J A N 2 0 1 6 $4.95

John Kiriakou Patriot Award Winner

Prof. Dimitri Nakassis Challenges Long Held Views on Mycenaean Civilization

Eric Alexandrakis Remixes Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Theodoros Kiriacopulos: the Unsung Hero of the Mexican Revolution

LEADERSHIP 100 CHAIRMAN GEORGE TSANDIKOS THE SON OF A PRIEST SERVING THE CHURCH IN HIS OWN WAY

I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York the majority of my life. I MOVING ON was born in Greece, on the :: magazine island of Chios, then joined FOUNDED IN 2005 BY my family in Montreal, know if Greeks still live Demetrios Rhompotis Canada when I was seven. there: we were immigrants Dimitri Michalakis Then moved with them to then and found the rent Kyprianos Bazenikas Chicago for almost ten years. c h e a p s o i t ’ s l i k e l y Then came to Brooklyn. Then prospering Greeks have Publishing went back to Chicago. Then moved uptown. Committee Chairman came to Brooklyn to stay for Demetrios Rhompotis good. We lived in a section of A s f o r o u r G r e e k :: magazine (718) 554-0308 Brooklyn called Bay Ridge, neighborhood in Chicago, PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN NEW YORK [email protected] which is near the Verrazano c l u s t e r e d a r o u n d t h e Director of Operations Bridge. In fact, I remember Assumption Church on Kyprianos Bazenikas when they were building it Editor in Chief: [email protected] South Central Avenue, the and the two towers stood church remains, and the Dimitri C. Michalakis alone in the water, rust- [email protected] Marketing & Advertising colored, and without their school which my father Director elegant string of hanging administered as the principal Tommy Harmantzis cables. Before the bridge, we (now leased to a private Western Region Desk (347) 613-4163 had to take the Staten Island s c h o o l ) . B u t t h e - Los Angeles [email protected] Ferry to go to Staten Island neighborhood which I Alexander Mizan and New Jersey and points beyond. I remember, a thriving Greektown where [email protected] ATHENS - GREECE remember walking outside my uncle’s house the gas stations on either side were Greek, - San Jose Office Public Relations & on the route to the ferry and seeing the street and the funeral home down the block, Marketing Director clogged with cars waiting endlessly it seems Andrea Photopoulos Rita Despotidis and the Greek foods emporium across the [email protected] to board. I remember wanting to cool off in street where my father and I stopped for [email protected] the summer and paying a nickel (five cents!) groceries and I smelled the lamb roasting Baltimore Desk NEO Magazine to board the ferry for the ride to Staten Island Georgia Vavas in the refreshing harbor breeze, grabbing a and the potatoes and the olives in brine is published monthly by [email protected] Neocorp Media Inc. hamburger on the other side, and then paying and the feta cheese as creamy as froth and P.O. Box 560105 a nickel to get back. It was our summer the men and women doing their groceries College Point, NY 11356 outing. while they popped roasted chick peas and Photo/Fashion Phone: (718) 554-0308 caught up on their gossip, they’re all gone e-Fax: (718) 878-4448 New York: ETA Press [email protected] The neighborhood in Bay Ridge has remained and our old house on Lotus Avenue was a relatively stable: in fact, it’s prospered and the hollowed-out wreck with the shades [email protected] houses we lived in you can’t buy now unless Los Angeles: Nick Dimitrokalis Check our website hanging out the broken windows. “It’ll www.neomagazine.com you’re a millionaire. Many well-to-do Greeks come back,” one titan of business who (951) 764-5737 live in Bay Ridge and now there are Greek comes from Chicago assured me, “It’ll [email protected] restaurants serving Greed food aplenty and come back because the real estate is their prices have gone steadily up. cheap.” As a man of business, he was Graphic Design But our house in Greece, the house where I thinking of business. And I hope he’s right NEOgraphix.us because we Greeks are restless people grew up on Chios, has collapsed and lies a Adrian Salescu ruin behind chicken wire. The hill where we and nomads and what we leave behind in chased butterflies and we chased each other our travels are a string of bittersweet in the field of wheat now has an apartment memories. Athens Desk building blocking it with wash on the line. I Konstantinos Rhompotis don’t know what happened to our old (01130) 210 51 42 446 neighborhood in Montreal, it was well in the (01130) 6937 02 39 94 suburbs and might have survived, but I don’t [email protected]

COVER PHOTO BY DIMITRIOS PANAGOS

Nakassis’s multifaceted approach to the study Dimitri Nakassis of Bronze Age Greece Receives is redefining the methodologies and The MacArthur Foundation’s frameworks of the field, and his “Genious Grant” Challenging nuanced picture of political authority Long Held Views on and modes of economic exchange in Mycenaean Civilization Mycenaean Greece is The MacArthur Foundation announced recently the recipients of the illuminating the 2015 MacArthur Fellowiship, commonly known as the “genius prehistoric grants,” including classicist Dimitri Nakassis. He and 23 other underpinnings of exceptionally creative Fellows will receive a no-strings-attached Western civilization. $625,000 grant for their cutting-edge work that is transforming their fields. Nakassis is a classicist transforming our understanding of prehistoric Greek societies. His rare intellectual breadth, comprising philology, archaeology, and contemporary social and economic theory, has equipped him to challenge the long-held view that Late Bronze Age Mycenaean palatial society (1400–1200 BC) was a highly centralized oligarchy, quite distinct from the democratic city-states of classical Greece. Instead, he proposes that power and resources were more broadly shared. This thesis, developed in his first book, Individuals and Society in Mycenaean Pylos (2013), is derived from a meticulous reinterpretation of Pylos’s administrative and accounting records (found on clay tablets and written in the early Greek script, Linear B). Standard interpretations of the tablets suppose a rigid political structure in which a small group of palace elites controlled and distributed all resources. Nakassis re-examined this model using a traditional method, prosopography, but through the lens of contemporary theoretical discussions of agency and structure. He determined that some recurrences of a personal name refer to the same individual playing multiple, sometimes competing, roles. This insight offers an alternative picture of the Mycenaean world as a more open society with a dynamic and competitive economic structure that displays some similarities to the democratic polis of classical Greece. Nakassis is testing his hypothesis through an archaeological survey, the Western Argolid Regional Project that will reconstruct the settlement history of a core region of the Mycenaean world from prehistory to modern times and clarify how Mycenaean states mobilized labor, incorporated peripheral communities, and expressed power over many centuries. He is also co-directing a new study of the Linear B tablets from Pylos that includes the use of digital imaging technologies (three-dimensional scanning and Reflectance Transformation Imaging, a kind of computational photography) to produce high-quality print and digital editions of these important documents for the first time. Nakassis’s multifaceted approach to the study of Bronze Age Greece is redefining the methodologies and frameworks of the field, and his nuanced picture of political authority and modes of economic exchange in Mycenaean Greece is illuminating the prehistoric underpinnings of Western civilization. Dimitri Nakassis received a B.A. (1997) from the University of Michigan and an M.A. (2000) and Ph.D. (2006) from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the faculty of the University of Toronto in 2008, where he is currently an associate professor in the Department of Classics, and he has been a visiting professor at the University of Colorado Boulder (2014¬–2015), the Florida State University (2007–2008), and Trinity University (2006–2007). His articles and essays have appeared in the American Journal of Archaeology, Hesperia, and Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, among others.

