Yesterday, on March 20, 2023, a successful workshop titled “Philhellenism across the ages” came to a close. The Workshop was co-hosted by the Museum of Philhellenism in Athens and the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies. Mr. Christos Aliprantis, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University specializing in philhellenism research, spoke at the event and, through fostering a framework of dialogue and interaction with the attendees, he delved into the previously uncharted territory of philhellenism.

To see more exciting events, stay tuned!

On the occasion of the speech on German Philhellenism by the author, curator of the Philhellenic Library, and member of the Advisory Committee of the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism, Mr. Konstantinos Papailiou, the Museum of Philhellenism had the pleasure of hosting the Greek-German Association “Philadelphia”, on January 14, 2023.

After the speech, the President of the Museum, Mr. Konstantinos Velentzas, guided the members of the Association through the Museum’s collections, highlighting the under-lit parts in the history of the Philhellenic movement.

 

 

The Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism (SHP), organizes in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens at the Philhellenism Museum, an event entitled: “American Philhellenism and human rights”.

The event is organized in collaboration with “This is Athens” as part of the program of “This is Athens City Festival”.

Invited are renowned Philhellenes and personalities in the field of education, business, and politics. Among them are Mr. Jacques Bouchard, Professor at the University of Montreal, Ms. Catherine Elisabeth Fleming, Rector of New York University, Mr. Alexander Kitroeff, Greek Historian, Professor of History at Haverford College, Pennsylvania, USA, and Visiting Professor at CYA, Mr. Mark Mazower, Professor of History at Columbia University in New York, members of the American College of Greece (Deree, Pierce, ALBA), the American College of Anatolia Thessaloniki, the American Community Schools of Athens and Athens College.

During the event, SHP will announce the award of the Lord Byron Medal to Professors Jacques Bouchard, Catherine Elisabeth Fleming and Mark Mazower.

The event will be coordinated by Ms. Katerina Sokou, Washington DC correspondent for Kathimerini and SKAI and nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council.

The event will take place on May 31, 2022 at 19.00, at the Philhellenism Museum, 12 Zisimopoulou, 11524 Athens.

For information:

Ms. Leoni P. Thanassoula
info@phmus.org
+30.210.8094750

 

 

On the occasion of the 225th anniversary from the birth of the great Philhellene chief physician Heirich Treiber (1796 – 1882), the member of the advisory committee of SHP Costas Papailiou and his wife Margarita, visited the birthplace of the great Philhellene, the beautiful town of Meiningen in Thüringen, and paid tribute to the Treiber family tomb, which has been declared a protected monument in the area. They also located the Treiber’s family home in Meiningen Square, where his father ran the Pharmacy of the Court.

 

 

More details about Heirich Treiber and his enormous contribution to the Greek Revolution of 1821 can be found on the SHP’s website:

 

 

 

 

 

he Philhellenism Museum had the pleasure and honor to host at its premises the descendants of the great Italian Philhellene Michele Roccavilla who fought on the side of the Greeks during the War of Independence, and sacrificed himself for Greece.

The staff guided Alberto and Anna Roccavilla to the Museum and its collections. They then discussed the biography of their great ancestor and hero of the Greek Revolution and the contribution of the Italian Philhellenes to Greece and exchanged information on their sources and bibliography.

Mr. Alberto Roccavilla donated to the Museum the very important book he has written, presenting the life and work of his ancestor.

Alberto and Anna Roccavilla offered to help SHP and the Philhellenism Museum to seek information about other Italian Philhellenes, especially from the Piedmont area and to identify their descendants.

SHP thanked Alberto and Anna Roccavilla and announced its decision to honor them with the Lord Byron Medal at the relevant ceremony that will take place in 2022.

The following is a brief biography of their important ancestor.

