THE GREEK AUSTRALIAN The oldest circulating Greek newspaper outside VEMA Greece OCTOBER 2014 Tel. (02) 9559 7022 Fax: (02) 9559 7033 E-mail: [email protected] DISCIPLINEOUR ARCHBISHOP’S IN THE VIEW HOME KISSING THE HAND PAGES 5/23 MELBOURNE SETS AN EXAMPLE Peristeri says tenant of tomb is a general with the Opening of the Greek Centre Katerina Peristeri, the archaeologist lead- “Melbourne officially has the largest Greek Cultural ing the excavation team at Ancient Am- Centre in the world, marking a new, brighter future for phipolis Kasta tomb, believes that the ten- the Greek Diaspora,” said the President of Melbourne’s ant of the tomb is most probably a General Greek Community Vasilis Papastergiadis at the inaugura- of Alexander the Great. tion of the Greek Cultural Centre in Melbourne. PAGE 2/20 The opening ceremony of the Greek Centre (pictured) was held on Sunday, September 21, by the Premier of Victoria Dennis Napthine in the presence of government officials, representatives of the Church, diplomatic au- thorities, local government, Greek organizations and businesses, benefactors of the Greek Community and a large number of visitors. His Grace Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis said that he was “deeply moved” and called for unity and support of the Community. The state Premier reiterated that Mel- bourne is the capital of the Greek Diaspora and noted that the Greek Centre is a “great achievement of multi- culturalism and an example to follow.” Thousands of Greek-Australians who attended the cer- emony felt proud looking at the impressive glass building in blue and white colours, with the Discobolus on its façade. “This is a new chapter in the renaissance of Greek products Greek-Australian Victoria,” said Papastergiadis, who dominating the US market thanked everyone who helped and donated for the con- struction of the 15 storey building, including Greece for Greece is one of the largest exporters to its support to the Community, the Federal Government the US in a range of alimentary products of Australia, the state government of Victoria, Premier like olives, fish, legumes, and cheese as well Napthine, Matthew Guy and Nicholas Kotsiras. as a number of manufactured goods like pipes and razor blades. PAGE 19/37 Kea: Walk this way The ancient trails of the westernmost of St Andrew’s Patristic Symposium 2014 the Cyclades are an ideal way to explore its varied historical and natural attributes. PAGES 12/30 - 13/31 PAGE 20/38 OCTOBER 2014 2/20 TO BHMA The Greek Australian VEMA Peristeri says tenant of tomb is a general Katerina Peristeri, the archaeologist leading the exca- vation team at Ancient Amphipolis Kasta tomb, speak- ing at “Mega Channel”, estimated that the tenant of the tomb is a very important figure, possibly a General of Alexander the Great, but the ‘secret of the tomb’ will only be revealed in about a month, when the excava- tion is completed. “We knew in advance that in Kasta hill we would find a tomb, but the door recently revealed confirms it.” Speaking on the strong criticism from fellow archaeol- ogists she said that: “I feel a bitterness, because when you do a job, all your collegues should be proud and happy. However, I am happy that the majority of common people and col- leagues are next to us.” Regarding the criticism received for leaks to the press Peristeri stressed that it is important to keep the media constantly updated on the progress of the excavation. Thodoros Mavrogiannis, professor of History and Ar- chaeology at the University of Cyprus, speaking at the same show, reiterated his belief that the close friend of Alexander the Great, Hephaestion, is buried in Kasta tomb. Mr Mavrogiannis said he is confident that it is a monument of the last quarter of the 4th century BC, as Ebola measures Katerina Peristeri stated that the tenant of the tomb is most probably a General of Alexander the Great at Amalia Fleming Katerina Peristeri has already stated, and said that the tails of the figures, the horses and the colors. Caryatids found are a direct reference to the hometown The composition dates back to the time when the of Hephaestion, Athens. tomb was constructed - the last quarter of the 4th cen- Hospital, Athens Meanwhile, stunning photographs of the mosaic floor tury BC. at the ancient tomb at Amphipolis in northern Greece The mosaic is damaged in the centre, in the form of a A special Ebola quarantine unit has been created were announced by the Ministry of Culture. The exqui- 80 cm diameter circle. However, many parts of the in the Amalia Fleming hospital in Athens, the first site mosaic was revealed in the second chamber of the damaged section have been found in the sandy finish. such unit to be created in the country. tomb where the caryatids are. In the coming days, archaeologists will