FOOD AND DRINK IN EARLY MODERN GREECE
A talk by Alfred Vincent
The “Mediterranean diet” is often recommended as a key to good health. But how old and how traditional is it? What did Greeks eat before the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes and other “foreign” foods? How far did the rich eat differently from the poor? How were issues of food security addressed? What was the role of wine in people’s diet? Answers can be found in memoirs and archival documents, especially from areas formerly under western domination, such as Crete, Cyprus and the Ionian Islands. Alfred will present the results of research on these topics. The event is hosted by the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens.
Wednesday 28 February
6pm
Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens, Room 480, Madsen Building (F09, near City Road entrance), University of Sydney
Free. Refreshments will be served.
Bookings: 9351 4759 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Language: English
Pythagoras: the Samian Philosopher
Vasilis Adrahtas will present a talk on one of Samos’ greatest contributions to civilisation, the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. He will delve into the philosopher’s life and work, including the theorem which has made him a household name. Light refreshments will be served following the talk, with Samian wines and ouzo on offer.
Saturday 3 March
2pm
Samian Brotherhood, 223 Great North Road, Five Dock
Free
Language: Greek
Νά ο πατέρας σου Βαγγελάκη
The launch of the book by Maria Haniotou
This enthralling historical novel portrays the life of an orphan from the year 1922 to the end of the Greek Civil War. Vangelakis, instead of going to school, is sold for 300 drachmas per year and a load of wheat so that his mother and younger brother could live. In 1940 he enlists in the war against the Italians. Afterwards he fights the Germans and then experiences the terrors of the Civil War. However, he survives. He finds hope and emotional warmth in sweet Antonia, who carries him out of the jaws of fear and terror.
Sunday 4 March
4pm
Cypriot Club, 58-76 Stanmore Road, Stanmore
Free
Language: Greek
Ancient Cypriot Art in the Nicholson Museum
Australian archaeologists have been working in Cyprus since the 1930s; the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney holds a collection of several thousand Cypriot antiquities. In this free one-hour guided tour an archaeologist will explore the artistic development of the island’s traditions over thousands of years and share stories on some of the Australian excavations and research into Cyprus’s past. Using the museum’s collection as a starting point, discover the rich history of ancient Cyprus and the stunning geometric and animal designs that make the island’s art so unique.
Monday 5 March
3.30pm
Nicholson Museum, Main Quadrangle, The University of Sydney
Free
Bookings: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. or 9351 2812
Language: English
Kythera, Secret and Unexpected
Slideshow presentation and talk by photographer and travel guide author Tzeli Hadjidimitriou.
A relationship with Kythera can only be passionate; visitors are enthralled by the scent of wild grasses, the running streams, the stillness of a deserted beach and the steady flight of the eagle. Resisting the ferocious spread of mass tourism, Kythera, enticing and sensual, invites you, through the photos of Tzeli Hadjidimitriou, on a journey of discovery that may change your life for ever.
Sunday 11 March
2.30 pm
Kythera House, Suite 1, 24 King Street, Rockdale
Free
Bookings: 9599 6998 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Language: Greek and English
Dancing with the Light
Photographs of Lesvos and Kythera
Photographer and travel writer Tzeli Hadjidimitriou shares with us moments from Lesvos, the island where she was born and raised, and Kythera, the island she fell in love with many years ago. Evoking sensations and experiences that derive mostly from nature and less often from the daily human presence, while avoiding the superficial convenience of digital photography the photographs do not simply portray a beautiful landscape; they invite us to hear the sounds of its waters, calm and stormy, to feel the heat of its earth, burnt by the sun, to gaze at its moonlight, to feel the humidity of its forests.
Tuesday 13 – Saturday 17 March
Times: Tue: 11am-3pm
Wed-Fri: 11am-6pm
Sat: 11am-4pm
Kudos Gallery, 6 Napier Street, Paddington
Free
Hellenic Communities of the Mediterranean
Hellenes have been everywhere! From the shores of Spain to Asia, you can find traces of ancient colonies, conquests, migration and great Hellenic and Byzantine empires. This talk provides a snapshot of historic communities across the Mediterranean, from the ancient colonies to the modern era. We will hear how these communities came about, how they survived and what impact they have had on Hellenism and/or the host country.
The presenters, lawyer and writer Costa Vertzayias AM and documentary maker and journalist Billy Cotsis, have both travelled extensively across the Mediterranean. This event is supported by Beta Bar and Hellenic Club of NSW.
Tuesday 27 March
6.45 pm
Beta Bar, 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney
Free. Refreshments will be served.
Bookings: 9750 0440 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Language: English + Greek
LAUGHTER LINES
THE LEGACY OF GREEK NEW COMEDY
A Talk by Alfred Vincent
In the fourth century BCE, Athenian writers developed a new kind of comedy, whose brightest star was Menander (342/341-291/290). Based on situations and characters from everyday urban life, the New Comedy left a legacy that was taken up by the writers of ancient Rome and the western Renaissance, and can still be seen today. We will trace this legacy with Powerpoint slides and with examples (in English) from plays by, among others, Menander, Plautus, Machiavelli and Shakespeare.
Tuesday 10 April
7pm
Greek Community Club – 206-210 Lakemba Street, Lakemba
Free
Language: English
Hopeless Heroes
Meet the author and take part in a writing workshop
Hopeless Heroes is a series of children’s books with fun-filled adventure stories based on Greek mythology. Author Stella Tarakson combines her life-long love of mythology – thanks to her Greek parents! – with engaging characters and hilarious situations. This is your chance to meet the author and join her in a creative writing workshop on all things Greek. Suitable for ages 7-10.
Friday 20 April
10.30 am
St Peters/Sydenham Library, St Peters Town Hall, Unwins Bridge Road, Sydenham
Free
Bookings: innerwestlibraries.eventbrite.com.au
Language: English
