Greece

The site of ancient Corinth was first inhabited in the Neolithic period (5000-3000 BC), and flourished as a major Greek city from the 8th century BC until its destruction by the Romans in 146 BC. Its commanding position on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow strip of land that separates the Peloponnese from northern Greece, was the primary basis of its importance. In Greek mythology, it was in Corinth that Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, abandoned Medea. During the Trojan War Corinthians participated under the leadership of Agamemnon. Being a leading naval power as well as a rich commercial city enabled ancient Corinth to establish colonies in Syracuse on the island of Sicily. Beginning in 582 BC, in the spring of every second year the Isthmian Games were celebrated in honor of the sea god Poseidon. The Corinthians developed the Corinthian order, the third order of the classical architecture after the Ionic and the Doric. The city was a major participant in the Persian Wars, offering forty war ships in the sea Battle of Salamis. After the end of the Peloponnesian War, Corinth and Thebes, which were former allies with Sparta in the Peloponnesian League, had grown dissatisfied with the hegemony of Sparta and started the Corinthian War against it. Corinth was conquered by Philip II of Macedon in 338 BC, but it was named the meeting place of Philip's new Hellenic confederacy. After Philip was assassinated, Alexander the Great immediately came to Corinth to meet with the confederacy, confirm his leadership, and forestall any thoughts of rebellion. At the Isthmian Games of 336 BC, the Greeks chose Alexander the Great to lead them in war against the Persians. Corinth was partially destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, but in 44 BC it was rebuilt as a Roman city under Julius Caesar. The Apostle Paul visited Corinth in the 50s AD and later wrote two letters to the Christian community at Corinth (the books of Corinthians in the New Testament). Although Paul intended to pass through Corinth a second time before he visited Macedonia, circumstances were such that he first went from Troas to Macedonia before stopping at Corinth for a "second benefit". In 267 AD, the invasion of the Herulians initiated the decline of the city. During Alaric's invasion of Greece in 395–396, he destroyed Corinth and sold many of its citizens into slavery. Nevertheless, Corinth remained inhabited for many centuries through successive invasions, destructions and plagues.

Kevrekidis Photography at deviantART

©2009 Jordan Kevrekidis

Amarynthos (Vatheia) – Evia, Greece.

Αμάρυνθος (Βάθεια) – Εύβοια.

Kevrekidis Photography at deviantART

©2009 Jordan Kevrekidis

Epiphany (alteration of Greek epiphaneia appearance, manifestation, from epiphainein to manifest), or 'The Blessing of the Waters', is held every year on January 6 throughout all of Greece. In this ritual a priests toss a cross in the waters, followed by young men diving into the frigid sea to retrieve the symbol of the Christian faith. The brave swimmer who recovers the cross is thought to be blessed with good luck throughout the year.

Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is over precisely which historical events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi, while in the East the feast celebrates the Baptism of Christ in river Jordan. However, in both cases the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world (whether as an infant or in the Jordan), and the Mystery of the Incarnation.

For the Orthodox Christians called the Feast of Theophany (Greek: Θεοφάνεια, "God shining forth" or "divine manifestation"), it is one of the Great Feasts of the liturgical year. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. Theophanies occur throughout Greek mythology, while the Iliad is our earliest source for descriptions in the Classical tradition.

Kevrekidis Photography at deviantART

©2009 Jordan Kevrekidis

Greetings from Greece!
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Kevrekidis Photography at deviantART

©2008 Jordan Kevrekidis

National Metsoveion Polytechnic School of Athens – Greece.
Monument to the victims of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising, 17 November, 1973.

In April 21, 1967, Greece had been under a military dictatorship (Junta), a regime which abolished civil rights, dissolved political parties and exiled, imprisoned and tortured politicians and citizens based on their political beliefs.
The Polytechnion Uprising is an outstanding event in recent Greek history. On November, 1973 students at the Athens Polytechnic School (Polytechneion) went on strike, barricaded themselves in the school campus and started protesting against the military regime. Events began on November 14th and ended on November 17th, 1973 with the unprovoked intervention of army tanks and the attack by the army and police against those besieged inside the Polytechnic Campus and the demonstrating supporters outside in Patission Street. These few days saw the growth of an impressive popular uprising centered at the Polytechnic School. The people of Greece and the country's youth all rallied in support of the students, united around the ideals: Freedom, Democracy, Independence, Education and Social Progress. The toll of the Polytechnion uprising was tragic. Several demonstrators were killed; many more were arrested by the military police and were tortured for months in military prisons. The Junta fell a few months later and Polytechnion is being commemorated every year on November the 17th. The student uprising was a courageous and heroic act of resistance against the military dictatorship, and therefore a symbol of resistance to tyranny.

Kevrekidis Photography at deviantART

©2008 Jordan Kevrekidis

Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο.
Το μνημείο του αγώνα των φοιτητών στο προαύλιο του Πολυτεχνείου.