try to restore the A training exercise has also been planned by the The mosaic, 3 metres (10 feet) long and 4.5 metres mosaic in order for the original scene to be obtained as state medical services in cooperation with the (15 feet) wide, depicts a horseman with a laurel wreath far as possible. armed forces. driving a chariot drawn by two horses and preceded by The mosaic has not been fully revealed in the east Health services have already been placed on high the Hermes. and west end, as excavations in this part are still under- alert, while there will be an emergency meeting at According to the ministry of culture announcement, way. In the southern part of the mosaic, between the the Ministry of Health tomorrow to discuss ways of Hermes is depicted here as the conductor of souls to pedestals of the Caryatids, a limestone threshold has preventing the potential entry and spread of the the afterlife. been discovered covered with white plaster. virus in Greece. The mosaic is made up of pebbles in many colors: In the northern part the marble threshold decorated Emergency measures already apply at borders. white, black, gray, blue, red and yellow. A circular part, with Ionic elements at the bottom has been discovered, Police and border and coast guard officers in partic- near the center of the mosaic, is missing, but authori- belonging to the door that leads to the third chamber. ular have been instructed to take additional health ties say enough fragments have been found to recon- Just below the door to the third chamber, two more precautions, especially at the Evros border and in struct a large part. parts of the marble door have been discovered. the Eastern Aegean islands, when they come into The mosaic reveals the exquisite skill in portraying de- contact with travelers who may have arrived from the affected countries. They also have been trained to ask questions to assess the likelihood that indi- viduals may have come in contact with infected in- dividuals. Amal Alamuddin Clooney in Athens 8 year old Greek for Parthenon marbles among the finalists Human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, fresh from her marriage to Hollywood star George for best Clooney headed to Athens for the Parthenon marbles issue. The Lebanese-born Alamuddin, who recently mar- Wildlife Photographer ried Clooney in a star-studded ceremony in Venice, met Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and of 2014 Culture Minister Konstantinos Tasoulas alongside her boss Geoffrey Robertson. “The Watchful Cheetah” a photo by Leon Petrinos “Mr Robertson and Mrs Clooney were first asked to of a female cheetah in Kenya is among the finalists provide legal advice to the Greek government on this of the prestigious international competition for best matter in 2011. They will be holding a series of meet- Wildlife Photographer of the Year, presented by ings with government officials during their stay,” the London’s Natural History Museum and BBC. chambers added in a statement. Leon is participating in the category “10 Years and Alamuddin Clooney, who is based in Britain, has Under”. The exhibition opens at the Natural History represented Ukrainian former Prime Minister Yulia Museum in South Kensington, London, from Octo- Tymoshenko at the European Court of Human Rights proceedings. She also advised former United Nations ber 24, to August 30, 2015. and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in extradition Secretary General Kofi Annan on the conflict in Syria. OCTOBER 2014 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA 3/21 Editorial Ebola and our world By Nikos Konstandaras - Kathimerini, Athens Far as we are from the dank jungles that gave birth to it, the Ebola virus may have struck us as too foreign and too far away to concern us. And while it killed small numbers of villagers in West Africa, it was only mission- aries and workers of humanitarian agencies who had any idea of what was happening. As with the AIDS epi- demic in the 1980s, the world took notice only when the new disease jumped from Africa to high-risk groups across the planet before threatening the general popu- lation. A photo taken in The truth is that US President Barack Obama did an- Madrid shows Spanish nounce emergency assistance for West Africa (dispatch- newspapers featruring between October 7 and ing 3,000 troops to help) long before cases of the hem- 9 pictures of Ebola orrhaging fever were reported in the United States and virus affected Spanish Europe. But the reporting on the issue was still sub- nurse Teresa Romero. dued. However, a man who had been afflicted in Liberia died in Texas, while a Spanish nurse was fighting for her life, having caught Ebola while treating a missionary Suddenly, a new plague brings home the understand- lated from each other.