Source, MacArthur Foundation. 1 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S

25th ANNUAL LEADERSHIP 100 CONFERENCE TO CONVENE IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

The program on Friday, February 19, A property developer, Kounalakis is faced with will begin with a lecture by His organizing dinners and diplomatic meetings Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, while her husband, Markos, a journalist, is followed by the General Assembly. discouraged from attending diplomats’ spouses’ There will be a Business Forum in the gatherings. Her children, meanwhile, are faced afternoon, with the speaker to be with unexpected challenges at a new school. announced. Also scheduled for later Friday afternoon is the Orientation for Politically active, Kounalakis served as a delegate new members. The evening will include to the Democratic National Convention four both a Leadership 100 Partners times. She and her husband founded two reception and the Hellenic Glendi. university chairs in Hellenic Studies, at The Saturday, February 20 events will include a Special κών

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At the Grand Banquet on Saturday evening, the A r c h b i s h o p l a k o v o s Leadership 100 Award for Pavlos Yeroulanos Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis Excellence will be presented to the worthy recipients. Prior to the Georgetown and Stanford Universities, and a The 25th Annual Leadership 100 Conference will Banquet, new and fulfilled members will be lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson convene at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, recognized with the presentation of Icons and International Center for Scholars. She has been February 18-21, 2016. The Opening Forum, on Obelisks. awarded the Medal of St. Paul by the Greek Thursday, February 18, will be led by the V. Rev. Fr. Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Christopher T. Metropulos, the new President of At 9 a.m. on Sunday, February 21, the Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will be School of Theology, the major beneficiary of celebrated at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Leadership 100 grants, and will be followed by the Phoenix. traditional Bible Study of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. The Thursday afternoon Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, a Hellenism Forum will feature a presentation by longtime member of Leadership 100, Pavlos Yeroulanos, Greece’s former Minister for will address the Saturday Forum on the Culture and Tourism, along with exhibits from the subject of her recently published Benaki Museum of Athens. Yeroulanos is the memoir, Madame Ambassador: Three great-grandson of the museum’s founder, Antonis Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties, and Benaki. The Benaki Museum exhibits, mounted at Democracy in Budapest. She served as the Museum’s expense prior to a United States U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from tour, will comprise 40-50 exact replicas from the January 7, 2010 to July 20, 2013. museum illustrating Greek art from the pre- historic to the contemporary period, a replica of The memoir, released on May 5, 2015, the notable St. Nicholas Icon, and the original recounts her experiences being vetted album of photographs from the first modern for the position with no background in Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. diplomacy, attending an ambassador “charm school” and an intensive The official opening of the exhibits with an training session. However, in taking up Agiasmos (blessing) by the Archbishop, will follow her assignment in the former Soviet a “Symphony at Sunset” conducted by Peter satellite, she feels that nothing could Tiboris. The day’s events will close with the have prepared her for the realities of life Welcome Reception. in Hungary. Spyros Louis, first Olympic Marathon winner.

1 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S

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G L 4 2 The Grant Committee is presently reviewing a What is your sales pitch when you are trying to the actual events and there is always something grant proposal which was submitted by the recruit new members into Leadership? going on at the Schole. Honestly, I really do not Archdiocese Department of Greek Education to Rather than using the word, “sales pitch”, I would keep count. Every step is so fulfilling. provide funding for educational materials for say our message is to make people aware of how How do you balance that with your day job? Greek parochial schools. We are a national our support for the scholarship program offered organization and are restricted from supporting to seminarians has helped educate and train these Fortunately, I am in an executive position and my local entities but we can support Greek education young men for the Priesthood. Many of them have company supports charitable work and in general through this Department. approached us to thank us and to assure us that if community activities. I enjoy my day job and my it were not for Leadership 100, they would not be responsibilities as Chairman of Leadership 100. Are our parochial schools now permanently Some days can be long but they are always endangered? able to study at Holy Cross. Likewise, many young people have thanked us for our annual support of rewarding. With the downturn in the economy, all parochial Church summer camps. Fundamentally, all the schools have faced difficulties. We recently How would you describe your relationship National Ministries are dependent on Leadership with (Leadership Executive Director) Paulette witnessed the Catholic Archdiocese’s decision to 100 in order to grow and innovate their programs. close several parochial schools in New York. Poulos? Another factor is that many of our families are How do you get them to participate besides Paulette and I have a long standing relationship changing parishes and neighborhoods which offering their money? which dates back to our beloved Archbishop result in a decline in enrollment. Still, there is a By serving on our Board and committees and by Iakovos of blessed memory. We are friends who critical need for this type of special education. I attending our annual conferences and share a mutual respect and admiration for each believe and pray they will survive. Perhaps the participating in regional and Metropolis events. other. Paulette is tireless, faithful and loyal. She is a Church should study the successful schools as a Most build friendships through these activities very special person. model to replicate elsewhere. Who does what? Paulette handles the administrative work of the Office as well as the day to day responsibilities. Paulette and I travel together to conference sites and events and she keeps me informed of all pertinent matters. We participate regularly on conference calls with our Committees and with individuals. Will the team ever be broken? I can honestly say I hope the team will never be broken. I will be completing two years in February and the Nominating Committee has nominated me for another term. What was it like growing up in Fitchburg and Worcester? I was born in Fitchburg and moved to Worcester when I was very young. My father was assigned to serve St. Spyridon Church there. It was idyllic in many ways. Worcester in those days was booming. The Greek community was extremely active and life very much centered around the Church. Parents born here? Both my parents were born here – my mom in Worcester, MA and my dad in Lowell, MA. Shortly after they married, they moved to Athens for a few George S. Tsandikos and Paulette Poulos accept award of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine from years while my father studied at the University of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios in acknowledgement of Leadership 100 support in October of 2014. Athens. Their love for Greece was contagious. Even though I am a third generation Greek Are our churches becoming imperiled and our and events which, in turn, creates a cohesive American, I, too love, Greece. rate of attendance becoming an issue? organization that perpetuates itself through Their families are from what part of Greece? Our lives today are so very fast. Studies show future generations. We are one big family of faith. Mainland. My mother’s family was from the church attendance is declining across all faiths. How generous are Greeks? Still, our Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedral is Peleponissos region. My father's father was born packed on Sundays and with young families as are Greeks are known to be very generous, hospitable in Kalambaka; his mom in Evia. many other churches in urban centers throughout and full of filotimo and one can witness that Which parish did you grow up in? the country The Church will survive and thrive as firsthand whenever Leadership 100 members it stands for a faith and values that transforms lives gather, whether in small groups or at big events My dad served the Worcester parish from 1963 for the better and combats pessimism and despair. and our conferences. until 1974. I left for college in 1978 so I consider St. Spyridon in Worcester to be my childhood How do we attract priests into the church? How many miles do you travel a year on behalf parish. of Leadership? The Priesthood is a special calling from God and What was it like being the son of a priest? all you have to do is walk on the grounds of our I do not have a precise number but I have been Theological School in Brookline to see the across the country more than half a dozen times Wonderful yet at times challenging. I had to be commitment of these young men who have been since my election and to local events several times good. On the other hand I was exposed early on to chosen to serve the Church. Vocations, in fact, are each month. I think the number would be all of life’s many challenges and sacrifices. But I on the increase. surprising and significant. Our annual grew up in the Church and the Church has been a conferences alone require two or so site visits and critical part of who I am since then.

C O V E R S T O R Y J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 2 5 How did you participate in your father’s parish? As an altar boy primarily. Did you ever think of becoming a priest yourself? On occasion, yes. But I knew that I could better serve the Church in my capacity as a lay person. What was it like growing up with two sisters? I am the middle child so was flanked both by an older and younger sister. I felt and still feel blessed. We were and remain a close family. We still are each other’s best friends. How did that translate into wealth management? I practiced law for two years in Boston. In 1989, I accepted a position with the JP Morgan Private Bank in their Trust and Estates Department. While at JP Morgan my role transitioned to a Private Banker so the progression was natural. Besides your faith, is noblesse oblige a part of your philosophy? I don’t think I would say noblesse oblige. But my parents taught me early on that much is expected from those who are blessed. And that I am. Is the Rockefeller noblesse oblige a role model? John D. Rockefeller believed that every right has a responsibility, every opportunity, an obligation and every possession, a duty. It is a privilege to George S. Tsandikos with United States Vice President Joseph R. Biden, recipient of Athenagoras Human Rights work for a company carrying the Rockefeller name Award at Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of Ecumenical Patriarchate Grand Banquet in October of 2015 and all that it stands for. What is your role as managing director at Rockefeller? I am a senior client advisor to individuals, families and private foundations. I provide investment advice, estate planning and general advice across multiple generations. How active is the Rockefeller charitable foundation today - if this is within your purview? How do you invest wisely in such a topsy- turvy political and economic world? First, one must evaluate and understand risk tolerance. Once that and one's time frame is determined, it is important to stay diversified across asset classes and different strategies. What do you hope will be your lasting legacy in Leadership and in the Greek community? During my chairmanship, Leadership 100 was able to provide $1 million from our portfolio and an additional $2 million from our membership to the historic rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine. I hope my legacy will be that in some small way I was able to offer valuable service to Leadership 100 and to be remembered as a faithful member of the Greek Orthodox Community. How do we get the younger generation both to contribute and be as active as the previous ones? Of course it starts in the home. Still, dynamic and gifted priests, like Father John Vlahos for example, bring in the younger generation because of their humility, love and deep faith. What is your age and what do you do when you’re not managing money both for Rockefeller and the church? I am 55. In addition to my work at Rockefeller & Co. and with Leadership 100, I am also a trustee of the Freeman Foundation and of the Kalliniekion Foundation. In addition I sit on the board of the George S. Tsandikos Addresses 73rd Commencement at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Rockefeller Trust Company, NA. I like giving back. I think it’s what God Greek Orthodox School of Theology in May of 2015 had in mind for me.

