Editorial

Editorial
The majestic, awe-inspiring olive-tree dominates the Cypriot landscape. Its
titanic resistance and vital force that render it nearly immortal is breathtaking. No
other tree is better identified with the Mediterranean region. Symbols of abundance,
glory and peace, olive leafy branches crowned the victorious and were
emblems of benediction and purification.
Cyprus, "the greyish green olive leaf floating in the Mediterranean", as proclaimed
by Cypriot poet Leonidas Malenis, has benefited from the "olive culture" from
time immemorial. Countless generations grew up in the shade of the olive tree,
were nourished on pure olive oil, learned what human toil is by picking olives, read
by the flickering flame of the oil-lamp and lit a candle at the iconostasis to pray.
The mystical glow of oil illuminated our history and was an endless source of
fascination as it conferred health, strength and youth.
The various aspects of the oil culture as it has seeped into Cypriot tradition are
revealed in the main article of the present issue of Cyprus Today, signed by Euphrosyne
Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou, Associate Professor at the University of Cyprus.
We shall continue our itinerary along the world museums tracing the Cypriote
antiquities dispersed throughout the world. As in the previous issue of our review,
light will be shed on the new exhibition halls opened by the Leventis Foundation
in Toronto and Odessa.
The theme of the protection of our cultural heritage is elaborately dealt with in
Michael Jansen’s book "War and Cultural Heritage: Cyprus after the 1974 Turkish
invasion" presented in this issue of our review. The book, a startling report
of the cultural problem of Cyprus as victim of war pillage, has made an invaluable
contribution by reminding the world of the common heritage of mankind
in which every single artifact adds to the narrative of history and a loss in one country
is a loss in global civilisation.
Equally valuable to this noble cause is the contribution by Professor Theofanis
Stavrou publisher of the book and chief editor of the series in which it appeared
at the University of Minnesota.
If the topic of war pillage in our world so often hostile overwhelms our readers,
they may overcome their anxiety by reading about ancient Greek music and the
Terpandros exhibition. Music elevates our spirit and confirms the existence of harmony
in this universe. The recreation of ancient Greek musical instruments by
Michalis Georgiou creates the medium through which the long forgotten resonances
of the universe can resurface and bring peace of mind.
1

Photo: Porphyrios Dikaios, photomosaic, Cultural Services, Ministry of Education and Culture, 1998.

The Olive Tree
and Olive Oil in the Traditional
Life of Cyprus
Euphrosyne Rizopoulou Egoumenidou, Associate Professor, University of Cyprus
The olive tree has co-existed with the inhabitants
of Cyprus from the Neolithic period
(6th millennium BC) to the present day, not
only in the countryside but also in the towns.
One can see in the gardens of houses, side
by side the beloved traditional trees of Cyprus:
the lemon tree and the olive tree.
The cultivation of the olive tree began during
the 2nd millennium BC but the earliest
evidence of production of olive oil on the
island goes back to the end of the 13th
century BC, the period to which the oldest
olive presses that have been discovered in settlements
and temples date back (Hadjisavvas
1992 and Hadjisavvas 1996, 59-63).

4
In antiquity Cyprus was well-known as a place
rich in olive trees and olive oil, evelaios according
to Strabo, and Cypriot olive oil was much
sought after as being light and easily digestible
(Strabo 14. 6 .5).
The olive tree is hardy and long-lived.
There are some very old olive trees in Cyprus,
their trunks full of roomy hollows. The socalled
frankoelies (Frankish olives) are thought
to go back to the period of Frankish rule
(1191-1489), while another variety of olive
tree is called apostolitzi (apostolic) because
according to tradition these trees sprang from
the olive stones thrown on the ground by the
Apostles Paul and Barnabas during their stay
on Cyprus (Aristidou 1986, 53).
During the period of Venetian rule (1489-
1571) olive trees were abundant and were distributed
all over the island. Most of them,
however, were wild, arkoelies (oleasters). This
problem existed in recent times as well, since
in 1937 Cyprus had 2.25 million olive trees
of which one million were wild. With grafting
and systematic cultivation from 1946-
1958, olive trees increased in number by 40%
(Christodoulou 1959, 171).
The Turkish invasion in 1974 inflicted a serious
blow on production because almost
half of the island’s olive trees are grown in the
occupied northern part of Cyprus.

Different stages in the production of oil. 16th century engraving.
The olive tree suits all types of cultivation.
According to consular reports of the 19th century,
olive trees were constantly found with
the carob trees at the foot of the mountains
and skirting the plains, forming a line of demarcation
between the uncultivated mountain
sides, and the tilled land below (report by the
Vice-Consul White in Papadopoullos 1980,
83. See also Savile 1878, 93). At the same time
there were olive groves, lioforia, which came
right up to the walls of Nicosia. An area of the
capital is still called "Elaion" today and, despite
the fact that large modern villas are built on
it, a number of olive trees still grow there.
Olive trees were included in records of property
and the number of olive roots is recorded
in inventories of property and marriage
contracts (e.g. in the 18th unpublished inventory
of the property of the Dragoman Hadjigeorgakis
Kornessios).
In an economy that was primarily agricultural,
like that of Cyprus, olive oil was only second
to wheat as a food staple. Therefore, interregional
exchanges were essential and itinerant
merchants and even producers would
exchange olive oil with grain.
The production of olive oil fluctuated considerably.
It did not always meet local needs
and only in good years was there the possibility
of exporting. This phenomenon seems
to have been perpetual. At the end of the 18th
century Archimandrite Kyprianos gives the
following picture: "The olive groves produce
a good quantity of oil so that when they
do well the country is provided for up to three
years and sometimes it is even sent out of
the country" (Kyprianos (1788) 1974, 544),
while in 1868, in the report of the Vice-Consul
Sandwith on the merchants of Cyprus, it
is mentioned that Cyprus is the only island in
the East which does not produce sufficient oil
for its needs (Papadopoullos 1980, 116).
5

6
Picking olives from the ground. (Photo: Nicos Psilakis)
In the traditional society of Cyprus, especially
in rural areas, production remained at
the pre-industrial level at least until the mid
20th century. Therefore, the year’s provision
in olives and olive oil was a real struggle,
involving the cultivation of the trees,
the collection of the fruit and the extraction
of olive oil in the pre-industrial olive mills and
presses. "When we were going to plant olive
trees, we had to dig pits up to four feet deep.
We put the olive tree in the pit, pressed the
earth down well and then watered the plants.
If they were grafted they produced olives in
three years," says an eighty-year old man from
Dhikomo (Mavrokordatos 1987, 47).
For better fruiting the olive tree needed looking
after, ploughing and hoeing, essential tasks
which were described in popular proverbs :
"If you plough the olive tree seven times between
October and March/April, you’ll go crazy from
the oil you’ll produce" and "Give me at the
root and I’ll give you on the branch."
Equally good was a thorough watering:
Oil press in Cyprus. (Photo: X. Lazarou)

