Be Inspired: Innovative Diaspora Greeks

Innovation is definitely not a foreign term in Greece. Contemporary Greeks have a history of innovation to be proud of in the fields of engineering, mathematics, astronomy and so on. Likewise, the Greek spirit of innovation lives on in today's Greeks, whether they live in their country of origin or have chosen to excel away from it. The following is a small list of innovators of the diaspora:

The Blackberry Creator: Mike Lazaridis - Born in Constantinople in 1961, Lazaridis and his family were immigrants to Canada. Two friends/partners, a 15,000 dollar loan from his parents and the general support of General Motors led to the creation of RIM, the company that created the famous Blackberry phone and many other patented innovations. In 1999 he founded the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada, which studies black holes, quantum physics, the theory of relativity and similar scientific subjects. Among its esteemed staff is also the famous physicist Stephen Hawking.

One Laptop per Child: Nicholas Negreponte - Born in 1943, Nicholas Negreponte is a Greek-American who was raised in New York. He conceived and is cofounder of the MIT Media Laboratory as well as chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association, which aims to bring 100$ self-powered laptops to children of poor countries. He has also funded many startups for companies such as the magazine "Wired."

BusinessWeek's Best in 2007: Thomas Milonas: Born and raised in Greece, Thomas Milonas studied industrial design in Italy, because he failed to make it into the university of his choice in Greece. Having worked for Fila as a footwear designer, Thomas decided to start his own company in the Netherlands with only 4,000 euros to spare. As a result the company "Dot Kite" was born that led to clients such as Best Western, Velvet Airlines, Puma, Fila. He didn't stop there, however, as he also founded the company "Loggia Import" that imports italian and greek wine and olive oil as well as the "Crux Group," which invests in innovative ideas. He was voted as one of the most successful young businessmen in Europe for 2007 by Business Week magazine.

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Image: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/08/0804_cheap/7.htm

Sources:

omogeneia.ana-mpa.gr

media.mit.edu

telegraph.co.uk

umain.edu

The Antikythera Mechanism

In 1902, a diver exploring a shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera finds fragments of the earliest complex computing instrument ever discovered. This 30-dial instrument was dubbed the "Antikythera Mechanism." Although scientists have mostly deciphered its codes and have been awed by its creator's knowledge of astronomy and engineering, they still haven't understood its use and the reason for its creation. The sophistication of this instrument was so advanced that antiquity did not see anything quite as complex until 1,300 years later.

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Image: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/11/29/science/29cnd-compu.ready.html

Sources: http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/el/project/overview

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7204/full/nature07130.html

Ancient Egnatia Odos Revived

Traveling through northern Greece these past couple weeks you may have encountered a caravan of people and mules somewhere along the way. That would be the members of the "Via Egnatia Foundation," which is based in the Netherlands, actually hiking along the ancient route of Egnatia from Florina to Thessaloniki.

The NGO, whose members consider the Via Egnatia part of the world cultural heritage, are interested in reviving the road as a hiking trail, contributing to scientific and cultural research concerning its history, the people that used it and the people that live around it today. Volunteers from all over Europe and the Balkans started in Dyrrachium in Albania, they crossed through FYROM, which led them through Greece and their trip will be completed in Constantinople in July.

In an interview with Ms. Gioultsi of APE-MPE, the director of this endeavour, Mrs. Marieta Van Atikum, explains (in Greek) that the NGO was formed by a group of phil-hellenes with Greek studies. She explains that the reason they travel by caravan with mules, is because this was the considered a safe way to travel back in the days of the Roman Empire.

History

The Roman Officer Egnatius was in charge of constructing a road that would facilitate commerce and transportation of war material during the era of the Roman Empire. It was constructed between 146 - 120 BC over an ancient pre-Roman road that connected the Adriatic countries and the Aegean.

The via Egnatia was a road of European standards, as it was paved, complete with road signs (with information signs on the distance between major cities), stops for rest and to change horses. It also boasted similarly constructed entrances to cities. The length of the via Egnatia was measured in roman miles (100 paces) and there were signs at every mile indicating the distance covered up until that point.

The via Egnatia initially served as a military road, but soon it was used as an exchange between peoples and cultures, and it also served as a mean to transfer art around the Balkans, with Thessaloniki as the center.

*In February of 2010, the "Via Egnatia Foundation" is cooperating the the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki in presenting the conference "Myths About Others."

Sources: omogeneia.ana-mpa.gr

http://www.viaegnatiafoundation.eu/

http://www.egnatia.gr/page/default.asp?la=1&id=23

Image: http://www.danek.gr/?page_id=272

The Contradictory Life Actions of a Greek

There's an eerie silence everywhere I go, ever since the announcement of the new government measures on Sunday. It feels like a blanket of pessimism has fallen over everyone and you see people walking down the street or working with their heads hung low.

