Milies is a mountain village in Thessaly, central Greece. It is located on Mount Pelion, noted for its scenic beauty, streams and water sources, vegetation, and cool forests. In Milies, a public library has an unusually interesting collection, inspired by scholars who were born there. Among them were Anthimos Gazis, a Greek author born in Milies in the 1700s. Promoting education in Greece through translations and philological research, Gazis was also active in trying to free Greece from rule by the Ottoman Empire. Also born in Milies in the 1700s was Daniel Philippidis, a Greek scholar, of geography and history, as well as a translator of handbooks of science and philosophy. Philippidis co-authored Modern Geography in the 1790s with Grigorios Konstantas who was concerned with educational issues as well as Greece’s liberation from Turkish rule. Like the others, Konstantas was born in Milies. Just after 1800, he planned with Anthimos Gazis to establish an advanced school in their birthplace, along with a library of 4,000 books. This library survives for visitors to appreciate. It is in a building facing the main square of the village, with about 3,300 books printed in Europe from the 1400s to the 1800s. It also owns over one hundred manuscripts, documents, and historical objects. The current building was completed in the 1920s. During a renovation in the 1970s, a second floor was added to the building. The renovated library contains a modern lending section with about 13,000 volumes and periodicals. Its catalogue is in the process of being computerized. The library schedules public exhibitions and school activities. Its rare books include volumes in the Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and German languages. They were printed in Venice, Florence, Geneva, Basel, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Leipzig, and Amsterdam.
Among the library’s treasures are works by the Greek comic playwright Aristophanes printed in Venice in the 1400s. The Thammasat University Libraries own some books by and about Aristophanes. There is also a book printed in the 1490s by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who is also well represented in the TU Libraries collection. Still another book, printed just after 1500, is by the historian Herodotus. Thai students and ajarns who are interested in history find much of value in the works of Herodotus. Yet another old book of interest in the collection is The Way of Mathematics by Methodios Anthrakites, a scholar and school director born in 1660. Anthrakites was a student of philosophy and mathematics, and in his research he mentioned the idea that the planets revolve around the sun, although he was not convinced that this was true. At the time, many authors still believed that everything revolves around the earth. Among later European works in the collection is a complete set from the 1770s of the Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts edited by the French philosopher Denis Diderot. The school and library founders were influenced by modern French literature and ideas. There are also single handwritten sheets of Greek and Byzantine texts that have survived from books over one thousand years old. On display may be seen objects of historical interest such as old scientific instruments and personal items belonging to the library’s founders, including a chair and knife that were once used by Grigorios Konstantas.
Thailand and Greece
As the website of the Embassy of Greece to the Kingdom of Thailand states, Greece has
very good diplomatic relations with Thailand, with significant potential for further improvement in the economic cooperation sector. Cooperation between the two countries extends to issues of international interest, mutual support of candidacies in international organizations, and multilateral cooperation, particularly within the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) informal dialogue and ASEAN relations with the European Union.
Among goals are to further improve
cultural and educational exchanges… particularly through the strengthening of cooperation in the sectors of science, education, research, libraries, culture, mass media, youth and sports.
Last year, His Excellency Ambassador Pericles Boutos presented an exhibition of his photographs, Fire/Regeneration – A Photographic Diary, 2007 – 2008. This show of 80 images the ambassador had taken was displayed at Central Embassy, Bangkok. The theme of the photos was the damage caused by wildfires in Greece in 2007. As the ambassador noted:
The result is an extended diary of nature’s struggle for regeneration both manmade and natural, from the tragedy of destruction to the glory of new growth and life, but also portraying the fragility of regeneration.
An auction was held to raise funds for the GreenWorld Foundation, a non-profit organisation collaborating closely with young people, educators, and community leaders in Thailand to inspire the development of environmental ethics. Ambassador Boutos has been taking photographs for over three decades and studied with the noted Greek photographer and teacher Platon Rivellis as well as at the School of Visual Arts, an art and design college, and the International Centre of Photography, both in New York City, USA. Among his books of photographs are Venice – Carnival Unmasked (1998) and Reversible (2005). In 2015, Ambassador Boutos met with the Thai-European Business Association (TEBA) and other dignitaries to discuss promoting tourism between Thailand and Greece. The ambassador
emphasized the importance of increasing connectivity between Thailand and Greece… He also noted that both regions are in a good position in terms of medical tourism. However, the recent termination of the Direct Flight between Bangkok and Athens by THAI Airways has been a main concern for Greece.
On its website, TEBA declares its mission:
to develop trade and investment between Thailand and Europe through
facilitating industrial and development policies with synergies between European and Thai business specific interests.
strengthening the technological capabilities and the competitiveness of Thailand by facilitating exchanges of experience and trainings between European and Thai businesses through industrial cooperation.
developing specific research and development programs to enhance local industry in Thailand for export to international market.
providing tailor-made services catering to specific needs to help promote trade and investment between Thailand and Europe.
Among other cultural exchanges between Thailand and Greece have been piano recitals at Sala Sudasiri Sobha, Bangkok by Greek musicians. One last year by Vinia Tsopela featured the music of Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Manuel de Falla, and the Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis. The previous year, Dimitri Vassilakis, another Greek pianist, gave a recital featuring works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti as well as the modernists Dimitri Mitropoulos – a Greek conductor and composer – Pierre Boulez, and Olivier Messiaen. In the visual arts in 2016, the Greek street artist Fikos participated in the Bukruk Urban Arts Festival, which featured public wall paintings, exhibitions, artist talks, and open-air music. About his visit to the Kingdom, the artist wrote on his website:
Few weeks ago I visited Bangok where I was invited to participate in Bukruk festival. My aim was to combine my art with Thai tradition, so first thing I did when I arrived there was to take a walk in the city in search of inspiration for my mural. One of the things that you immediately realize when you walk in the “City of Angels” is the adoration of the gold. So I decided to use that color and paint something from their culture, but with my own pesronal style. The theme I ended up was Sovann Macha, Hindu’s belief mermaid that also appears in Thai version of Ramayana. Her name translates as the “Golden Mermaid” and images of her could be found from tourist items to posters out of little shops for good luck. I would like to thank the whole team of Bukruk Urban Arts Festival for their invitation, their hospitality and for being amazing in what they did back there in Bangkok!
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)