Homer called it “golden liquid”.
"The olive tree heard the plough and thought
it was the irrigation ditch." The reason why
the olive oil of Kythrea was famous is because
in Kythrea there was a perennial spring, the
largest spring on the island, which watered
many olive trees and turned 32 watermills
(Xioutas, A, 1984, 114, no. 346, 297, no.
1055, 32, no. 84, and Xioutas, B, 1985, 155,
no. 253).
The tree also needed skilful pruning, which
was most important for a good yield: "The
olive tree needs a crazy pruner and a sensible
picker," that is to say merciless pruning and
prudent harvesting, with the hands (Xioutas,
B, 1985, 20 no. 1955). In proverbial speech,
the olive tree voices all its needs: "The olive
tree tells its owner: Dig round me? You remember
me. Manure me? You feed me. Water me?
I am refreshed. Prune me? You make me pregnant."
(Xioutas,C, 1985, 266, no. 4947).
Crucial for production is the flowering season
in the spring, when the fruit is small
and tender. Being unable to control the weath-
er conditions, people resorted to religion and
superstition. They believed that "When you
say ‘Christ is risen’ to the olive trees on Easter
morning, they keep their fruit" (Xioutas, A,
1984, 77, no. 221).
For the olive tree to develop it needs air and
light, not buildings all around it: "The olive
tree heard the builder’s trowel and burst into
tears" (Xioutas, A, 1984, 32-33, no. 85).
The periodical production of the olive tree
also passed into proverbs. The tree was
considered an independent lady who produced
fruit when she wanted to: "They invited
the olive tree to the wedding and it told
them a lady doesn’t go" (Xioutas, A, 1984,
351-352, no. 1283).
The harvesting of the fruit began in August
with the picking of the green olives which
would become tsakkistes (crushed). They left
the other olives to turn black and these they
picked in October and even November. The
men climbed up the trees and shook the branches
so that the fruit would fall and be picked
up by the other members of the family or
female labourers, but the final harvesting at
the beginning of the winter was done by striking
the tree with vakles (long sticks) or long
canes. This very ancient method was effective
but harmful to the tree and was strongly
criticised by the British (see the relevant comment
in the consular report of 1844 in
Papadopoullos 1980, 20).
A certain amount of the olives was salted to
keep for food for the whole year, while the
main crop from the ladoelies ("oil olives") was
to be turned into oil. From 3-5 okes of
olives they produced an oke of oil. They put
the olives into big baskets of 40 okes. Before
they took them to the mill, they spread
them out in their yards or on the flat roof tops
7

8
Crushing olives in a traditional olive mill, in the 1950s. Photo by F.M. Yiaxis
for about 10 days because they considered that
the fruit produced better oil if they left it to
shrivel.
The process of extracting the oil was laborious
and was done in two stages at special installations
which in some areas were open air but
in others housed in buildings. The first stage
was the crushing of the fruit with a cylindrical
millstone which turned in an upright position
in a circular stone basin, the skoutellin tou
milou. The millstone was turned by pushing
the pole, i.e. the beam which formed the
horizontal axis of the millstone. This was done
by men or animals.
The washed olives were turned into pulp, the
zimari. They left this first pulp, with a hollow
in the centre, for many hours in a container
and the first oil came out by itself.
This was the cleanest/purest oil and they
called it adolon (pure). The
second stage was to squeeze
the pulp in a press with a screw,
initially of wood and later of iron. They put
the pulp into round woven baskets with a hole
in the middle, the zembilia, and placed 5-7 of
them, one on top of the other, in the base of
the press. Here they squeezed the filled zembilia
three times, again with muscle power,
turning the screw with the help of a wooden
beam. After the first pressing, adolon or virgin
oil came out, at the second pressing, however,
and the third, they threw hot water onto
the zembilia which contained the pulp, for
the rest of the oil to come out. This they
collected in a container. The oil floated and
they scooped it up with their cupped hands
or even with their palms. They left it for about
20 days for the sediment to settle before
they began to use it. The oil
was kept in small earthenware
jars, ladokoumnes, stopped or
sealed with beeswax, or in glass
demi-johns (lamintzanes). Another
type of vase used for olive oil was

Ancient old olive tree. (Photo: N. Psilakis)

10
ladokouzin, a jug provided with a spout opposite
the vertical handle.
The unit of measurement of the oil was the
litre, which was equivalent to 21 /2 okes or 10
ounces. For each litre of olive oil they had to
give one ounce (a quarter of an oke) to the
owner of the mill (Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou
1996, 324-339, Fiouri, under publication,
Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou, under publication).
Despite the efforts of the Greek agronomist
Panayiotis Gennadios, Director of the newly
established Department of Agriculture (1896-
1904) to improve the equipment and containers
used in the production of olive oil, the
substitution of the wooden press, from which
the oil acquired an unpleasant, rancid taste,
by an iron press, was very slow, since even in
1946 more than half the presses in olive mills
Different varieties of olives.
were still wooden (the conservatism of the
Cypriots over adopting modern methods of
production were also noted at the end of the
19th century by the researcher Magda Ohnefalsch-Richter
((1913) 1994, 104).
The olive and oil were integral elements of
the traditional life and the staple ingredients
of daily food.
Throughout ages of deprivation, serfdom and
exploitation, the olive earned recognition as
a valuable and favourite form of food. Because
of poverty, the daily diet of the rural population
was so frugal, even in the last days of British
rule – a lump of bread, a few olives, an
onion or, on better days, a piece of lard or halloumi
cheese – they cherished the olive as their
eyes or their sweetheart. All this is summed
up in the Cypriot proverb "He looks after her
like the olive on his plate" (Xioutas, A,

