Past Activities of the Hellenic Society of Maine (HSoM) – compiled by Lucky Hollander from HSoM Newsletters 2008-2022

(Not including Film Series)

 Special Projects:

HSoM has a formal Sister City relationship between Mytilene, on Lesvos, Greece, and Portland ME, established in 2003. We have, periodically, special events or projects centered around that relationship.

·       Three mayoral delegations have come to Maine, and two delegations from Portland have visited Mytilene. Programs included meetings, tours, and cultural events in both cities.

·       In 2007, the Society shipped 80 books in English, on American culture, donated by members and organizations in Boston and Portland.

·       June, 2009, Mayor Nasos Yiakalis greeted HSoM board members Mary Snell & Prof. Irwin Novak in his office at Mytilene City Hall. They brought a gift of a book and greetings from Portland Mayor Jill Duson.

·       December, 2009, Despina Deveres and Taxia Paras staffed an informational table on Mytilene during a Sister City event at Portland City Hall launching the new web page.

·       Summer Study in Greece: A 4-credit introductory level course on “Environmental Geology” on the Island of Lesvos, in cooperation with the University of the Aegean.

 

Special Note: In addition to the lecture series and the recent addition of Biblia Mazi, which meets to discuss carefully chosen books by Greek authors and/or about Greece, HSoM also shows 3 films in both the Fall and Spring, followed by a discussion. While still on Zoom, the discussion is scheduled a few days after the film is viewed.

 

·       Biblia Mazi (Books Together) – launched in 2021, HSoM chooses a book 3-4 times a year, and gathers (on Zoom) to discuss it.

o   Inaugural meeting of an on-going book club was held in November. The 1st book chosen was Circe by Madeline Miller.

o   Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos (February, 2022)

o   Greek Odyssey in the American West by Helen Papanikolas (* also known as Aimilia-Giorges or Emily-George) April (2022)

        Greek Language Table: For those who seek to improve or learn conversational Greek, Greek Table meets weekly on Monday mornings, open to all members.

(presented on Zoom) For more information, contact Mary Snell, msnell@maine.edu OR Lucky Hollander, lucky.hollander@gmail.com

 

 ON-GOING ACTIVITIES

2021-2022

Lecture Series (Fall 2021)

·       October 28 - CANCELLED “The History of Holy Trinity Church of Lewiston” by Georgia Chomas, worked as a realtor for 40 years, and is the past president of Philoptochos and the Daughters of Penelope

·       December 2 - “The Antikythera Mechanism” Professor Jerry LaSala of the USM Physics Dept. delivered a presentation on the ancient Greek computing device that was discovered by sponge divers from a Roman shipwreck dating back to the first century BCE.

Lecture Series: (Spring 2022)

·       March 31 - “How the Greeks Learned to Write – Twice!” Cynthia Shelmerdine, the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, emerita at the University of Texas at Austin and Research Associate in Classics at Bowdoin College.

·       Initial steps to establish a Greeks of Maine archive at the Maine Historical Society.

 

2020-2021:

Lecture Series (Fall 2020)

·       October 8.  Filmmakers Michael and Julia Nickles talked about their film “Swing Away” which centered around golf and was set in Greece.

·       October 29. Anna Wrobel spoke about the Holocaust in Greece in response to the documentary “It Was Nothing: It Was Everything”

Lecture Series (Spring 2021)

·       February 18.  “Rhigas Pheraios: A Man for All Epochs” by S. Victor Papacosma, Professor Emeritus of History and Director Emeritus of the Lemnitzer Center for NATO and European Union Studies at Kent State University, where he taught for 42 years.

Special Events: (curtailed because of COVID)

·       January 14. Annual Cutting of the Vasilopita (New Year’s bread) via Zoom.

·       March 18. Showing of the documentary “The Greek Revolution – 1822” followed by a discussion via Zoom.

 2019-2020:

Lecture Series (Fall 2019)

·       November 7. Greek Cooks Panel, “The Flavors of Greece” with Bill Doukas, Dina Medouris and Anna Nashi. Three acclaimed cooks from the Maine Greek community share some of their secrets of Greek cooking at USM.

Lecture Series (Spring 2020):

·       February 20. “The Parthenon: A Marvel through Ages” with Miltiades Zacas, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, has over 35 years’ experience in geotechnical investigation, design, and consultancy on various projects in Maine and internationally.

Special Events:

·       September 29. Greek Wine Dinner at the Taverna Khione in Brunswick to benefit HSoM.

·        January 16 - Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita at Tiga.

