The ongoing trials of Arthur Psichogios and Tony Golossian, accused of sexually assaulting two Greek Australian women whom they had convinced were ‘cursed’, does not reflect superstitious beliefs commonly held in the Greek community, according to a university professor.

One of the female victims, who in 2008 reported to police that she had been raped and had been convinced by “holy man” Tony Golossian that she was cursed by black magic which would cause cancer and death in her family.

In order to break the curse, the 39 year-old mother paid for prayer sessions with Golossian, during which she was blindfolded and sexually assaulted but assured it was only a dream. For months she and her husband were bombarded with phone calls from demonic-sounding voices. One, calling itself “Red Evil”, instructed her to have sex with Golossian’s friend, Arthur Psichogios, as a “test”.

A year earlier, a 29 year-old woman, also from Sydney, had given police an almost identical account of assaults by Golossian and Psichogios, according to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The second victim was also terrified by talk of curses and black magic and spent up to $100,000 over four years on prayer sessions, trusting they would spare her family from cancer and save her younger sister’s life. While these cases may suggest Greek superstition is still strong within the community, Professor of Modern Greek at Flinders University, Michael Tsianikas said this is not the case.

“In the traditional and uneducated Greek society (before the 1950s, in the rural area) there were many traditions of superstition,” Prof. Tsianikas told Neos Kosmos.

“After and before the Greek Revolution (1821) there was a systematic attempt, in particular from various intellectuals from the Greek Diaspora, to “enlighten” the Greek minds, through education. One of the most important themes discussed for decades was the idea to liberate the Greeks of any superstitious beliefs,” he added. During these strong debates, matters regarding religion – and when religion is or is not a superstition – were vividly discussed.

“After decades of education and “enlightenment”, the Greek society was almost free of any systematic practice regarding superstition,” Prof. Tsianikas said. “What happened in Sydney is totally different and a case of particular analysis… the Greek nation and the Greeks are freely spirited minds and there are only few, rare exceptions – and nothing else,” he said.

Convicted in December after a four-month trial, Golossian, 63, and Psichogios, 40, are in custody awaiting sentence. The District Court heard sentencing submissions earlier this month.