1984, 231 no. 771). The olives, which
were always counted, together
with bread, constituted the everyday
meal of the farmers, the workers,
the craftsmen.
In traditional households olives were prepared
and preserved for domestic consumption in
a variety of ways. Some of them are similar to
those of antiquity. Black salted olives were
preserved in koumnes (earthenware containers).
A particular type of olive is preserved
in brine and vinegar and is called kolymbati
(swimming olive), a word deriving from the
ancient name kolymvas elaia. According to the
5th-century lexicographer Hesychios, this
kind of preserved olive was called by the Cypriots
vomvoia (see reference in Michaelides 1998,
32). More common in Cyprus is the green
tsakkisti (crushed) olive, the thlasti of the
ancients. Cypriots also keep in vinegar and
oil the adrouppa, a fleshy olive from which
they do not get oil (Xioutas, A, 1984, 74).
The most characteristic Cypriot olive is the
tsakkisti (Fig. 5), which is prepared as follows:
they crush lightly the green olives with a stone
and cover them with water which is changed
twice a day, until the bitterness has gone. Then
they put the olives in bottles with brine and
lemon juice. Before serving, they are prepared
with finely chopped garlic, crushed coriander
seeds, olive oil, thin slices of lemon and lemon
juice (Evangelatou, 35-36).
A very common Cypriot food with olives is
the elioti or olive bread.
It is prepared with dough (made of flour
and water) in which black olives, dried
mint, coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves
and onions are added. They knead all the
ingredients together, shape the dough into
Ladokouzin,
glazed jug with
a spout for serving
olive oil. Kilani village,
Limassol district.
small round loaves and bake
them in the oven (Farmakides 1983,
302).
The role of the olive was, and continues to
be, especially important during fasting periods,
which covered more than half the days
of the year. It is considered, indeed, that the
small quantity of oil which the very few olives
in the daily diet contain does not break the
fast and for this reason the consumption of
olives is permitted on fasting days when olive
oil is prohibited (for the fasting periods and
the related foods see Egoumenidou and
11

12
Michaelides 2002, 55-64).
In traditional households
special provision had to be
made for having olive oil in
the house during the pre-Christmas
fast because the year’s provision was running
out and the new olive oil was not yet
ready. In contrast, for the major Lenten fast
before Easter, it was necessary to have wheat
for bread: "The forty days olive oil and the
fifty days bread" (Xioutas, C, 1985, 173 no.
4613).
For financial reasons and because of
the abundance of natural produce on
the island, the traditional Cypriot diet
was based mainly on the consumption of
green vegetables, legumes and pasta, always
with bread, while meat from the home-fed
animals and chickens, rarely reached the
table except at weddings, on major
feast days and when a visitor came
or someone in the house was ill.
In the rural areas of Cyprus, all
the year round, every wild or cultivated
plant was made use of and in
every possible combination. Typical
of the Cypriot cuisine are dishes
which combine boiled legumes
with vegetables, eaten with raw olive
oil and lemon, as are salads.
Such combinations are blackeyed
beans with kale or red
pumpkin, fresh black-eyed
beans with marrow, beans
with celery and carrot etc.
In the past, sesame oil
was used as a substitute
for olive oil during Lent,
while for frying they usually
used pork fat.
One of the most common dishes was, and still
is, brown or yellow lentils.
Brown lentils are often cooked with rice or
trin (home-made pastry cut in short lengths)
and are flavoured with onion fried in olive oil.
This dish is called mougendra. Mougendra
absorbs a lot of oil, but the quantity does
not show. The following proverb, inspired by
the dish, is used in a metaphysical sense: "The
lentil turned round and ate the olive oil"
(Xioutas, A, 1984, 328 no. 1187).
Stews with olive oil were common, as were
also greens fried with eggs in olive oil.
Mavrolado, black oil, had a stronger
taste and smell, and was also heavier
than the normal olive oil. To produce
mavrolado they picked the olives
while they were still green, cleaned
them and scalded them for a short
time in water in a copper cauldron
until they were soft but
not soggy. Then they strained
them and spread them out to
dry but not to shrivel. They crushed
them in the press without water
and the oil which came out was
left to settle in a tank for 40
days (Fiouri, under publication).
The black oil, produced mainly
in Paphos and the Karpasia, is
produced in only small quantities
today, despite the appreciation
felt for it by gourmands.
The use of plenty of oil was
a sign of prosperity and generosity.
They called a stingy
person "alathkiasto" – a
person who grudged putting
oil on his food.

The best Mediterranean diet: vegetables with olive oil. (Photo: N. Psilakis)
Olive oil was also used medicinally in the
traditional society. They put drops of it in the
ear to cure earache and rubbed the belly
with oil to ease pain. They anointed wounds
with oil, even those made by the saddle on the
backs of animals. They also rubbed figs with
oil to make them ripen quickly and early.
Olive oil continues to have an important place
in today’s diet, enhanced constantly by a steady
flow of information about its beneficial qualities,
which do not hold for mavrolado. Despite
the fact that in recent decades various vegetable
oils have been in widespread use,
olive oil remains in the minds of Cypriots as
the "good oil". As well as Cypriot oil, which
is exported abroad, imported oil, mainly from
Greece, is also consumed. According to data
from the Statistics Service of the Ministry of
Finance, 12,219 kilos were imported into
Cyprus in 2002 and 25,976 kilos in 2003. In
the same years the export of Cypriot olive
oil reached 766,791 and 1,572,975 kilos respectively.
In 2003-04 local production of olive oil was
4,500 tons (1,000 kilos per ton) and in 2004-
05, 6,000 tons.
It is worthy of mention that, despite the abundance
of oil on the market, the Cypriot still
aspires today to cultivate his small inherited
olive grove or even the few olive trees in his
garden or yard. If one calculates the cost of
labour for harvesting and the fees at the
olive mill, this enterprise is economically
unprofitable. Thus, usually the family and
friends are mobilised for the harvesting and
they themselves take the fruit to the mills,
which are now modern and automatic. There
they wait for the oil to come out, enjoying, as
they did at the old manual mills, kapires (toast-
13