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P H O T O S B Y : B I L L P E T R O S 2 James Moshovitis

Themis Douratsou- Paleologou and Sophia Paleologou accept the 2015 Greatest Generation Award on behalf of General George Douratsos from Greek Defense Attaché Panagiotis George Marcus Father Alexander Karloutsos George Logothetis Kavidopoulos

Biden; Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; The 75th anniversary celebration began in Then-Chairs of the Senate Foreign Relations and Washington, DC with a reception at the residence House Foreign Affairs Committees Bob Menendez of the Ambassador of Greece to the US Christos and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Noble Laureates Aung Panagopoulos, co-hosted by the National Hellenic San Suu Kyi and Elie Wiesel; Senator Marco Rubio Society (NHS). Guests made a champagne toast at and former Senator Bob Dole; Former record- the exact moment 75 years ago that the Prime setting Congressmen John Dingell and Ralph Minister of Greece said "OXI!" Hall; and many other distinguished individuals The celebration ended with a poignant wreath This year's Washington Oxi Day Foundation video laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at entitled "World Leaders Praise Greek Courage" is Arlington National Cemetery. already approaching hundreds of thousands of views and, thus, on target to match the success of The Oxi Day Foundation at Arlington National Cemetery last year's Foundation video about Philotimo entitled "The Greek Secret." Endy Zemenides is the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), a strategy national advocacy organization for the Greek American community. To learn more about HALC, visit σ τ ρ α τ η γ ι κ ή www.hellenicleaders.com

s Happy 2016? Z e m e n i d e b y E n d y To say that 2015 was a fascinating year for Hellenism rebels within Greece’s Parliament? If the government issues (i.e., how to rid Cyprus of Turkey’s insistence would be an understatement. We ushered in the New falls, will New Democracy have made itself strong on security guarantees/right to intervene, how to pay Year with an election in Greece, Turkey maintaining enough to capitalize? Who becomes the king maker for the $20 billion cost of reunification) to the very its invasion of the Republic of Cyprus’ Exclusive (ANEL, PASOK, Potami) if all this plays out? end of the process – will leave us lamenting missed Economic Zone and keeping reunification opportunities in 2016. negotiations on hold, and instability throughout the Cyprus reunification negotiations Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean. The summer The religious freedom of the Ecumenical ushered in both more volatility (with the Greek There are several reasons why 2016 should be the Patriarchate economic crisis leading to referenda, bank closures, year the occupation of Cyprus ends. The turmoil in and negotiations that reminded one of torture the region makes Cyprus look like the easiest This March 25, it will be four years since President tactics; an unprecedented refugee crisis) and some problem to solve, the extra financial incentive of Obama stood next to then Prime Minister Erdogan hope (Cyprus talks back on track with a more willing natural gas gives every stakeholder in Cyprus reason and congratulated him on his decision to open Halki Turkish-Cypriot partner, the US engaging more to come to an agreement, and it is hard to imagine a Seminary. Halki was supposed to be the first domino substantively both on Greece and Cyprus). Yet the combination of leaders who will have a better to fall in the road to restoring full religious freedom end of 2015 leaves us with more open fronts on rapport than President Nicos Anastasiades and to the Ecumenical Patriachate. Four years later, Halki Hellenic issues than one can remember existing at Mustafa Akinci. But there is one big reason why it remains closed, and proposed amendments to one time. won’t: Turkey has not made any serious concessions. Turkey’s constitution that would increase religious In the last few weeks, it seems that diplomats are freedom are unlikely to see the light of day. The 2016 will bring no respite for Hellenism, and Athens, trying to establish the conventional wisdom that a Gulen movement and its allies in Turkish Nicosia, the Phanar and the worldwide diaspora Cyprus solution is – in John Kerry’s words – “within government – whom the Church relied heavily upon must be prepared to hit the ground running in reach”. It would be nice if Secretary Kerry or – are on the run in the Turkey and around the world, January. Here are a few developments that will be Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon could detail what as the Erdogan government has clearly decided to upon us immediately and may well have a lasting “within reach” means or what exactly Turkey has eliminate Gulen and his followers as a political force effect: done to bring it a little closer. Every time the State in Turkey. Now the Ecumenical Patriarchate is stuck Department tells the community that Turkey is being in the middle of the latest spat between Russia and The next round of negotiations between Greece and “helpful”, we are directed to positive rhetoric Turkey, with its ability to host a pan-Orthodox its creditors coming out of Ankara. It’s hard not to treat these council (the first since 787 A.D.) now in question. “positive” comments as being uttered with forked The capital controls imposed this summer in Greece tongues when they are accompanied by: further That the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s are still in force, and the economy has fallen back challenges to Cyprus’ EEZ; by Turkish government religious freedom has virtually disappeared as a into recession. The Tsipras government is intent on correspondence to the EU declaring its non- political priority in the West is inexcusable. Turkey’s exiting the bailout program in 2016; if a further recognition of the Republic of Cyprus; by Prime oppression of the Patriarchate has been one of the bailout program is needed, it wants the IMF Minister Davutoglu’s request for more settlers to be harbingers of the terrors visited on Christians across excluded. This is where things get complicated – the given “citizenship” of the pseudo-state (“Turkish the Middle East today. There are no longer any IMF is in favor of debt relief (which is the major Republic of Northern Cyprus”) in the occupied tolerant forces in the Turkish government, and if accomplishment that successive Greek governments north. Washington, D.C. and Brussels fail to press the issue have been striving for), but wants deeper cuts to with Ankara, the Patriarchate will be slowly pensions (which Athens argues cannot be cut 2016 could indeed be the year that Cyprus is freed eliminated. further). The European Union and the European from over four decades of Turkish occupation and Central Bank are not in favor of debt relief, but would Greek and Turkish Cypriots come together and start Several more issues are set to emerge center stage – have to allow Greece to refinance/borrow on triple A building a better future. Yet it is equally likely that the Macedonian name issue will surely heat up as the term in perpetuity to make Greek debt levels this is the year that intellectually dishonest NATO Summit approaches, the refugee crisis is not sustainable. The creditors’ review of Greece’s diplomacy – the kind that treats the Cyprus issue subsiding, Albania has taken to challenging Greek reforms is due in January; Greece may run out of merely as a bi-communal problem and holds that sovereignty – but the above will dominate attention cash again in February. Can Tsipras survive another Turkey’s invasion and occupation are not core from the beginning. 2016 promises to be more showdown either with Greece’s creditors or with issues; the kind that leaves the hardest possible volatile than 2015 and we must all be on guard.

