hovered around dimly lit fires and children played in the mud amidst the ancient ruins. Where criminals settled disputes with drawn knives and prostitutes roamed the ports luring sailors into filthy, smoke-filled taverns. Where Greek refugees lived in wind-swept streets with no sewers or running water, singing about their troubles under the stars. An Athens where intellectuals, writers, poets, and artists converged in local caf?s planning the future of the newly founded nation, discussing philosophy, literature, and their shared passion for reclaiming Greece for the Greeks. Athens Unveiled pays homage to the people, streets, and neighbourhoods of late nineteenth century Athens, where some of the finest neoclassical buildings still stand next to abandoned mansions, brothels, and old factories; where people still bargain the prices of clothes and produce on the old streets of commerce and where young artists create powerful murals, bringing everything about the city into sharp focus.

Located in Athens, in the historic neighbourhood of Makrygianni, the New Acropolis Museum stands less than 1,000 feet southeast of the Parthenon, at the entrance of a network of pedestrian walkways that link the key archaeological sites and monuments of the Acropolis.This location was carefully selected to enable a dialogue between the Museum's exhibition spaces and the Acropolis buildings. Bernard Tschumi Architects won the commission in 2001 as the result of a design competition. The design was chosen for its simple, clear and beautiful solution, which is in accord with the beauty and classical simplicity of the Museum's unique exhibits. It ensures a museological and architectural experience that is relevant today and for the foreseeable future - so states Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum and author of this volume.

In this new book, David Ellis traces Byron's life from rented lodgings in Aberdeen to the crumbling splendours of Newstead Abbey and then on to his grand tour of the East. Describing his exile from England after a disastrous marriage, and subsequent travels in Italy and Greece, he shows how completely Byron's experiences coloured his writings, drawing out the tension between the 'serious' works (Childe Harold, The Corsair) and his more comic writings. Although the former brought him early fame and fortune, it is the latter which now seem most worthwhile. Byron is a fresh, concise and clear-eyed account of the flamboyant poet's life and work.

Roderick Beaton re-examines Lord Byron's life and writing through the long trajectory of his relationship with Greece. Beginning with the poet's youthful travels in 1809-1811, Beaton traces his years of fame in London and self-imposed exile in Italy, that culminated in the decision to devote himself to the cause of Greek independence. Then comes Byron's dramatic self-transformation, while in Cephalonia, from Romantic rebel to 'new statesman', subordinating himself for the first time to a defined, political cause, in order to begin laying the foundations, during his 'hundred days' at Missolonghi, for a new kind of polity in Europe - that of the nation-state as we know it today. Byron's War draws extensively on Greek historical sources and other unpublished documents to tell an individual story that also offers a new understanding of the significance that Greece had for Byron, and of Byron's contribution to the origin of the present-day Greek state.

C. P. Cavafy, one of the greatest modern Greek poets, lived in Alexandria for all but a few of his seventy years. Alexandria became, for Cavafy, a central poetic metaphor and eventually a myth encompassing the entire Greek world. In this, the first full-length critical work on Cavafy in English, Keeley describes Cavafy's literary progress and aesthetic development in the making of that myth.

Children of Chance – An Atheist’s Journey Through the Ages takes the reader back to the 7th century BCE, narrating the thoughts and achievements of the Greek Ionian thinkers who first established western civilization’s scientific method. In the following chapters, the author narrates the abuses perpetrated by organized religion throughout the ages and the struggle of pioneer scientists to cope with dogmatic concepts. In the epilogue, the author laments the current situation on Earth perpetrated by the influence of what he calls “impostors,” religion, and nationalism.

Με μεγάλη χαρά ανακοινώνουμε την κυκλοφορία μιας νέας σειράς αγγλικών βιβλίων για μικρούς και μεγάλους που εισάγουν τους αναγνώστες στον κόσμο και στον πολιτισμό της αρχαίας Ελλάδας μέσα από τις εμβληματικές ηρωίδες της μυθολογίας. Είτε πρόκειται για διασκευές κλασικών τραγωδιών του Ευριπίδη, του Αισχύλου και του Σοφοκλή είτε για πρωτότυπα έργα βασισμένα σε γνωστές πηγές, τα βιβλία αυτά έχουν στόχο να παρασύρουν τους αναγνώστες σε ένα ταξίδι γεμάτο περιπέτεια, δράμα, θάνατο και έρωτα, ενώ παράλληλα εστιάζουν στις γυναίκες που έπαιξαν τόσο σημαντικό ρόλο στην ιστορία μας -και συχνά εξακολουθούν να μνημονεύονται ως απλοί θεατές. Η σειρά ξεκινά με έξι βιβλία: Μήδεια, Κίρκη, Ηλέκτρα, Ελένη, Αριάδνη και Αντιγόνη. Τα τρία πρώτα εκδίδονται τον Μάρτιο του 2024, ενώ τα επόμενα τρία το καλοκαίρι. Κάθε βιβλίο μπορεί να διαβαστεί ξεχωριστά και μπορείτε να αρχίσετε την ανάγνωση με οποιαδήποτε σειρά, όμως υπάρχει ένα βασικό νήμα που εντέλει συνδέει όλους αυτούς τους χαρακτήρες και παρέχει μια ευρύτερη άποψη για το τι ήταν να είσαι γυναίκα στον αρχαίο ελληνικό κόσμο. Τα ιδιαίτερα εξώφυλλα της σειράς έχει φιλοτεχνήσει η ταλαντούχα εικονογράφος Little Miss Grumpy. Γέννημα-θρέμμα Αθηναία, είχε όνειρο να γίνει ηθοποιός, αλλά τελικά έγινε μια από τις πιο πολλά υποσχόμενες εικονογράφους της γενιάς της. Σχεδιάζει, σκιτσάρει και ζωγραφίζει για βιβλία και εφημερίδες και δημιουργεί αντικείμενα με… προσωπικότητα.