 2018-2019:

Lecture Series (Fall 2018)

·       September 21. “Why Diplomacy Matters,” David Pearce, Ambassador to Greece 2013-2016. Welcomed by Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and USM President Glenn Cummings.

·       October 18. “Mycenaean Iklaina Up to Date,” Cynthia Shelmerdine, the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, emerita at the University of Texas at Austin, and Research Associate in Classics at Bowdoin returns to share of her expertise.

Lecture Series (Spring 2019)

·       January 31. Stratos Efthymiou, Consul General of Greece in Boston, discussed relations between Greece and the USA in the context of challenging regional issues.

·       March 7. “The Life and Works of the Naif Painter, Theophilos Hatzimihail,” lecture by Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, who gave an overview of his life and how he was discovered.

Special Events:

·       October 6. IXNOS: Opening for an exhibition about migration on Lesvos, seventh floor Reading Room, Glickman Library, USM, October 5 – December 14, 2018. Artists panel November 7. Works by members of Peregrine Press, Mary Snell. Michael Honegger, and former Ambassador to Greece David Pearce.

·       Sister City Relationship with Mytilene, Lesvos, marks its 15th Anniversary

·       January 17. Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita at Tiqa in Portland.

 2017-2018:

Lecture Series (Fall 2017)

·       September 28. Musician and scholar Panayiotis ”Paddy” League gave a lecture on Greek music – and performed many examples on his violin. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University with his dissertation, “Echoes of the Great Catastrophe: Re-sounding Ottoman Greekness in Diaspora.”

·       October 19. “Mycenaean Pylos and the Kingdom of Nestor,” referred to by Homer in The Odyssey, this discussion focused on the palace just outside of the town of Pylos, and the new finds at the nearby site of Iklaina. Cynthia Shelmerdine, the Robert M. Armstrong Centennial Professor of Classics, emerita at the University of Texas at Austin, and Research Associate in Classics at Bowdoin.

Lecture Series (Spring 2018)

·       February 22. View and discussion of the documentary: “Attila ’74 The Rape of Cyprus”

·       March 22. “Genealogical Sleuthing in Greece: Sailing on the ‘Wine-Dark’ Sea of Greek History,” by Mary Papoutsy, a doctoral researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, investigating Orthodox ecclesiastical records from the Late Ottoman Empire.

Special Events:

·       January 18. Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita at Tiqa.

 2016-2017:

Lecture Series (Fall 2016)

·       August 21, 2016. Benefit Concert for Lesvos Hospital Aid by Boston-based band Skordalia donated by the performers and held at USM, Gorham.

October 18, 2016. Mrs. Iphigenia Kanara, Consul General of Greece in Boston spoke about the more than one million people, migrants, and refugees, which crossed the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, fleeing war and persecution in Syria and Afghanistan.

Lecture Series (Spring 2017)

·       March 16. Documentary and Discussion “Agora,” background of the Greek economic crisis.

·       May 4. Cancelled & Rescheduled “Lesvos at the Crossroads: The Soundscape of a Late Ottoman Island” Panayiotis League, Musicologist.

Special Events:

·       Lesvos Hospital Aid Project: In the Fall HSoM raised more than $20,000 from generous donors in order to purchase and ship medical supplies and equipment in a 40’ container to the Mytilene General Hospital to support that city during the historic refugee crisis on the island. 

·       January 19. Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita a Tiqa restaurant in Portland.

 

2015-2016:

Lecture Series (Fall 2015)

·       September 20. Rembetika Event: A music and silent auction fundraiser for HSoM, at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland. Rebetoparea! The band includes members playing the bouzouki, guitar, violin, accordion, and baglama. Rembetiko is compared to American blues and is the musical folklore of the urban centers at the turn of the last century, and in particular the urban populations living in the margins of society. This was a repeat dinner and fundraiser for HSoM.

·       October 21. “Greece’s Current Crisis: A Historian’s Reflections” by S. Victor Papacosma, a look at the current economic crisis.

·       November 8. Free dance workshop by Efstathiou Zapheiros Stratis. Focusing on dances from the Dodecanese Islands, also included several Pan Hellenic folk dances from other regions of Greece.

Lecture Series (Spring 2016)

·       March 22. Greek Heritage Panel, “What Makes You Greek?” with Judge Peter Goranites and Carol Kanthopoulos.

·       April 21. “Mount Athos and The Pilgrim’s Return” by Robert Allison, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Bates College. He earned a B.A. from Brown University in Religious Studies and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in New Testament and Early Christian Literature.

Special Events:

·       January 14. Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita at Ebb and Flow Restaurant.