FAITH Endowment Announces Summer 2016 Financial Aid Travel Grants to Ionian Village

" T h e C a m p p r o v i d e s a t r u l y transformative and enriching experience for intellectual and spiritual growth and life-long friendships as these young people connect to their Hellenic roots. For over 40 years, Ionian Village has been and still is the premiere program for the young Greek Americans to understand their Hellenic heritage and identity and we are very pleased to offer this financial aid opportunity through our program.” Elaine Jaharis

Continuing for the tenth consecutive year, the Committee spoke on behalf of the Founders, Each year, FAITH also funds a series of several “FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and “We (the Founders of FAITH) are proud to support scholarship programs including many merit- Hellenism” will once again sponsor a series of young people wishing to participate in Ionian based scholarships for the FAITH Scholarships for financial aid travel grants this summer to campers Village. The Camp provides a truly transformative Academic Excellence program to high school participating in the Ionian Village Summer Camp and enriching experience for intellectual and students graduating from public, parochial and program. FAITH provides full and partial spiritual growth and life-long friendships as these private high schools across the country. scholarships to those participants that qualify. young people connect to their Hellenic roots. For over 40 years, Ionian Village has been and still is FAITH – Ionian Village Travel Grant applications The travel grants are primarily need-based the premiere program for the young Greek are NOW available for participants of Session One financial aid; however, each applicant’s academic Americans to understand their Hellenic heritage a n d S e s s i o n T w o , a g e s 1 6 - 1 8 : performance will also be weighed into the and identity and we are very pleased to offer this www.thefaithendowment.org. Completed evaluation review process. Priority is given to financial aid opportunity through our program.” applications must be received by February 5, older applicants. 2016. In 2015, FAITH underwrote 63 full and partial Ionian Village participants will travel across financial aid travel grants for young people to FAITH: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Greece visiting significant sites of Greek history attend the Ionian Village Summer Camp. Eva T., Hellenism supports the development of and culture. At the end of each program, the who received a 2015 FAITH Travel Grant to Ionian innovative educational, cultural, and scholarship campers return home with strengthened faith, Village, recalled her experience as a camper, programs for young people that promote an life-long friendships and an expanded “There are absolutely no words to express my understanding of the Orthodox faith, Hellenism, appreciation for the Orthodox Church and Greek sincere gratitude towards FAITH. I learned so and the relationship of the two to America’s culture. much about our rich and beautiful motherland, history and multicultural landscape. For more the others around me, myself and our Orthodox information, their phone number is 212-644- Mrs. Elaine Jaharis, a Founder of the FAITH Faith.” 6960. Endowment, Ionian Village Alumna and Chair of

3 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S

by Cindy Klimek For his latest project, noted composer/music The idea would further take shape when the three be so cool as vinyl picture discs’. Then the wheels producer Eric Alexandrakis has teamed up with met up at a photoshoot in the spring of 2014. started to turn and I thought to myself, ‘how about actor John Malkovich and photographer Sandro Sandro and Malkovich were working on pieces for we give this version of the Allegory dialogue that I to create Like a Puppet Show, a 12-track vinyl-only Sandro’s “Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: put together to some major artists and ask them to album that was released on Record Store Day in Homage to Photographic Masters” series, which just create their own soundscapes around it, kind the United States. Record Store Day is an event recreates famous photos with Malkovich as the of like art school on steroids’.” designed to raise awareness and drum up subject. Says Alexandrakis, “I got to watch the business for independent record stores, and falls whole process and it was amazing. They did old Alexandrakis made a “big list of specific people on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. The photos with exactly the same light, the same who had a certain creative edge to them,” sent album features Malkovich reciting Plato’s Allegory clothes, the same makeup, but with John them Malkovich’s dialogue, and, 12 tracks later, of the Cave over original soundscapes composed Malkovich doing the pose. John as Muhammed Ali Like a Puppet Show was born. The album’s release by artists such as Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, the or John as Marilyn Monroe or John as Einstein will tie in with Sandro’s exhibit, which is currently Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, and the Cars’ Ric sticking his tongue out. The attention to detail and on a world tour, and a documentary the three are Ocasek, to name a few. watching Sandro create and direct and reproduce making about the album’s creative process. They Alexandrakis says the idea for the project came to During his stay in the hospital for cancer treatments, Alexandrakis would him a couple of years ago while he was working on “cinematic tunes with a revolving door of high write and record his second album IV Catatonia. He explains, “it was totally profile musicians.” He explains, “I was creating medical themed and I recorded it the first week I started my treatment and this ambient piece called Cryogenia X and it was then finished it my last week so it was like a window into that time. I put my really meant to be kind of like a dreamy subconscious thing where somebody is lying nurse on the cover and there’s a box set with medical products and fake blood there in a cryogenic state and the world around and tourniquets and a postcard of the hospital saying ‘wish you were here’. I them is changing over the years. Death, war, really like taking it to the extreme. different seasons, peace, all these different things

happening in fast motion. And then I said, ‘how everything without Photoshop, and then also created their own record label to release Like cool would it be if maybe we could get John watching John get into character as the hair and a Puppet Show, along with any future endeavors. Malkovich to recite Plato’s Allegory of the Cave makeup guys transformed him, it was “We have full PR and we’re planning on putting over it?’ Almost like a subconscious voice speaking unbelievable. It was literally a master class in out several different versions of the album with while you’re in the dream state. So I talked to everything from wardrobe to makeup to some of the same people and then some brand Sandro about it. He’s been working with John for photography to direction. So, as I’m watching this new people over the course of the next year or like 20 years and he thought it was a cool idea. He and watching the photos pop up on the screen as two,” he adds. Vinyl only, for now. Says talked to John and John said yes and that’s how we Sandro shoots them, I start thinking, ‘oh man, Alexandrakis, “one of the reasons for this is to all got in touch.” these look like picture disc photos. These would show that art is not disposable. Intellectual

3 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S property has been abused so much. We want to He would end up double majoring in Public Alexandrakis’s family relocated to Crete for his create appreciation. A lot of people scoff at that Relations and English Literature while still father’s job. The young music lover would and say we can’t avoid mp3s and all that, but in dabbling in music and acting. Alexandrakis become obsessed with the Minoans and their Japan a big part of the music there is still CD sales. recorded his first album 9 Demos on a 4 Track in palace at Knossos. “The Minoans, they’re from And that’s because the industry there made a his 20s “just for the hell of it. Just as an expression. Crete and they made music. It made sense. And conscious decision to hold on to the format. I’d been doing music on and off for years but I who could resist the Minotaur, right?” he says, Whereas here they tried to fight Napster by giving didn’t think I could make a living out of it,” he says. referring to the label’s logo. “Crete is my favorite everything for free to Spotify. It’s just absurd. We The album was created in what Alexandrakis place. Everything about it fascinates me.” need to invest in technology and not just make describes as a “bad time” where he was suffering everything free free free. Just because it’s free from a persistent pain. After the album’s release, Though Alexandrakis has plans to release more of doesn’t mean people are going to want it. You then-25 year old Alexandrakis would find out he his own work through Minoan Music, right now make it valueless and it becomes valueless. For us, had cancer and that the pain was coming from a his focus is on Like a Puppet Show and future this record is something you could put on a wall, fist sized tumor in his chest. “So that kind of threw projects with Sandro and Malkovich. “The plan is it’s beautiful. It’s art, whether you’re playing it or things into a loop,” he says. Nevertheless, 9 to keep making more. Right now I’m talking to not. It’s a statement and it’s going to speak to Demos was out and the feedback was positive. artists for the next one. We have Record Store Day people who appreciate that stuff. It’s not for “People were telling me it was really good. And it and then we have one coming out the day after