14
ed bread) dipped in the fresh olive oil, with
salt and lemon, together with tsakkistes
olives and zivania (Cypriot eau-de-vie) or wine
offered by the owner of the mill.
The significance of the olive oil in human life,
especially in the traditional communities, preserved
through time the belief that the olive
is a blessed tree and the olive oil is holy.
In Cyprus, as in the whole Christian world,
olive oil is used in the sacraments of the Church,
such as Baptism and Euchelaion (Anointing),
and olive oil burns in lamps in churches, by
the family iconostasis and on graves. Of the
many customs linked with olive trees and oil,
we mention only the use of oil during burial,
when the priest pours oil, forming the
shape of the cross, over the dead from a
plate which he then breaks in the grave (Papacharalambous
1965, 152-153). After the burial,
bread with black olives and wine are offered
as a consolation (pariorka).
In Cyprus wedding wreaths in the
past were made of plaited
olive leaves. Palm Sunday
is called Olive Sunday. The
fumes of olive leaves that have
been previously blessed in the
church, are used to ward off the evil
eye. This custom was and still is essential
at weddings and on feast days. The words
of a traditional wedding song are characteristic:
"Call her mother to come and burn olive
leaves for her and with incense burner and
olive leaves bid her farewell." (For the use of
the olive in customs and in folk worship, see
Rousounides 1988, 23-71).
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and Traditional Olive Presses in Cyprus during
the Recent Past), "The Olive Tree and Oil", Fourth
Workshop, Kalamata, 7-9 May 1993, Athens, Cultural
Foundation of the Hellenic Bank of Industrial
Development - ELAIS, 324-339.
Rizopoulou–Egoumenidou, ∂. (under publication):
«√È apple·Ú·‰ÔÛÈ·ÎÔ› ÂÏÈfiÌ˘ÏÔÈ Ù˘ ∫‡appleÚÔ˘: Ù˘appleÔÏÔÁÈ΋
ÂͤÏÈÍË Î·È ÏÂÈÙÔ˘ÚÁ›·» (Traditional Olive Presses
in Cyprus: Typological Development and Function),
Proceedings of the Meeting "The Development of Olive
Presses in the Aegean from Thrace to Cyprus, Lefkes,
Paros, 26-28 September 2003, European Days of Cultural
Heritage.
Rousounides, ∞. (1988). ¢¤Ó‰Ú· ÛÙËÓ ÂÏÏËÓÈ΋ Ï·ÔÁÚ·Ê›·
Ì ÂȉÈ΋ ·Ó·ÊÔÚ¿ ÛÙËÓ ∫‡appleÚÔ (Trees in Greek Folklore
with Special Reference to Cyprus), Nicosia, Publications
of the Cyprus Research Centre Ãπππ, vol. ∞.
Savile, A. R., Captain (1878). Cyprus. London. Compiled
in the Intelligence Branch, Quarter-Master-
General’s Department, Horse Guards. By Captain A.
R. Savile, 18th, The Royal Irish Regiment. Official
Copy.
Strabo, 14. 6. 5.: The Geography of Strabo, with an
English Translation by H.L. Jones, Vol. VI, Harvard
University Press, 1989.
Xioutas, P., ∞ (1984). µ, C (1985) ·ÚÔÈ̛˜ ÙÔ˘
΢appleÚÈ·ÎÔ‡ Ï·Ô‡ (Proverbs of the Cypriot Folk), vol.
∞: 1984, vols µC: 1985, Nicosia, Archbishop Makarios
III Foundation.
15

16
Theotokos
Twenty Italian and twenty Cypriot masterpieces representing
the Virgin Mary were on display at the Hellenic Bank Head Office
in Nicosia between 1 and 31 July, 2005. The exhibition entitled
Theotokos – Madonna was held under the auspices of the Italian
Embassy and was organised in collaboration with the Pierides
Foundation. It came within the framework of the bilateral cultural
programme between Cyprus and Italy.
This rare exhibition was the brainchild of the Italian Ambassador,
Gherardo La Francesca and Dr. Andreas Pittas. The idea
sparked off during a conversation they had about Mouriki’ s
"Maniera Cypria" and the Cypriot icons dating from the 13th century
that still exist around Italy such as the Madonna della Madia
at Monopoli in Apoulia, the Madonna della Fonte at Trani or
the truly wonderful Cypriot icon of Virgin Mary the Conductress
at St. Nile in Grottaferrata. The exhibition was meant to draw a
link between Italian and Greek iconographers and their depiction
of the Madonna (Theotokos) and child. Between the 12th and
13th centuries renowned and anonymous Cypriot artists, under
the influence of European Pre-Renaissance Arts, developed a new
painting style called "Maniera Cypria" (Cypriot manner) which
tended to smoothen the stiff and austere stylised Byzantine iconography
by grafting Gothic elements of Italian or French origins.
The "bridge" between East and West and the pivotal role that Virgin
Mary held in the art and tradition of both the Orthodox and
the Roman Catholic Church were evident more than 800 years
ago.

Madonna
Francesco da Rimini – Virgin and Child. Wood
panel, c.1330. London, private collection.
17

18
The Curators
The challenging task of organising this
exhibition was undertaken by Yiannis
Toumazis, Director of the Pierides Foundation.
In close collaboration with art historian
Dr Stefano Casu and archaeologist
and expert on Byzantine iconography
Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou, they
managed to compile in a record time of
four months a breathtaking collection of
representations of mother and child, 40
Virgin Mary the Conductress (Hodeghetria),
14th century, Monastery of St. George Pitidiotis,
Korakou. Now at Monastery of St. Nicholaos,
Orounda.
master pieces spanning the thirteenth to
the sixteenth century. What is more they
produced a lavishly illustrated exhibition
catalogue with well documented texts and
lemmas for each icon, which significantly
contributed to the thorough presentation
of the subject of the exhibition.
Three Exhibition Sections
The exhibition opens with a section dedicated
to the painting developed in Cyprus
during the twelfth and fifteenth centuries
with icons illustrating the evolution
of iconography when Cypriot artists developed
the new style known as Maniera
Cypria.
Most representative icons that have survived
from this period are Virgin Mary
Glykophilousa (1105-1106) from the
Monastery of St John Lampadistis, Kalopanayiotis,
Virgin Mary Kykkotissa from the
Church of the Holy Cross, Palaiomilos,
Mother of God of the Consolation from
the Church of Zoopigi and others.
The second section introduces the visitors
to the Italian masters of the 14th and 15th
centuries. The Tuscan School is represented
by Giotto and Filippo Lippi, as well as the
Northern Italian School and finally the
Renaissance art. Giotto, with his enormous
talent and emotive treatment of mediaeval
Christian iconography, made the vital
departure from the Byzantine style that
had dominated for close to a thousand
years.
The exhibition concludes with a series of
16th century Cypriot icons that depend
both stylistically and iconographically on
Italian Renaissance models, thus ideally
rounding off the four centuries of artistic
relations between Italy and Cyprus.