 2014-2015:

Lecture Series (Fall 2014)

·       October 16. “The Politics of Tragedy: Greece’s Asia Minor Disaster” by S. Victor Papacosma, Professor Emeritus of History and Director Emeritus of the Lemnitzer Center for NATO and European Union Studies at Kent State University. He holds an A.B. from Bowdoin College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Lecture Series (Spring 2015)

·       March 5. “The Mediterranean Diet: Defense Against Disease” by Dorothy Klimis-Zacas. She is a Professor of Clinical Nutrition at the University of Maine, and a cooperating professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopio University, Athens, Greece, and also at the Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Milan, Italy.

·       April 24. Panel Discussion: “Immigration Through the Greek Experience” led by Harold Pachios, a founding partner of the Preti Flaherty law firm, and has also worked at the White House and US Dept. of Transportation. Taped at CTN Studios and broadcast later.

Special Events:

·       September 10. Day Bus trip: “Exploring the Greek Side of Boston.” The first American city to be named “The Athens of America” by the Greek government, it is the site of Greece’s few consulates in the US. The trip included contemporary church icons, ancient artifacts, and contemporary Greek art. Collaboration between HSoM and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USM.

·       September 28. Rebetiko and dinner fundraiser for HSoM at Bruno’s Restaurant in Portland. Rembetiko is compared to American blues and is the musical folklore of the urban centers at the turn of the last century, and in particular the urban populations living in the margins of society. The roots of rembetika probably originated in the music of the larger Greek cities, most of them coastal, in today’s Greece and in Asia Minor (now part of Turkey) during the Ottoman era.

·       Annual Social and Cutting of the Vasilopita

2013- 2014:

Lecture Series (Fall 2013)

·       October 17. “The Poetry of Cavafy, Seferis, Ritsos and Elytis” by Mary Snell, HSoM board member. A lifelong resident of Maine, and a seasonal resident of Greece, she is a poet and freelance writer, a former journalist and theater critic for the Maine Sunday Telegram. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Stonecoast MFA program at USM.

·       November 14. “The Eleusinian Mysteries: Important Lessons from Ancient Greek Religion” by Stephan Ferrand. He majored in Classics at Amherst College and continued his studies at Cornell Univ., the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and the Russian School of Norwich University.

Lecture Series (Spring 2014)

·       February 27. “Engineering and Technological Achievements of Ancient Greece” by Miltiades Zacas, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, has over 30 years’ experience in geotechnical investigation, design, and consultancy on various projects in Maine and internationally (Greece, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Colombia). A native of Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece, he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering, National Technical Univ. of Athens, an M.Sc. in Rock Mechanics at Univ. of Karlsruhe, Germany and his Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering-Rock Mechanics at Univ. of West of Scotland, UK.

·       May 1. “They Came to Work: Early 20th Century American Labor Conditions” by Charles Scontras, retired Professor of Special Studies, and Professor of Modern Society, serves as Historian and Research Assoc. for the Business of Labor Education, at UM Orono.

Special Events:

  • December 5. Annual Holiday Social celebrated the Sister City 10th anniversary at Cinque Terre in Portland. The Sister City relationship between Portland, Maine and Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece was formalized in 2003 when a reception for a delegation from Mytilene was held in the State Room of Portland City Hall. Projects between the 2 cities continue in various forms.

 

2012-2013:

Lecture Series (Fall 2012)

  • October 24: “Icons in Orthodox Church: Images of the Divine Life” by Fr. Constantine Sarantidis. A lecture and PowerPoint presentation on icons in the parish hall of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Portland.

  • November 14: “Was there a Troy and Why Does it Matter,” Prof. Peter Aicher. a graduate of Colgate Univ. and holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the Univ. of NC at Chapel Hill. He is professor of classics at USM.

Lecture Series (Spring 2013)

·       April 18. “The Kaleidoscope of Ancient Greek Music” by Prof. Paul Christiansen. He is Assoc. Professor of Musicology at USM and has offered courses in the history and analysis of Western music, world music, and musicianship at all levels from non-major to graduate.

Special Events:

·       Fall 2012: Continuing - “Introduction to Ancient Greek Language Class: 8-week class examining basic concepts of the language, key vocabulary, and grammatical structures with the goal of reading excerpt from a range of texts in the original Greek, taught by Dr. Sarah Harrell, at USM.

·       November 12. Trip to the Maliotis Cultural Center in Boston for the 100th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of the northern Aegean islands from Ottoman rule – Mytilene among them.