everybody and we kinda don’t care. If you want to was from people who had no obligation. It’s not which is a shorter version and then that same one hear it, you have to buy it and you have to put it on like with your parents who say everything is good with different artwork in January.” When asked if a turntable and if you don’t have a turntable, we because they want to encourage you. Musicians he has a favorite track from the album, don’t care. It’s almost a punk ethic. We’re going to usually don’t compliment other musicians, but Alexandrakis says, “I do but they’re all so different do it our way.” industry people were complimenting me so I and so cool that I’d do them an injustice if I just thought that maybe I was on to something.” picked one.” And as for the next new release, he Alexandrakis has been doing it his way from the says, “we’re going to do samples instead of full beginning. Born in Coral Gables, Florida to During his stay in the hospital for cancer dialogue. We have a really interesting variety of doctorate-holding, non-musical parents, he says treatments, Alexandrakis would write and record different people joining us, but unfortunately I he was drawn to music and the arts from a very his second album IV Catatonia. He explains, “it can’t tell you who yet.” Though Alexandrakis is early age. “It was pretty obvious that the arts were was totally medical themed and I recorded it the tight-lipped about his current collaborators, he names John Williams, Mozart, and, most interestingly, Thomas Edison as part of his dream Alexandrakis launched Minoan Music, named for the ancient Cretan civilization. roster. “It would be cool to have Thomas Edison During his childhood, his family relocated to Crete for his father’s job. The young email me sounds of his light bulbs smashing on music lover would become obsessed with the Minoans and their palace at Knossos. the floor and then putting those around the “The Minoans, they’re from Crete and they made music. It made sense. And who dialogue and having the sounds of machines and things like that.” could resist the Minotaur, right?” he says, referring to the label’s logo. “Crete is my favorite place. Everything about it fascinates me. Alexandrakis also hints at another “really big” future project with Malkovich and Sandro but adds, “I can’t say what it is yet but I think we’re me,” he says. “I could make music out of pretty first week I started my treatment and then finished starting that in January. There’s all kinds of things much anything. I’d do plays in school and always it my last week so it was like a window into that floating around right now.” got the lead. In elementary school we’d have to time. I put my nurse on the cover and there’s a box pick an instrument in the beginning of the year to set with medical products and fake blood and To learn more about Eric Alexandrakis, go to: study and I’d pick all of them. Then during school tourniquets and a postcard of the hospital saying facebook.com/ERICSGALEXANDRAKIS concerts I’d bounce from instrument to ‘wish you were here’. I really like taking it to the instrument.” extreme.” To learn more about Sandro’s Malkovich exhibit, go to: sandrofilm.com As a pre-teen and teen, Alexandrakis set his sights Looking for an outlet for his music, as well as an on acting after being inspired by the film Back to opportunity to get away from the “freeloading” To learn more about Record Store Day, go to: the Future. “When I got into college I wanted to be Florida-based label he was signed to, Alexandrakis recordstoreday.com a theater major and my parents sat me down and launched Minoan Music, named for the ancient convinced me to try something else,” he laughs. Cretan civilization. During his childhood,

N E W S & N O T E S J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 3 5

Medical World With the Holiday Season Upon Us...

To help avoid gaining weight this Eat slowly and wait 20 minutes before If you are hosting a gathering, buy the holiday season while also enjoying your you go back for seconds or dessert. low-fat cheese for snack trays and recipes. favorite foods, here are some strategies From the time you are full, it takes about Also buy the lower calorie eggnog. If you that I have used successfully with my 20 minutes for your digestive system to make eggnog from scratch, use low fat or patients: get this message to your brain. By nonfat milk. Develop some strategies before you waiting 20 minutes, you might find you don't want seconds or dessert after all. Before indulging in a holiday treat, stop head to the party or the dinner table to and ask yourself, "How important is this to help you make healthier choices and to Try small amounts of multiple foods me compared to my long-term health By Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis eat smaller portions, especially of high- rather than taking two or three servings goals?" Pausing to ask this question may calorie holiday treats. With the holiday season upon us, food is of any one food. I like doing this because make that frosted sugar cookie less everywhere. From festive holiday parties The following strategies can help. If one my portions are smaller and I get to taste appealing. more dishes. to dinners with friends and family, let's does not work for you, try a different Stick to your exercise routine during the face it, this time of year tends to center strategy at the next event or use a Limit your alcohol intake. I love a cup holidays or start one. And if you are feeling around food. And, it is perfectly OK to combination of strategies. of holiday cheer as much as the next inspired, add five or 10 minutes to it. indulge on occasion, sans the guilt, person, but I do not love the empty without gaining weight. The trick is to Drink a glass of water before you eat. Make a list of all the good reasons you do Water takes up space and is calorie-free. calories. Sparkling water, juice, and enjoy what you are eating, and to eat other beverages are good choices not want to gain weight over the holidays or mindfully while avoiding overindulging Start with the fruits and veggies. instead. There are significant health why you want to lose weight after the and gaining weight in the process. Many of us don't eat enough vegetables risks to excess drinking. holidays. Read the list every day and remind yourself of it whenever you are tempted to For the good news, according to anyway, so take this opportunity to eat the healthier options first. By the time If you do have more than one alcoholic overindulge. research published in the Journal of” drink, make a point to drink a full glass Endocrinology Diabetes and Obesity”, you get to the cheesecake and chocolate Don't beat yourself up if you slip up at one dip, you may find that you have less of water between drinks. It will slow you Americans, on average, gain just about down, fill you up, and help keep you party or cannot resist the homemade fudge five pounds during the holiday season, room to overindulge in high-calorie someone brought to work. Tomorrow is a foods. from getting dehydrated. I have a friend with overweight individuals gaining a bit who started doing this a few years ago new day and you will have another more. This is really not too bad, as long Skip the dips and dressings, especially and she drinks less — if for no other opportunity to do better and feel good as we keep it to just that and get back on the creamy ones, or opt for a lower reason than she gets tired of trips to the about making healthy choices. track come the New Year. calorie version if available. restroom! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!

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Turkey shoot with Russia damages alliance against ISIS

Russia is an active put NATO’s military alliance in such a tough He shot down an errant warplane and effectively player and a necessary confrontational position? After all, allies like blackmailed his NATO partners and EU member participant in any Turkey are supposed to help, not entrap their states. What they got in return was a halfhearted potential Syrian cease- partners. Economists and political scientists call and grudging stand-down with the Russians and a fire and solution. U.S. this behavior “moral hazard” – the act of taking slowdown of the refugee flow from Turkey. Secretary of State John extraordinary risks and letting others pay the Kerry has worked price. Erdogan’s unchallenged power in Turkey has overtime with his whetted his appetite for a greater regional role. He Russian counterpart Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan engages bristles at and wants to counter Russia’s aligning to find an acceptable in moral hazard. He knows that any retaliatory and allying with Turkish adversaries in Iran, Iraq compromise under Russian military attack on Turkey for the downed and Syria. very difficult and jet could be interpreted as an attack against all of by Markos bloody circumstances. NATO. The NATO alliance treaty’s Article 5 could Erdogan likely believes that if the United States press the military alliance into fighting Ankara’s and its allies could start a war in 2003 and, Kounalakis* America rightfully war. ultimately, win Iraq for the Shiites and Iranians, continues to object to then the Western alliance should win the Sunni Russia’s Crimean NATO’s Article 5 has been invoked only once, world for him and his vision for regional annexation and unwavering support of Syrian following the 9/11 World Trade Center and leadership. President Bashar Assad. Despite this reality, the Pentagon attacks. Article 5 justifies NATO’s Obama administration seems prepared to work ongoing war in Afghanistan – America’s longest Money or power will be Turkey’s payoff for with Russia toward a more important and war. downing the Russian jet. From Erdogan’s immediate goal: perspective it’s Jointly fighting Russia’s arrogant a l l p o l i t i c a l and defeating a n d s t u p i d 1 7 upside. He can ISIS. s e c o n d s o v e r act recklessly and Turkish territory the costs get Achieving a real gave Erdogan the passed to others. Russian-American l e g a l b a s i s f o r anti-ISIS fight is shooting down the NATO allies have tough enough in fighter jet. It also no good options this environment, f o r c e s N A T O today, but Turkey and there is added members to face an should not be an p r e s s u r e f o r e x c r u c i a t i n g l y added and active c o l l a b o r a t i o n difficult question if wedge between f o l l o w i n g t h e pressed by Ankara: R u s s i a a n d Paris, Sharm el Is NATO ready and America. The two Sheikh and San willing to defend must try to work Turkey's President Recep Bernardino terror T u r k e y a n d Russia's President together to fight Secretary of State John Kerry Tayyip Erdogan attacks. militarily confront Vladimir Putin ISIS, stop the Russia? bloodshed and stanch the refugee flow. Despite the poisoned political climate, Russia and Sometimes it is better to hold our nose than pull the United States were making diplomatic Whether “yes” or “no,” Erdogan has likely our trigger. progress … until America’s NATO ally Turkey shot calculated that either response is an upside for down a transgressing Russian fighter jet. As a him and a costly mess for everyone else. result, Turkey derailed talks and temporarily killed any Russo-American deal. NATO appropriately does not want this fight. Markos Kounalakis is a research fellow at France, Germany and the United States moved Central European University and visiting fellow Even worse, when Turkey downed the Russian Su- quickly to de-escalate tensions – but it was an at the Hoover Institution. Contact him at 24, it could have triggered immediate Russian expensive move. In return for holstering his gun markos@ stanford.edu. Follow him on Twitter retaliation. Tensions between NATO and Russia and tightening his borders, Erdogan’s allies @KounalakisM. reached a post-Cold War peak. Some analysts recently gave him money, European Union visa suggested Turkey’s hair-trigger action brought us concessions, military assurances and an This article was first published in The to the brink of World War III. unarticulated promise to look the other way Sacramento Bee. regarding his iron-fisted rule at home and Why would any American ally take such risks and adventures in Kurdistan.