People are quick to blame outside influences, the markets, the government, politicians of the last 30 years, and basically everyone else but themselves for the current crisis the country is in.

However, it's the Greeks that started and allowed this situation to reach the stage it's at right now.

The Greek mentality has a unique way of molding people into big drama queens that are secretively smart-asses. How? Here are some of my real-life examples:

- The employer that constantly complains to his employees that he has no money, customers aren't paying, he dreads the end of the month because he doesn't know if he'll be able to pay the bills... is the same guy that drives around a BMW 4x4, lives in a luxurious house and goes on vacation in secrecy lest his 500-euro/month employees find out and get jealous.

- The pensioner that curses at today's politicians, calling them impotent with his friends over screaming matches at the kafeneio... is the same man that once (and often times, more than once) voted for a local politician and/or did favors for him in hopes that this politician would repay him with a job for his son or daughter. In the public sector, of course.

- The woman expressing her frustration over the financial crisis on TV, complete with a look of anguish and phrases she hears uttered on TV ("Things just keep getting harder," "How am I going to feed my kids")... is the same woman that... read the rest at allthegreeks.com

When the Gods Take Revenge

The Ancient Greeks managed to create a diety system of gods that were so "human" in their personal stories and traits, that is truly impressive. Their gods loved and hated with a passion, they would get jealous and they sought revenge. Especially the latter, they must have enjoyed. Here are a few cases of wrath felt by the gods as revenge:

Prometheus

This titan suffered the most terrible punishment from the gods of Olympus. Prometheus (which in Greek means forethought) was entrusted by Zeus to create humankind out of clay. Because he wanted to help his creations survive, he gave humans fire against the will of Zeus. When Zeus found out, he chained Prometheus on the top of mount Caucasus and sent an eagle every day to feast on his liver. The torture would continue for eternity every day, because Prometheus's liver regenerated at night, so that the eagle could eat it again the next day. Finally, decades later, Hercules saved him (with Zeus's compliance, of course).

Pandora

Pandora was a woman created by the god of fire Iphestos and "adorned" by Athena with all the beautiful characteristics and traits that a woman of charm should have. Pandora was meant to be Zeus second revenge on Prometheus and his creations (the humans). So, after Zeus chained Prometheus to the mountain, he sent Pandora with a box to Prometheus's brother, Epimetheus (afterthought). The woman was beautiful, so Epimetheus accepted this gift from the gods, although his brother had warned him not to accept any gifts from Olympus. Pandora brought a box with her, which she was instructed never to open, for any reason. Of course the gods counted on Pandora's curiosity, who they knew would eventually open the box. When she finally did open the box secretly, sorrow, famine, death and every other possible ailment were released into the world onto men. She managed to close the box right before hope escaped from inside...

Read about: Atlas, Odysseus, Pasiphae, Niobe

Five Cents for Every Greek Word

How much really would Greece make if it charged for every greek word uttered worldwide? Billions, one would presume. Does the rest of the world owe to Greece? German historian and writer, Leonora Seeling, who considers Greece the cradle of Western culture and democracy, believes so. She is angry at the German press for attacking Greece and she's done something about it:

She has actually published a booklet suggesting that every European pay the symbolic amount of 5 cents every time he/she says a Greek word, as a minimal tribute to the country on which European culture and achievement is based.

Seeling expresses her opposition to the patronizing way the German media talk about Greece, also accusing them of turning a blind eye to the corruption of their own country (Germany) and instead criticizing Greece. She also suggests that Greece cut back on buying German weapons by 50%.

Source: omogeneia.ana-mpa.gr

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Ancient Macedonians Cursed in Greek

The ongoing name dispute between Greece and FYROM (which started out as such a silly claim from our tiny neighbor, that the Greek politicians completely ignored it) has left Greece scramming for supporters in the archaeological community (because, turns out that the majority of the political community has already recognized FYROM as "Macedonia," deeming the Greek stance ridiculous).

One such supporter and famous archaeologist, Dr. Steven Miller, begs to differ with the Skopian side. "[The Macedonians'] Greekness is evident, as the inscriptions of the Ancient Macedonians are written in Greek," he said in an interview published in this month's "Greek Diaspora" magazine.

Dr. Miller is famous for his discovery of the ancient stadium of Nemea in 1973, however he initially came to Greece to look for the palace of legendary King Phillip of Macedonia and it has been an issue that interests him ever since. "The Greeks considered the Macedonians Greeks, in the 7th century BC," he says. "They took part in the Nemean Games as one of the Greek tribes or city/states" and there is no doubt about that as Dr. Miller points out.

Some people are quick to point out that the Macedonians' inscriptions may be in Greek, because it was considered the language of the elite at that time. However, Dr. Miller's counter-argument is clear: "Even curses, which are a part of every-day language, are written in Greek in Macedonia. Therefore, their spoken language was Greek."

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