An exhibition offering a virtual tour of the shared history and culture of Greeks from Cyprus, Pontus, and Asia Minor has opened in Oakleigh to commemorate the Pontian Genocide.
The exhibition “In the Footsteps of Digenis Akritas,” has been organised by the Pedagogical Institute “Hellenism of Anatolia – from the Aegean to Pontus” (EA), under the auspices of the Australian Federation of Pontian Associations.
The official opening took place on Monday evening and will run until Sunday, May 29 at the Oakleigh Community building (opposite the church of Saints Anargyri).
Among the speakers at the exhibition’s opening were Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Emmanouel Kakavelakis and Dr. Stavroula Nikoloudi (La Trobe University), who spoke about the legend of Digenis Akritas.
The event was presented by Kostas Pataridis and included speeches by Oakleigh Community President Christos Damotopoulos, SEKA President Pavlos Andronikos, Kaiti Georgiou on behalf of the Cypriot Community, and students from Greek schools.
The musical segment featured Evangelia Baxa on vocals and Giorgos Sevastakis on the lute/lyra.
This exhibition also commemorates the sorrowful anniversaries of 50 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the illegal occupation of the northern part of the island, as well as 105 years since the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus.
The Pedagogical Institute has organised the exhibition “In the Footsteps of Digenis Akritas” to showcase the shared history and culture connecting Greeks from Cyprus, Pontus, and broader Asia Minor.
Among the several community and state officials, Home Affairs minister Clare O’Neil visited the exhibition and was impressed by the tour given by Giota Stavridou.
“Continuing the successful presentation of its activities, the EA organised a series of events bringing not only the adult audience but also hundreds of students from morning and afternoon schools into contact with the history and significant culture created by the Greeks in Asia Minor for millennia,” project manager Symela Stamatopoulou said.
“During the ten-day period, museum education programs will be implemented for educational institutions, school groups, and associations, with workshops related to the history and culture of the unforgettable homelands,” Stamatopoulou added.
Coordinator of the EA, Giota Stavridou, emphasised that “the aim of the exhibition is for visitors to have the opportunity to come into contact with the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Hellenism in Anatolia and Cyprus.”
The tangible heritage includes personal family heirlooms of Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Cyprus, while the intangible heritage includes the epic of Digenis Akritas, whose legend will be explored through the museum education programs.
“The epic of Digenis Akritas is a landmark work for the Greek language, as it is considered the first written monument of Modern Greek Literature. It combines elements from the Homeric Epics and ancient Greek Mythology with Christian Byzantium and the tradition of the Akritika Folk Songs of the 10th-11th centuries AD, and can be used to teach History, Geography, and Culture, functioning symbolically on many levels,” said Stavridou.
“We invite all Greek Australians to visit the exhibition, participate in the events that will take place during its duration, and register to attend the museum program, which is provided free of charge.”
The exhibition spans six rooms of the community house. Each room is dedicated to a region: Constantinople, Pontus, Ionia, and Cyprus, with two additional rooms.
One is dedicated to the Akrites of yesterday and today, and the other displays the works of students from the competition held during the 2023 school year.
The competition winners will be awarded on Sunday, May 26, at 6pm.
The prizes include monetary awards sponsored by the Australian Federation of Pontian Associations, with the first prize being a silver tetradrachm from 157 BC from Cappadocia depicting King Orophernes, about whom Cavafy wrote the poem “Orophernes”.
The ancient coin is sponsored by Dean Kalimniou from his personal collection.
Another interesting event within the exhibition framework is the Dance Lesson titled “Karsilamas, the Dance that Unites”, by Dance Instructor Sotiris Sotiriou, on Saturday, May 25, at 2pm.
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