4 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S

by Alexander Billinis Alexander Billinis is a writer and lawyer in Chicago, Illinois. hellenes without borders He and his family returned to the US after nearly a decade in Greece, the UK, and Serbia. He writes prolifically on Balkan topics. His books, The Eagle has Two Faces: Journeys For a Generation of Greeks, is Cyberspace the new “Thalassa”? through Byzantine Europe, and Hidden Mosaics: An Aegean Tale, are available from Amazon.com.

My readers will know that I have not been particularly bullish about Greece instantaneous. The nature of their business cannot be compatible with a in the past few years. Who has, really, and in contrast to some, I have not creaking state structure which is hardly digital and utterly unfriendly to pointed the finger outwards at others, but rather inwards at ourselves. I business. It is why ideas that would have been stillborn in Greece often have to believe strongly that civic and cultural factors, more than any external spirit themselves to America or elsewhere to see the light of day. Just as their factors, brought us to the perfect storm of today. companies and ideas, these entrepreneurs, with ideas and skills in demand, may abandon Greece altogether. Now I had heard stories of revival, in agriculture, tourism, and a nascent tech scene. But let’s face it, this year that has been drowned out by a The two I talked to, however, like many others, while having a presence disastrous political climate, capital controls, and the wave of refugees into a abroad, were determined to make their business in their country, and to country lacking the infrastructure, competence, or will to handle it. employ their fellow Greeks, a labor of love and faith I absolutely admired. When I asked about how the dealt with those of us who know Greece call “The And yet, I feel my own “green shoots” of confidence. Greek Reality,” they nodded knowingly and called it a challenge and cost of doing business. They saw themselves at the forefront of a change that Greece Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of Greek digital needs, and every sentient Greek knows this. entrepreneurs, in the US seeking funding and contacts. I had been introduced to them by a Greek American friend as a “writer/content As I sipped my coffee, I listed to one of them, “We are hoping that in several provider.” As we talked about their offerings, a “back story” was filling my years’ time, efforts such as ours will bring back the [hundreds of thousands] of mind as they patiently answered my tech clueless questions, either in Greeks who have left in the past few years.” I admired his will to optimism. Greek or English flawless and completely at ease with an accent equal parts “That’s a big IF,” I said. “Yes,” he agreed, laughing sadly. American, British, and Greek. I too must believe in this “if,” as I love my country, and as a father of two young Actually, it was more of a question than a story. Are these Greek techies the children who deserve the optimism I grew up with, I close this year’s column new Greek shipowners? And is Cyberspace their “Thalassa”? saluting the optimism of two young Greeks sailing bravely on the digital waves. Islanders such as my Hydriots say, “The good captain shows himself in the In listening to them, I had to think so, for a number of reasons. From time storm.” immemorial, Greeks have been an entrepreneurial people whose homeland is unproductive. This was true in a purely agricultural era, when Greeks fanned out to the Black Sea basin, and to Sicily and Southern Italy, or in times closer to ours, when twentieth century Greeks literally and figuratively upped anchor for America or Australia. The rocky shores of their barren island sent my Hydriot ancestors to sea, and in a couple of generation these Arvaniti landlubbers boasted one of the best fleets in the East Mediterranean/Black Sea area. Greeks have the entrepreneurial spirit, a built-in cosmopolitanism, and the guts. These guys, and so many like them, are proving it again. Yet that alone was not what made me certain that they would succeed, and that my maritime analogy made sense. It was, rather, an interview I had with a good friend of mine in Greece, a former banking colleague, now a shipping company finance director. Among the other reasons he cited that Greek shipping was so successful is “that it never had anything to do with Greece.” By this, he meant the Greek government and Greek bureaucracy. Ships were by definition mobile, as were capital and the ships’ markets. The owners and (in the past) the crew were Greeks, and the money fed their families, but the owners kept their profits and registrations abroad. When I was a banker in Greece, I used to get a kick out of trying to decipher the corporate structure and ownership of Greek shipping companies, and I’m a lawyer! Greece’s bloated, venal, and chaotic bureaucracy is nothing new. Greece has been that way from the beginning, in part a cultural legacy from the Ottomans but also, in its bloated size and inefficiency, an absorber of excess labor in patronage jobs. This creaking system should have died a quiet death years ago but the EU funds and the cheap interest rates of the Euro kept a comatose system alive, and now Tsipras wants to squeeze blood further out of a turnip. Knowing this, Greek shipowners limit their footprint in Greece, and in current times, may remove themselves altogether.

These Cyber-Greeks are operating in similar fashion. Their markets are abroad, the very nature of the digital environment is global and

4 8 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 H E L L E N I S M

Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and In her book Dostoevsky and the Catholic the part of the Catholic Church with the Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, is well Underground (Northwestern University Press, sentiment: “Be my brother, or off with your head.” known for his prolific writing and acute insight 2014), Blake traces Dostoevsky’s disapproval back into human psychology. Less known about the to his experience as a political prisoner in Siberia. This obsession with Catholicism, which Blake said Russian novelist is his fascination—as well as his For four years he was imprisoned with a group of vacillated between fascination and repulsion, criticism—of Catholicism. Polish Catholic political activists and inevitably colored Dostoevsky’s writings. revolutionaries. According to Blake, it underlies one of the best- known passages in literature, the parable of the

P Grand Inquisitor, told by the character Ivan in The H

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Elizabeth Blake lectures on her book, “Dostoevsky and the Dostoevsky’s Catholic Underground"

Besides resenting the Poles for their contempt of Sharp Criticisms the Russian prisoners, Dostoevsky, a Russian Orthodox Christian, was wary of the Poles’ of Catholicism allegiance to the Jesuits, whose organizational structure was likened by Dostoevsky’s co- protection... [and his] manipulation of the sacred conspirators to communism. It didn’t help mysteries to maintain control over his flock, Examined in matters that the Jesuits vowed obedience to the parallels the measures of political repression... pope—Pius IX at the time—whom Dostoevsky adopted by the Catholic Church.” considered to be a spiritually manipulative figure. Lecture and Book Indeed, Blake said, Dostoevsky could be bold in Dostoevsky continued to harbor this mistrust his characterization of Catholicism. by Joanna Mercuri* when, decades later, as a member of the Society for Lovers of Spiritual Enlightenment (OLDP), he Then again, “If he were cautious, he wouldn’t have participated in discussions regarding the written these great novels,” she said. At a recent lecture sponsored by the Orthodox possibility of reuniting the long-divided Eastern Christian Studies Center at Fordham University, in Orthodox Catholic Church and the Western Founded in 2012, the Orthodox Christian Studies New York, Dostoevsky scholar Elizabeth Blake, Catholic Church. Center is the first university-based center for PhD, assistant professor of Russian at Saint Louis Orthodox Christian Studies in the western University, spoke with undergraduates and faculty Needless to say, he was not in favor of the union. hemisphere. The center supports scholarship and at the Rose Hill campus about Dostoevsky’s strong teaching that is critical to the ecclesial community, opinions about religion. The author, who “[He] indicates that such a union requires public discourse, and the promotion of Christian yesterday would have celebrated his 194th coercion, which Dostoevsky finds at the heart of unity. birthday, was deeply critical of Catholics and the ‘Roman idea’ of ‘forced unity of humanity,’” especially of the Society of Jesus. Blake said. Dostoevsky described this coercion on The article appeared firstly at the Fordham News.

Grammy and Emmy award winning director Donna McLaughlin Wyant, choreographer Dena Stevens and principal dancer Peishan Lo.