Virgin Mary the Merciful (Eleousa), 14th century,
Church of St George, Pedoulas. Now at
Byzantine Museum, Pedoulas.
19

Cypriot Painting and its Affinity with Italian Art during the
Frankish and Venetian Rule: 1191-1571
Italians had established very close ties with
Byzantium and the East (Levante) since the
11th century. The emerging onshore towns
in Italy, such as Venice, Pisa, Amalfi and Genoa,
had already established districts in the heart
of Constantinople for the residence of their
traders and their ships were freely circulating
in the ports of the Empire. Amongst the
most important ports of the Empire was Cyprus,
which became even more significant for the
control of the Eastern Mediterranean after the
conquest of Asia Minor that followed the
fall of Manzikert in 1071. With a Golden Bull
[Byzantine imperial document bearing the
Emperor’s golden seal (bulla)] accorded to the
Venetians in 1082 by Alexius I Comnenus,
they had the right to trade throughout the
Empire. Their right to approach Cyprus,
though, was granted only in 1126 with another
Golden Bull issued by Ioannis II Comnenus
and the accordance of trade rights was extended
to cover Cyprus, with the Golden Bull of
Manuel I Comnenus in 1148.
The high quality Byzantine art of the Comnenean
era was channelled to the island in the
12th century, in various monasteries and
churches (Trikomo 1105/6, Asinou 1105/6,
Kykkos, Macheras, Koutsoventis, Pera Chorio
of the Island, St. Neophytos 1183, Arakas
1192) that were erected using grants by highranking
Byzantine officials.
After the conquest of Cyprus by the Crusader
Richard the Lionheart in 1191 and
the establishment of the Frankish dynasty of
the Lusignans and the Roman Catholic Church,
the Orthodox Church, for fear of its survival,
Ioannis A. Eliades
was forced to obeisance to the Pope (1260 –
Bulla Cypria). Cyprus’ art repeats the style
of Comnenean art of the previous era, but
in an exaggeratingly oversimplified manner.
Cypriot painting totally cut off from Byzantium,
due to the concurrent conquest of Constantinople
by the Crusaders in 1204, is exposed
to the influences of the refugee painters
from Syria and Palestine and also of the Latin
painters, who swarm into the island with
the crusader’s army, especially after the fall
of the crusader states in Syria and Palestine
(1291: the fall of Akkra), thus developing
an individual style known as "maniera Cypria".
This builds upon the cosmopolitan environment
of the 13th century in the secondary
points of the composition from the iconography
of either the East, as in the icon of St.
Jacob the Persian from the Church of St. Kassianos
in Nicosia, today at the Byzantine Museum
of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation
in Nicosia, or the West, as in, for example,
the icon of the Descent of Christ into Hades
from the Lambadistis Monastery, also at
BMAMF.
An important innovation with regard to iconography
is the style of relief decorations, that
was developed in the West, for the decoration
of wooden sculptures and was transfused and
applied initially by western artists, in order to
replace the expensive metallic overlays (in the
plain and the halos).
A loan that, after being shaped in the Cypriot
environment, was given back, as a loan of
a loanword, and spread initially in Southern
Italy and then in the rest of Western Europe.
21

22
Subjects that can be seen in reeds in Cyprus
can be seen also in similar works in Italy, such
as the twirling floral plaits of the halos (e.g.,
icon of Apostle Paul, from the Church of Our
Lady Chrysaliniotissa, today at BMAMF), or
the Enthroned Mother of God holding the Child
Christ (1347) by Bernardo di Daddo at the
Orsanmichele chapel in Florence and the grid
bearing cross patterns which usually decorates
the plains of Cypriot icons (e.g., the icon of
the Virgin Mary Holding the Child Christ from
the Church of Our Lady Chrysaliniotissa,
today at BMAMF, or the icon of St. Dominic
with scenes from his life from the Church of
St. Peter in Neapolis (late 13th century) and
the relief icon of the Mother of God Enthroned
(early 13th century) at the Museo dell’ Opera
del Duomo in Siena.
The frescos in the church of Our Lady of
Moutoulas (1280) are a prime example of the
reverberation of crusader art in the Mediterranean,
manifesting western iconographic elements,
such as the chain-mail armor of St.
Christopher or the western style shoes worn
by the Hebrews in the scene of The Entry to
Jerusalem (Vaioforos). Platytera, as portrayed
in the one-quarter of the arch of this temple,
with a rather round face, eyebrows joint
on the outline of the nose, and the neck-muscles
can be related to the similar frescos in the
crypt of San Vito at Gravina, Apoulia (Southern
Italy), the so-called crusader icons of Sinai,
and can be also met in Cypriot icons of the
13th century, such as the icon of St. Marina
from the homonymous Church at Kalopanagiotis,
today at BMAMF.
The Frankish kingdom of Cyprus with its rich
Byzantine legacy and the security provided by
its being surrounded by sea, as opposed to
other crusader states which were under constant
threat from the Arabs, became, quite
naturally, a refuge for the clergy and an important
cultural centre, where local Cypriot workshops
mass produced icons for the pilgrims
to the Holy Lands.
The large icons of St. Nicholas of the Roof with
scenes from the life of the Saint from the
homonymous Church at Kakopetria and of
the Virgin Mary Enthroned with Scenes
from the Church of St. Kassianos, both at
BMAMF, bear witness to the existence in
Cyprus of workshops catering both for the
Orthodox and the Catholics. The icons exhibit
the same technique and style, while they
exhibit few differentiations with respect to the
iconography and the inscriptions (in the first
they are in Greek, while in the second they
are in Latin). It emerges that one of the
principal channels through which the Byzantine
style had spread to the West, were the
western artists who worked in Cypriot workshops
and carried the new style from Cyprus
and the other major centres in the Middle
East and Sinai to Italy, as is exhibited by the
example of the crypt of San Vito in Gravina
of Apoulia.
Three icons of the 13th century with the
Mother of God Holding the Child Christ
in Italy, in the Cathedral of Monopoli, in the
monastery of St. Nile in Grottaferrata and
in the Metropolitan Church of Andria, are
considered Cypriot origin. Cypriot standards
in iconography strongly influenced the painting
of Southern Italy during the 13th century,
in the catalogue of icons of probable Cypriot
origin or, at least, Cypriot standards we
might add Madonna della Fonte at Trani,
the Madonna at Santa Maria de Lanitis in
Palermo, the Madonna Sotto gli Organi at Pisa,
the Virgin Mary Holding the Child Christ of
Santa Maria a Piazza in Aversa, the Madonna
de San Michele in Borgo at Pisa, the Cruci-