Roccavilla, Michele (-1827). Italian Philhellene from Revello. Officer of the Sardinian Army. He was exiled from his country, due to the failure of the Italian patriotic revolution in March 1821, in which he had participated. At the end of 1825 he joined the Regular Army as a major under the orders of the French Philhellene Charles Fabvier. He distinguished himself in the battle of Chaidari on August 6, 1826, where he saved the Regular Army from an eventual destruction, due to the Turkish armament superiority. He was also distinguished in the siege of the Acropolis of Athens from the end of August 1826 until the defeat of the Greeks in the battle of Analatos, on April 24, 1827. Then he fell ill and was transferred to Methana, where he died on October 24, 1827.

 

 

 

Boris Johnson spoke ancient Greek at the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2021.

The British Prime Minister asked the citizens to mobilize for the environment, with references to Sophocles: “Sophocles had said “πολλὰ τὰ δεινὰ κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει“. The human species is wonderful. It is scary, but also admirable.

Boris Johnson used Antigone, “there are many terrible things, but there is nothing more terrible than man”, to emphasize that people are capable of evil, but also good, and asked humanity to mature.

He then called on all countries to participate in the 26th United Nations Conference on the Environment to be held in Glasgow in October 2021.

Boris Johnson, proved that philhellenism remains a corner stone of western civilization and a cultural package which contains solutions for all the challenges that humanity faces over time.

 

 

SHP and the Philhellenism Museum supported the International Symposium «Das befreite Griechenland und die klassische Antike» («The liberated Greece and the Classical Antiquity (1821-2021)») and the accompanying periodical exhibition, held at the University of Graz in Austria, during September 16-18, 2021. The initiative was taken by the Lecturer of Classical Archeology at the University of Graz, Elli Papazoi and was placed under the auspices of the Embassy of Greece in Austria.

 

 

In 2021, apart from the great anniversary of the 200 years since the beginning of the national liberation struggle of the Greeks, 225 years have passed since the birth of the important philhellene and composer Johan Daniel Elster. This Philhellene survived the catastrophic battle of Peta and is the only eyewitness on what happened there. He described these historical events in detail in his well-known book “The Battalion of the Philhellenes”.

An honorary event will take place on this occasion on September 12, 2021 in the birthplace of Elster in Benshausen, Germany, in which the keynote speaker will be Professor Kostas Papailiou, member of the Advisory Committee of the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism. In his speech, Mr. Papailiou will refer to the great role of Philhellenism in the National Uprising.

 

 

The Philhellenism Museum organizes in August – September 2021 an exhibition entitled “1821: Philhellenism and the struggle of the Greeks at sea”, at the Kairios library in Chora, Andros. The exhibition honors the struggle of the Greeks at sea and the memory of the Belgian Philhellene Auguste Delannoy, who after fighting heroically in many battles in Greece, left his last breath in Andros.

 

Andros

 

 

 

 

 

The Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism (SHP) participated in the ceremony organized on June 20, 2021 by the Municipality of Peta (municipality of Nikolaos Skoufa) in favor of the fallen Hungarian Philhellenes in Peta.

During the event, the mayor of Peta, Ms. Rozina Vavetsi, and the Greek-Hungarian Ambassador to Greece, Erik Haupt, inaugurated a monument in memory of the Hungarian Philhellenes fighters who died in Greece during the Greek struggle for liberation.

Two members of SHP’s advisory committee presented the relations between Greece and Hungary, the contribution of the Hungarian Philhellenes to the struggle of the Greeks and the participation of the Hungarians in the battle of Peta.

Then the Municipality of Peta (Nikolaos Skoufa), declared the ambassador Mr. Erik Haupt, honorary citizen.

The Battle of Peta is a milestone in the history of Europe, because for the first time European citizens from many different countries, who had been hostile to each other until then, came together to fight under the same flag for the same common values ​​that make up the European civilisation.

The mayor Ms. Rozina Vavetsi implements a series of pioneering actions of high quality and aesthetics, which promote internationally the history and culture of the region and Greece, placing Peta at the center of international interest. SHP supports the work of the municipality of Nikolaos Skoufa Peta, with an emphasis on a series of events planned for during 2021, and for July 2022, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Peta.