“The great thing about finding a relatable and universal story is that everyone will follow,” says Alexandrou. “The story of Anna and Vladimir reminds me of all the love stories that have become legendary: two people who in following their duty and destiny overcome their personal struggles and fears while finding true love. A princess and a prince, who, if no politics were involved, might never even meet, end up marrying each other in spite of all the differences, changing the course of history for two huge nations by uniting them.”

“The story of Anna and Vladimir, the Romeo and Juliet of the east, is being told through hard rock and metal, as well as Greek folk music” says Chrissochos.

“Thanks to Billy's historical research, choreographer Dena Stevens, and the Greek American Folklore Society (GAFS) we managed to provide facts, information and "eye candy" too!” says Alexandrou. The combination of heavy metal with a strong ethnic Greek flavor, fostered by musical director Dimitris Lambrianos, as well as a visual feast including belly dancers, has helped the Porphyra, a Grecian Rock Opera production find appeal with people of all backgrounds.

- Anna and Vladimir: In brief, Porphyra will take the audience on an epic musical journey from the triumphs of Alexander the Great to the glories of Byzantium. The electric The love that ROCKED the world guitar, in joyous harmony with bouzouki and violin, sings the lives of the dreams and ambitions On May 3, 2015 New York City saw a premiere of a and Alexander the Great, the era of monarchies of two lovers who made their own fate and altered new rock opera, “Anna and Vladimir: The love that that civilized the world, are bypassed in favor of the course of history. The opera tells the story of ROCKED the world,” harkening to ten century ties classical and modern Greece, specifically because Grand Prince Vladimir of Kievan Rus, the first between Russia and Greece (back then, Rus and there are those that don’t want us to recreate that R u s s i a n E m p i r e , a n d Pr i n c e s s A n n a Byzantium). Premiering in New York City’s empire and civilization.” Porphyrogenita of Constantinople, princess of famous Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, the rock Byzantium, the cultural beacon of the opera talks about the love between St. Vladimir of Despite these biases, according to Chrissochos, Mediterranean during Western Europe’s Dark Rus and his Greek wife, Anna Porphyrogenita of the highest grossing exhibits at the famous Ages. Byzantium. Incorporating rock and roll, dance, Metropolitan Museum of Art related to both and theatrics, the aim of this independently Alexander the Great and Byzantium, specifically The year is 988AD. Emperor Basil II rules over sponsored production is not only to entertain, but the era of Emperor Basil the Second (of the Byzantium. His reign will usher in a second to educate people on an era of history that gets Macedonian Dynasty) and brother of Anna Golden Age for Greece. But, civil war threatens to little attention today, yet may be more relevant Porphyrogenita, who fostered the alliance with destroy Constantinople from within. On the than ever before. Kievan Rus. “I wanted to create something northern front, Russian Grand Prince Vladimir inspiring. We are praising God and the empire, begins the unification of the Kievan Rus. The concept of Vladimir and Anna emerged as US and talking about how this union started as well as Ambitious to attain more glory, he marches born Greek musician Vassilios Chrissochos what became of it,” said Chrissochos. towards the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. penned an album with his band, Porphyra, titled Embattled by the Bulgarians, a civil war and other “Faith, Struggle, Victory.” “My main interest has Teaming up with fellow Greek, Christos enemies, Basil dispatches his sister Anna to always been Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic Alexandrou (born Age, and Byzantium,” said Chrissochos. “I also had in Germany), the a childhood best friend in Greece who was t w o b e g a n Russian. Ever since Vladimir and Anna, Russia was developing the idea essentially part of the Byzantine Commonwealth i n t o a m u s i c a l which peacefully coexisted and thrived together production. Other with Byzantium, as opposed to fighting each c o l l a b o r a t o r s other.” include Greek- American theater Chrissochos noted that Byzantium is not heavily actor and rock promoted these days in academia, including in s i n g e r G e o r g e Greece, compared to other eras of Hellenic Ts a l i k i s , a n d a history: “It was the golden age for us. We thrived in n u m b e r o f theology, philosophy, and the arts. Byzantium Americans such as

5 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S not usually accept rock opera pieces. “They liked death do us part…” Porphyra the band which is the idea and they liked the music” said the main component of the musical company has Chrissochos, which ended up giving the already embarked on the beginning process of production a very prestigious opening venue that recording its follow up album. “There will be traditionally hosts top notch classical performers. more songs that will go towards our current Rock The production, which is still being expanded in Opera and material for the next chapter of the scope, is slated to continue performing in the New trilogy,” says Chrissochos. Further adding, “the York area. A portion of the production was merchandising and cross-over potential to film, sponsored through a crowd funding campaign on TV, comics, books, touring productions and other Crowdzu, which included a significant amount of mediums is pretty astounding if one thinks about non Greek sponsors. “There are also many it.” Christians involved,” said Chrissochos, “they appreciate the message we are putting across.” So far we like what we hear but how can our readers get involved and help? Chrissochos As next year will be the year of Russia in Greece responds “that the production is currently and the year of Greece in Russia, both Chrissochos looking for sponsors and investors. This is a full- and Alexandrou hope the production will make it size production that profit can ultimately be made to their respective countries. “We always wanted from the startup investment. We can provide a to go to Russia, Greece and Cyprus with this” says steady work opportunity for dozens of musicians, Chrissochos, “and last year, when the album was artists, actors, dancers and technicians. Greece negotiate a treaty with Vladimir. A smitten Vladimir seeks truce only if he can marry the Porphyrogenita, a princess “born of the royal purple.” Anna refuses to marry a pagan barbarian. Unwaivered, Vladimir keeps his eyes on the prize, Princess Anna and the City of Gold. He sends his fabled six thousand strong Varangian Guard, to aid Basil in the civil wars. Most importantly, Vladimir converts his nation to Greek Orthodox Christianity in order to marry Anna.

But, will love be strong enough to overcome that which sword and shield cannot? Will Greece survive these unprecedented obstacles? This is the story of Anna and Vladimir. The love that ROCKED the world!

You got the story now try to imagine the sound. If Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages and the Phantom of the Opera had a love child with Iron Maiden, Heart, Scorpions and Nightwish and dressed it up in Progressive Rock, Rembetika and being recorded, was also the 1025th anniversary and the world NEEDS something like this right traditional Greek and near Eastern folk garbs then of Rus’s baptism.” Alexandrou adds: “The Greeks now. So please take a few minutes to read our you get Porphyra. It has a little of everything. It is a and Russians have always had close ties. We online digital flip booklet, download it, and share thrilling, historical, cultural journey through understand each other. We both have strong it with your friends and anyone that you think music, dance and theater. It is lovingly dedicated traditions, history and deep religious roots.” might get excited about this too. Learn how to to the Peoples of Greece, who having passed the support our effort. We are looking for investors torch of civilization to the world, now need the Porphyra, a Grecian Rock Opera is part of a time who can help take the full production Broadway support from all of us in these most troubling of travelling trilogy. Book One tells of the story of bound.” You can follow Porphyra on Twitter, times. It is time to remember those heroes and “Anna and Vladimir: The love that ROCKED the YouTube and Facebook. Sign up for Porphyra’s heroines that helped shape the world around us. world.” Book Two takes us to the end of the mailing list to be kept abreast of all their news, empire in “Constantinople 1453: The Starmaker’s download the illustrated Rock Opera brochure “Anna and Vladimir” was fortunate in that it was Prophecy.” And Book Three takes us even further and see the promotional video only at accepted to perform at Carnegie Hall, which does back in time to the story of “Jason and Medea: Till porphyraband.com.

By Matina Karagainnis

to the younger generations. On a cold parade day you can hear all GAFS members, young and old dancing on Fifth Avenue and reciting the mantra “what’s a little cold weather? Our ancestors gave their lives for our liberties”. Generations have danced through the doors of GAFS, children have grown, met and married during practice and now their children are dancing, taking their place in the Paul Ginis legacy.