Mother of God (Kykkotissa), 13th–14th century,
Church of the Holy Cross, Palaiomilos. Now at
Monastery of St. Nicholaos, Orounda.
fixion at St. Dominic Maggiore in Napoli an
others. The similarity and relation of Cypriot
icons with icons produced in Tuscany or
Southern Italy creates problems with respect
to the origin congruence of many unsigned
works, such as the icons of the Virgin Mary
Enthroned belonging to the Kahn and Mellon
Collection, which were recently attributed
to a Cypriot workshop. The iconographic type
of the Mother of God Kykkotissa is of
exclusively Cypriot origin, a type that spread
to Italy during this period, as is witnessed by
a series of icons at Velletri, Viterbo, Piazza
Armerina in Sicily and elsewhere.
The influences in art seem to be mutual, as
is exhibited in the fresco of the Madonna del
Manto, dated 1332/3, in the narthex of the
Church of Our Lady Asinou which seems to
share a common iconographic standard with
the Mother of God of the Franks by Duccio.
During the 14th century the contacts with
Constantinople grew tighter and the influence
of Paleologean art becomes apparent in
Cypriot painting, as can be seen by the icons
from the Church of Our Lady Chrysaliniotissa:
the Christ with Angels and benefactors,
dated 1356, the Saint Peter, and the Archangel
Michael, dated the 14th century [all of them
now at BMAMF], which are characterized by
a harmonious combination of vibrant colours,
the shaping of the faces with gradually diminishing
tones, the effort to render the volumes
and the soft shaping of the folds and
creases in the clothing. Towards the end of the
14th century and during the 15th century the
coloring becomes gradually more vibrant,
mainly due to the use of white, and the use of
linear make-up becomes a standard, as can be
seen in the icon of the Archangel, from the
Church of Our Lady the Manifested [Faneromeni]
in Nicosia, today at BMAMF. The western
influences during the 14th century and up
until 1453 in the frescos are minimal and very
difficult to assimilate in Cypriot art. The frescoes
of the Lusignian Royal Chapel at Pyrga,
dated 1421, aside from the French inscriptions,
retain the paleologean style. Heaver
influences seem to be exhibited by portable
icons, as can be seen in the case of the Virgin
Mary Holding the Child Christ Enthroned from
the Church of Our Lady Chrysaliniotissa,
today at BMAMF, which is dated in the 15th
century and follows the respective iconographic
type of the circle of Cimabue in Galleria Sabauda
in Turin with a throne similar to that of
the Mother of God Enthroned of Cimabur at
S. Maria dei Servi in Bologna, while Christ’s
posture as He is standing in His Mother’s arms
can be seen in the fresco of the Mother of
God Enthroned Holding the Child Christ between
23

24
Saints John Prodromos and Theologian by Vanni
di Pistoia and Nuccaro at Casa dell’ Opera
del Duomo in Pisa.
In the midst of the 15th century two significant
events, the Florence Synod of 1439 for
the Unification of the Churches and the arrival
of refugees from Constantinople, following
its fall in 1453, contributed towards the renewal
for the last time of Byzantine painting in
Cyprus, whose post-Byzantine phase commences
with infiltration on all monuments of
western standards. Many Cypriot painters
work in Venice and are exposed to the art of
the Renaissance. Slowly and timidly the two
stylistic movements that will dominate Cyprus
during the Venetian Rule begin to emerge: the
so-called Cypriot School, which evolves parallel
to the Cretan School, due to the presence
of refugees from Constantinople in both islands,
and the selective tendency in art, the so-called
"Italian-Byzantine" style. They refer to ambidextrous
painters, who can easily combine both
styles, the Byzantine (alla greca) and the
Italian or "Italian-Byzantine" (all’ italiana).
The two movements are differentiated with
respect to the degree they have assimilated
western influences. Classic representatives of
the Cypriot School are Fillip Youl and
Symeon A(f)ksentis. Cypriot painting,
while adhering to the paleologean style, innovates
by importing single iconographic elements
of the Italian art of the 14th century,
especially apparent in the secondary elements
of the icon.
A characteristic manifestation can be found
at the Church of Antifonits in Kalogrea, where
the elliptical depiction of the opalescent glory
of Christ in the scene of the Second Judgement
and also the depiction of Satan in hell,
are elements which can be seen almost identical
in Giotto’s corresponding fresco at the
Mother of God holding Christ, 1280, Church of
Our Lady, Moutoulas.
Chapel of Scrovegni in Padova. Architectural
structures usually appear gothic with a similar
conception of space as exhibited by
western works, as in the case of the icon of the
Birth of the Mother of God from Klonari,
where the depth of the scene is composed with
respect to three sides and a tendency for transverse
perspective or the frescoes of the Denial
of Peter at the Church of Our Lady at Kakopetria
or the Birth of the Mother of God at the
Church of Antifonitis in Kalogrea. An innovation
of Cypriot painting is the resonant
attempt of the artists to apply western perspective
(creation of "box-shaped" space) in
order to depict in three dimensions the indoor
spaces of buildings, as in the narthex of Lambadistis.
The other movement, the "Italian-Byzan-

tine style", is characterized by a more detailed
design and a perfect iconographical system
and shines for its liveliness and freedom that
has been provided for by the use of new
conjectural mediums. A great number of frescoes
were created in this style. These workshops
can be distinguished both with respect
to the quality of the art produced, but also
with respect to the import of overtly western
elements.
During the Venetian rule the worship of the
Mother of God is intensified with the depiction
of three verses of the Akathistos Hymn
(a hymn of twenty-four verses (oikoi) sung,
all standing, on the Saturday of the fifth week
in Lent, in honour of the Virgin Mary): two
of which being in the Italian-Byzantine style
(Latin Chapel of the Lambadistis Monastery
and the Church of the Holy Cross at Parekklisia,
where Oikoi 6 and 10 have been identified),
The Crowning of the
Mother of God, first
half of the 16th century,
Church of Our
Lady Chrysopantanassa,
Palaichori.
and the other at St. Neophytos Monastery by
the Cypriot "School" with intense western elements,
such as the depiction of the Mother of
God on her knees with her hands crossed at
the scene of the Annunciation. The composition
The Root of Jesse as well as the iconographic
theme of Above the Prophets can be
placed in the context of this effusion of the
Marian cycle, which reaches its peak with the
depiction of the Crowning of the Mother of God
at the Church of Our Lady Chrysopantanassa
in Palechori, subject overtly western,
which we must assume is probably connected
to the Latin commissioner of the fresco.
The traditional Orthodox iconography is
renewed and enhanced with new subjects that
originate in Italian art. The knowledge of Italian
Renaissance and of its artistic achievements
by the artists who painted these works, must
be regarded certain, since these frescoes echo
25