·       January. Cutting of the Vasilopita by the Board

 

 

2011-2012:

Lecture Series (Fall 2011)

·       September 15. “Greek Economic Crisis Report,” HSoM board member & USM professor Irwin Novak discusses the economic issues leading up to the debt crisis in Greece and the protest events of May – July.

  • October 20. “Delphi and What It Meant to be Greek,” Sarah Harrell, Ph.D., holds degrees in Greek & Latin, and Classics, with a specialty in Greek literature.

·       November 17. “Carl Jung and the Greeks,” Christos Gianopoulos, MA, MPA, is an independent consultant who leads seminars in self-development, and adjunct faculty in philosophy at USM and SMCC. He is also a past board member of HSoM.

Lecture Series (Spring 2012)

·       February 16: “The Patriarchate and the Greek Minority” by Stavros Nashi. He is a resident of Saco, Maine, wrote regularly for the Hellenic Voice newspaper and for his blog, My Greek Odyssey. Born in Istanbul he considers himself an American and is very proud of his Greek heritage and Orthodox faith.

Special Events:

·       September 28. September: Membership Social at Local 188, Portland.

·       October 30. Visit by Mimica and Sabrina Tsezana-Hyman to introduce the documentary “Song of Life,” directed by Tony Lycouressis – Greece 2002

·       December 15. HSoM Holiday membership Social at the Pepper Club, Portland and cutting of the Vasilopita.

·       February 29. Leap Year social at the Pepper Club, Portland.

·       March 12. First year of “Introduction to Ancient Greek Language Class: 8-week class examining basic concepts of the language, key vocabulary, and grammatical structures with the goal of reading excerpt from a range of texts in the original Greek, taught by Dr. Sarah Harrell, at USM.

  • April 3, 2012. Dedication of the Sister City display case at Portland City Hall built with donated funds. Attended by Mayor Michael Brennan, Councilor Nick Mavodones, and a representative of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe.

  • April 3 & June 8. Portes (Doors) art exhibit curated by Jeff Badger. A special show of works by 50 Portland artist’s work on paper. The show travelled to Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece, as part of our sister city relationship. Opening reception at Space Gallery April 3; opening reception in Mytilene June 8.

 

2010-2011

Lecture Series (Fall 2010)

  • September 24. “Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality,” Professor Kyriacos Markides, PhD, returning presenter.

  • October 15. “The Geology of Athens, Greece,” Paul Marinos, PhD., Professor of Engineering Geology at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

  • November 5. “The Greek Creation Myth and the Olympian Gods,” Evelyn S. Newlyn, Ph.D., Professor of English.

Lecture Series (Spring 2011)

·       February 17. “A Brief History of the Ancient Olympics,” Tim Robinson, human movement educator, instructor, and athletic coach affiliated with UNE, SMCC, Thomas College & Vienna International School.

·       March 30. Repeat lecture - “The Antikythera Mechanism: The 2,000-Year-Old Greek Computer.” USM Planetarium Director & professor in the Physics Department, Jerry LaSala presenter.

Special Events:

·       January: HSoM mid-year social, held in Grace Restaurant, Portland, to welcome in the new year.

·       September & October: Series of 2 shows, “Greek Sky: Myth, Science and Ideas” narrated live by Ed Gleason.

 

2009-2010

Lecture Series: (Fall 2009)

  • November & December: free Greek dance classes by Antonio Dominguez began to be offered for 6 evenings at USM.

Lecture Series: (Spring 2010)

·       March 11. “The Antikythera Mechanism: The 2,000-Year-Old Greek Computer.” USM Planetarium Director & professor in the Physics Department, Jerry LaSala presenter.

·       April 8. “Constantine and the Christianization of the Roman Empire.” Presenter: Professor Gary Johnson of the USM History Dept.,

 

2008-2009

·       Fall 2008, Dr. Roy Fairfield of Biddeford donated a rare Hellenic book printed in 1577 – Aristotle’s “Ethics” to Susie Bock, head of the USM Library’s Special Collections department

·       March 16. “Warriors, Worshipers, and Realists: Why Sparta sent 300 to Thermopylae” A lecture by Jim Capreedy, Ph.D., of Colby College

·       May 1. “Skordalia” – in concert. Traditional Greek music of the Aegean islands and Asia Minor, and Rembetica at USM Gorham.

 

2007-2008

·       November – April. Planetarium series: “Greek Mythology in the Night Sky” presented by Ed Gleason.

·       May 3, 2008. “Greek Myths; Out of the Box” the theater at Monmouth. Children’s play in Talbot Auditorium at USM.

 

2006-2007

·       Books in English, June 2007 to Mytilene Library with a Portland City Delegation.