In addition to participation in Greek and multi- cultural festivals in the tri-state area, GAFS has represented Greek Heritage at the following venues: Ellis Island Medal of Honor Ceremony, Jacobs Javits Center, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Vaia Alagiannis The late Paul Ginis, founder of Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Greek American Folklore Society Queens College, SUNY Buffalo and Binghamton, NY Public Library, United Nations, NYC Mayors Office, House of Representatives, DC International Friendship Day of the Borough of The Greek-American Folklore Society (GAFS) was Since his untimely passing in 1997 GAFS has been Brooklyn, Queens Museum, PS 1 and MOMA. founded in 1983 by Apostolos "Paul" Ginis as a located in Astoria on Crescent Street and Ditmars non-profit organization. Within a few years, GAFS Blvd. and directed by his sister Vayia Allagiannis became one of the most respected Greek Folklore who was a student and performer under her organizations in North America. Ginis himself brother’s tutelage. quickly became a recognized authority on Greek folklore and was often invited to teach, lecture Ms. Allagiannis is lovingly referred to by all and collaborate, not only within the US and members, young and old as “GAFS Mom” because Canada, but also in Greece, in such prestigious of her undying love for each student and her places as the Lykeion ton Hellenidon (Lyceum of commitment to keep Paul’s vision alive through Greek Women), the "Dora Stratou" Theater, the the continuation of GAFS. She has said many Society for the Dissemination of National Music times, “as long as I’m breathing I will be dancing etc. Perhaps one of his most notable achievements our traditional dances and singing our traditional is that he inspired many of his pupils to become songs”. Her contagious dedication is evident actively involved in preserving and teaching our among the young adults that have learned these folk arts. traditions and look forward to passing them along

5 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 N E W S & N O T E S Classes are held on Saturday for children ages 2- American Folklore Society will help in the We hope you will consider making GAFS a 16, Tuesday for adult beginners and Wednesday following ways: continued success with a generous and much for advanced and performing group. appreciated donation. Your faithful support for Ÿ support the monthly operation of our Group The Greek American Folklore Society is greatly GAFS is dedicated to the study, preservation and (rent, utilities, transportation) appreciated as it ensures the continued success of instruction of the history and traditions of an organization that enriches the lives of its Hellenic folk culture. This work is shared with the Ÿ defray the costs of international & domestic members in more ways than you will ever know. public through stage re-enactments of traditional performances More importantly, these members hold on to and Greek customs, songs and dances, as well as spread the Greek culture and heritage into future through lectures, exhibits and workshops. Ÿ provide access to the private costume generations! collection of the late Paul Ginis For GAFS to grow in the future, support is needed The next upcoming GAFS fundraiser event is a from the community. Your contribution will help Ÿ maintenance and purchase of costumes “Vasilopita” scheduled for Saturday, January 30th, this talented group grow and achieve their full 2016, 7:30 pm at the Stathakion Center in Astoria, potential. Ÿ establish and maintain a website NY. Come and Celebrate 2016, singing & dancing with GAFS! Your tax-deductible donation to The Greek Ÿ updated sound system

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o p e John Koudounis: Making Japan big in Wall Street!

Happy New Year to all! billion, giving the firm expanded access to corporate clients and I hope you enjoyed the Holiday Season and now you are ready to start absorbing 130 investment demolishing your new year’s resolutions! Like many other great bankers. Equities are next, he promises they are great because we will never reach up to them. Let us says.” satisfy our appetite for greatness with more realistic goals. I, for a change, decided to become president and this presidential election offers the We at NEO magazine are especially best possible opportunity given how insane my fellow Republican proud for the additional reason candidates are. If this isn’t my chance, when will it be? Even PIGS that we had John Koudounis as (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) are about to fly!!! our cover story in September 2 0 1 4 . We a r e t a k i n g t h i s On a serious note now, the January issue of Forbes magazine features opportunity to salute his John Koudounis, CEO of Mizuho Securities USA, an arm of Japan’s continuous success and to wish second-largest bank by assets, him many more in future. He Mizuho Financial. deserves every bit of it because he is a great American, a great His grandparents emigrated from Hellene and a great person! Sparta in 1900 and started their life here selling hot dogs outside of Wrigley Field. His father, George, by Demetrios Rhompotis expanded the family business by [email protected] opening a drive-in called George’s Old Town Red Hots. Although he was accepted at both Yale and Harvard, John chose to study at Brown. As head of Mizuho USA since 2010, he has already managed to make the Japanese bank a serious player in Wall Street and the night is young. According to Forbes, “Earlier this year Koudounis embarked on the second stage of his growth plan. Mizuho bought a $36.5 billion book of loans from RBS for around $3 and-run automobile while crossing the street in front of Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas. He Theodoros Kiriacopulos: and his wife are buried at Saint Francis Cemetery in Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona. Theodor and Antonina had two children, Rebecca and the unsung Hero of John. the Mexican Revolution Today, living descendants of Kiriakopulos’ by Rik Villarial and Elias Neofytides business partners, his nieces, and remaining Theodor and Antonina Kiriacopulos members of the Triolo family share outrageously curious stories of Theodor during the days when Mercenary, weapons dealer, smuggler, and real house was one of the very few, in the upscale El his fortune was made and the adventures (and estate tycoon are descriptions used, throughout a Paso neighborhood where he lived, that had an new fortunes) that followed him after the Mexican dozen history books, when obscurely referring to automobile. What’s more, it was a Packard revolution. Theodoros Kiriacopulos. limousine! Mystery and intrigue surrounds the life of Kiriacopulos operated in El Paso with impunity as Theodoros Kiriacopulos who was born on it was commonly known that he was a October 18th, 1874 in Kalamata Greece. It is businessman and leader of the rebel Junta in El rumored that Theodore may have sought Paso, who overtly operated under the shadow of adventure and fortune when venturing to South U. S. Neutrality Law. During the days that Pancho Africa prior to his emigration to Mexico where he Villa and his wife, Luz Corral, lived in Theodor’ would invest in manufacturing before moving to house, on 510 Prospect Street in El Paso, Texas U. the United States. S. agents and Texas Rangers would observe that Hipolito, Pancho’s brother, would often be in the On June 12th, 1908 Theodor immigrated to EL presence of the Kiriacopulos family. Paso Texas. He married Antonina Triolo who was an American citizen of Sicilian decent, and a Publications written over the last 100 years, in resident of EL Paso Texas. His father in-law, Chaz English and Spanish, allude to a gravely different Triolo owned many business properties in and outcome had Kiriacopulos’ role during the The home Kiriacopulos built still stands around El Paso Texas. As a wedding present he Mexican Revolution gone uncalled upon. One at 510 Prospect Street in El Paso’s famed gave his daughter and Theodor the Emporium could declare with confidence that Theodor historic neighborhood, Sunset Heights Bar, which was connected to the Roma Hotel, Kiriakopulos is the forgotten hero of another of Triolo’s properties. On the American the Mexican Revolution. side of the border, Theodor Kiriacopulos quickly He was a very close friend of Mexican became connected with the Constitutionalist Theodor held administrative positions revolutionary Pancho Villa and became Movement that was sweeping Mexico, and soon within El Paso’s Hellenic society and revolution would erupt. the Greek Orthodox Church and a major benefactor to the success of the would often sponsor community Mexican Revolution. In overthrowing the Kiriakopulos proceeded in building a small events during the days after the oligarchy of Mexico he supplied weapons, empire and powerful network going into a variety revolution. American journalists tactical intelligence, and manpower of businesses that would span distances from sought Theodor’s comments and California to Louisiana. He was a very close friend p e r s p e c t i v e f o l l o w i n g t h e in clandestine operations. of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and became assassination of Pancho Villa. Antonina a major benefactor to the success of the rebellion mentions how deeply sadden her The home that he built still stands at 510 Prospect during the Mexican Revolution. In overthrowing husband had become upon hearing the news. Street in El Paso’s famed historic neighborhood, the oligarchy of Mexico he supplied weapons, Sunset Heights. The house is currently owned by tactical intelligence, and manpower in Mystery and speculation continued to follow Rik and Donna Villareal who have done extensive clandestine operations. It is noted, while being Theodor Kiriacopulos, even during his final years. research to honor the history of Theodoros and spied upon by U. S. federal agents, Theodor’s December 31, 1954 Theodor was struck by a hit- Antonina Kiriacopulos.