26
a conscious attempt by the artists to rightly
depict perspective space and the third dimension
both with respect to the volume of the
figures and of the buildings. The composition
of space and the use of perspective is connected
to the so-called "first Renaissance of Masaccio
and Beato Angelico", as in the icon of the
Communion of the Apostles from the Church
of Our Lady Chrysaliniotissa (today at BMAMF)
and the fresco of the 18th Oikos of the Akathistos
Hymn at the Latin Chapel of the Monastery
of St. John Lambadistis. Amongst the novel
subjects imported during this period is the
depiction of St. Anna with the Mother of God
Holding the Child Christ, as, for example, in
the fresco from the Church of St. George
Exorinos in Ammochostos, the depictions
of the Virtues (Justice, Love, Faith, Charity,
and others) both at Chrysopantanassa at Palaichori
and the Church of Our Lady at Choulos.
Renaissance, Italian standards are also followed
at the Latin Chapel of the Monastery
of Lambatistis at Kalopanagiotis, which we
believe dates around 1500, for the scene of
the Hospitality of Abram and the Birth of
Christ in the 8th Oikos, as can also be seen
in later day engraving, 1555, which reproduce
a common, older, unidentified until today,
standard. Similar engravings were also utilized
by the painter of Timios Prodromos (St. John
Prodromos) at Askas for the scene of the Apotomi
of the Skull of the Saint, as in the
engraving by Israel von Mechenen, which is
dated around 1480.
Other imported subjects, besides the western
Man of Sorrows, with Christ laying dead in
front of His sarcophagus are the depictions of
the so-called western type Resurrection, with
Christ Rising from the grave holding a banner,
labarum or the Pietà, as in the icon
from Pera Chorio of Cyprus, now at BMAMF.
The portrayal of the Mother of God Holding
the Child Christ was one of the most popular
subjects both in the East and West. As it
can be seen, icons of the Mother of God were
exported from Cyprus at the end of the
13th century with the Crusaders and during
the Venetian rule with depictions of the Virgin
Mary as the western Madonna. The icons
of the Madonneri, Madre della Consolazione,
Madre Misericordia and Mater Lactans
were very popular in Cyprus and were intended
mainly for the Latin Churches on the island
and for private individuals. They are works of
art that exhibit an intense presence of western
iconographic elements and can be met
throughout the Greek-Orthodox region. The
large number of such works in Cyprus cannot
preclude the existence of Madonneri workshop
in the island, which produced and traded
icons and was one of the workshops founded
in territories under the Venetian rule.
The looting and slaughter that ensued the
conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans in 1571
forced a lot of Cypriot artists to seek refuge
in Venice, artists such as Ioannis Cypriot, who
painted the cupola and other parts of the
Church of St. George of the Greeks in Venice,
painter Peter who, according to a document
held in the Venetian archives, was captured
by the Turks with his family and another
painter, Domenico the Cypriot, a member of
the Greek Brotherhood of Venice.
The decrease of artistic production in Cyprus
during the first decades of the Turkish rule of
the island, which is attributed mainly to the
immigration of many painters, was countered
with the import of icons from Venice and the
Greek territories that were under Venetian
rule, such as Crete and the Ionian Islands.
One characteristic example is the icon of the
Mother of God Enthroned, now belonging
to the collection of the BMAMF, which was
sent by the priest of the church of St. George

17th Oikos of the Akathistos Hymn, Latin Chapel, 1502, Monastery of St. John Lambadistis,
Kalopanayiotis.
of the Greeks in Venice, head priest George,
back to his village, Vatili, now in the occupied
territories.
Unfortunately, after the Ottoman conquest
of Cyprus the established relations of Cypriot
iconography, which stood for many centuries,
will finally decay during the 17th
century; but the lessons of the Italian-
Byzantine painting that was developed during
the Venetian rule will continue to influence
post-Byzantine iconography in Cyprus,
from Paul the Hierographer in the 17th cen-
tury until the School of St. Heraklidios in the
18th century, before the arrival of the great
Cretan painter Ioannis Kornaros, who will
import the alien to Greek painting, baroque
and rococo at the end of the 18th century.
*Note: This work is based on the findings of
the final thesis paper (Tesi) at the University
of Pisa (Prof. G. Dalli Regoli) under the
title: I. Eliades, Le icone di Cipro dal 1192
al 1571. Opere scelte dal Museo Bizantino
della Fondazione Arcivescoso Macarios III,
Nicosia, Cipro, Pisa 2000.
27

28
In a ceremony held on 24 November, 2005
at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre, the Minister
of Education and Culture, Mr. Pefkios
Georgiades, presented the Awards for Excellence,
the state’s highest honour to: director
Evis Gavrielides, academic Chrysostomos
Nikias, bibliographer Nicos Panayiotou, educationalist
Panayiotis Persieanis, artist Stass
Paraskos and surgeon Nicos Spanos.
Presenting the Awards, the Minister expressed
his appreciation and admiration for the recipients
who, each one in his own sector has
offered invaluable services with self-sacrifice
and zeal for the benefit of science, art and
literature. "Their work, the fruit of many years
of toil, dedication and self-denial has become
Awards for Excellence
Award winners (from left to right): Nicos Spanos, Chrysostomos Nikias, Stass Paraskos, Evis Gavrielides,
Panayiotis Persianis and Nicos Panayiotou.
part of our heritage", he added.
The Minister also underlined the fact that the
state understood the difficulties faced by artists
and scientists in Cyprus and at the same time
feels proud that some of the honoured ones
have managed to break out beyond the borders
of small Cyprus and gain recognition
overseas.
The awards ceremony also included short film
presentations of the winners’ lives and work,
directed by Adonis Florides.
For the first time during this event, music
entertainment was provided by the Cyprus
State Orchestra conducted by Agis Ioannides.
The programme opened with the Academic

The Minister of Education and Culture, Mr Pefkios Georgiades, congratulating stage director Evis
Gavrielides.
Overture by Phanos Dymiotis and included
also works by Christos Pittas, Andreas Moustoukis
and Savvas Savva.
Evis Gavrielides
Evis Gavrielides is one of the most outstanding
contributors to the development of
Cypriot theatre. Endowed with a genuine talent
and a high sense of professionalism, he
has devoted his whole life to the art of the theatre
leaving his indelible personal seal on every
work he has directed.
Born in Paphos where his father was a teacher
at the local gymnasium, Gavrielides later moved
with his family to Nicosia. He then studied
drama at Karolos Koun School in Athens,
where he also worked in several theatres and
repertory companies that took him to different
countries as far as Sudan.
He proceeded with his theatre studies in London
where he studied Theatre Direction at
the London Guildhall School of Music and
Drama before continuing his studies at the
Actors Studio in the US. There, he also obtained
his Diploma in Television Drama Direction.
He finally moved to the Goodman College
in Chicago where he obtained a BA and
MA in Theatre Direction.
In 1958, he returned to Greece to continue
acting and directing. One year later he started
his collaboration with the Cyprus Broadcasting
Corporation and in 1961 with the
recently founded Theatre Development Organisation.
In 1966, he realised his ambition to
return to Cyprus where he set up the Cyprus
Drama School in Nicosia and at the same time
he was in charge of the CyBC theatre productions.
It was during this period that he converted a
car workshop in the courtyard of CyBC
into a Theatre where, for two years he presented
classical and avant-garde plays in most
memorable productions. He served as Per-
29

