OSU Modern Greek faculty participate in the Columbus Greek Festival

A 20 minute visual presentation on the history of modern Athens, from the early 19th century to the present. The presentation will discuss how major historical events such as the establishment of the Greek state in the 1830s, WWII, urbanization in the aftermath of the Civil War, and the 2004 Athens Olympics transformed the Greek capital. Lecturer: Dr. Georgios Anagnostou of The Ohio State University Modern Greek Studies Program.

Are you curious about poetry? Have you read any poems since college? Come in and take the journey with us today. In this session we will talk about the famous poem, “Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy, one of the most influential poets in the world. We will read the poem together and consider the meaning it has for us. We will consider the special wisdom Cavafy shares with us about life as a voyage. Appreciate this voyage, Cavafy says, because it is the only you have. Lecturer: Dr. Gregory Jusdanis of The Ohio State University Modern Greek Studies Program.

Greeks today identify with their extended families; in antiquity Greece was a tribal society before states like Athens adopted democracy. This talk will describe the Greek tribal system as we find it in Homer, and its destruction in relation to the emergence of democracy and history. We will also find some surprising grounds for comparison with American Indians. Lecturer: Dr. Christopher Brown of the Modern Greek Studies Program of The Ohio State University