30
manent Director at the Theatre Development
Organisation and in 1975 he was appointed
Director of the Cyprus National Theatre
(THOC) where he was instrumental in the
creation of its Experimental Stage.
Since his retirement, in 1989, he has appeared
five times at the prestigious Epidavros Festival.
Among other distinctions he received the
"Melina Mercouri" Award for his services to
Cyprus Theatre.
Nicos Panayiotou
Nicos Panayiotou has been involved in a large
number of intellectual activities and has made
a multi-faceted contribution to the socio-cultural
matters of Cyprus.
Born in 1941 at Enkomi, Nicosia, he studied
Greek language and literature at the University
of Athens and proceeded with post
graduate studies at the State University of Indiana
on a Fulbright scholarship where he obtained
an MA in Arts Administration. Later, at the
University of Ioannina he was awarded a PhD
for the doctoral thesis: "Greek Men of Letters
and Arts Recorded in Cypriot Periodicals
(1898-1997), "an eight volume work studying
the presence of Greeks in Cyprus. This
work constitutes an important tool in the study
of Cypriot history in the 20th century and the
cultural relations between Greece and Cyprus
in particular.
He worked as a teacher in secondary schools
of Cyprus and at the Pedagogical Academy.
In 1972 he was appointed at the Cultural
Offices of the Ministry of Education and Culture
where he was promoted to Director of
the Cultural Services. Between 1998 and until
his retirement in 2001 he served as Director
of the President’s Office.
Nicos Panayiotou was the founder and columnist
of the magazine "Cypriot Sunbeams"
issued by the EFEK student’s organisation,
chief editor of the magazine "Cyprus Today"
and Secretary of the Publishing Committee
of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the
National Committee for Book Promotion and
the European Music Year (1985). He was
instrumental in the creation of the Cyprus
International Theatre Institute (I.T.I.), Cyprus
Music Committee and the Folk Art Committee.
He was also Chairman of a number
of Committees: of the Cyprus Today review,
of the Cyprus Chamber Orchestra, of the
Cyprus Library and others. He was also
President of PASYDY, the government’s
officers’ union.
His greatest contribution, however, is his bibliographical
work. In 1984, he took the significant
initiative of establishing the Cyprus
Bibliographical Society with the objective of
enhancing research and the science of bibliography.
Since its foundation, Nicos Panayiotou,
the President of the C.B.S. has regularly published
year after year a total of 20 volumes of
"Cyprus Bibliography". Between 1969 and
1972 and 1976 and 1980 he collaborated with

the CyBC presenting various cultural programmes.
Besides the "Cyprus Bibliography" volumes
he has written five bibliographic volumes on
Kypros Chrysanthis, five on Antis Pernaris
and five on Cyprus Miscellanea. He has written
books including translations from Ancient
Greek and works on literature study, travel,
speeches, a satirical poetry collection and
others.
Nicos Panayiotou has received many awards
including the Greek Cultural Society of Cyprus
Letters Award, the Ministry of Education and
Culture State Prize for Essay and the Greek
State’s highest award of Commander of the
Order of Honour.
Panayiotis Persianis
Panayiotis Persianis is well-known both for
his long and fertile contribution to education
in Cyprus and for his prolific writing.
Born in 1932 at Lysi, now in the occupied
district of Famagusta, he studied Greek language
and Literature at the University of Athens.
He then proceeded with post-graduate studies
on a scholarship at the Universities of London
and Lancaster. He obtained an M.A.
Degree in Education and was awarded a PhD
for his doctoral thesis: "The Contribution
of the Church of Cyprus to Education in
Cyprus during the British Rule".
Back to Cyprus in 1964, he served as a secondary
school teacher, headmaster, inspector
and finally Director of the Pedagogical
Institute. In this capacity he introduced
novel methods for training in literature
related subjects and his role in moulding teachers
were pioneering and determinative. Since
his retirement in 1994 he has been Assistant
Professor at the University of Cyprus.
His wide range of written work indicates his
love for education and his deep concern towards
the vital problems of his country and in juxtaposing
an array of arguments he reveals his
pluralism of ideas. Panayiotis Persianis’ most
recent book "Legalization for the Cyprus State"
is considered a crucial work on the politics
of the Republic of Cyprus.
Among other awards, he has been honoured
by the University of Athens Philosophy Department.
Nicos Spanos
A renowned surgeon and researcher, Nicos
Spanos has made a significant contribution
to neurosurgery and medicine in Cyprus in
general.
Born in Lakatamia in 1932, he studied
medicine at the University of Athens and specialised
in neurosurgery in England. In
1967 he was awarded an M.D. Degree at
the University of Salonica. Back in Cyprus he
worked as a neurosurgeon at the Nicosia General
Hospital. His efforts to introduce neurosurgery
to Cyprus led to the creation of the
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relevant department, the setting up of
which Dr. Spanos oversaw.
In 1980, he suggested and was instrumental
in the creation of the Paraplegic Wing. Dr.
Spanos’ medical activities have earned him a
plethora of distinctions, including his appointment
as Corresponding Member of the Society
of British Neurological Surgeons in 1972.
In 1976, he was elected a member of the International
Medical Society of Paraplegia and
made a member of its board in 1987.
He is also an active member of the Cyprus
Medical Association (CMA). As Chairman of
the CMA’ s Scientific Committee he has organised
significant international medical conferences
and seminars. He carries out research
and has published his articles in scientific magazines
or presented them at international conferences.
In 2004, Nicos Spanos set up the Cyprus Neurosurgery
Society of which he is the first Chairman.
Chrysostomos Nikias
Academic Chrysostomos Nikias is internationally
recognized for his research into integrated
media systems, digital communication
and signal processing and biomedicine. He is
also a passionate advocate of the arts and
humanities.
Born in 1952 at Komi Kepir, in the occupied
Karpas peninsula, Chrysostomos Nikias attended
the Secondary School in Famagusta.
After graduating the National Metsovio Polytechnic
in Athens, he continued his post graduate
studies in the US where he obtained a PhD
Degree at the New York University in Buffalo.
In 1991 he joined the University of California
where since June, 2005 he is senior vicepresident
for academic affairs. He is also director
of the University’s Integrated Media Systems
Centre (IMSC) which is the National
Science Foundation’s Multimedia Research
Centre. Through this, Nikias has made important
inroads into the field of digital signal processing,
earning his international recognition
and the title of Fellow of the Institute of Electric
and Electronic Engineers.
Chr. Nikias has authored more than 1,000
peer-reviewed journal articles, 180 refereed
conference papers, three text books and eight
patents.
Several of his publications and patents are in
the field of translational medicine, including
invasive and non-invasive methods for the
detection and classification of myocardial
ischemia, on which he worked in collaboration
with the University of Maryland Hospital
and Buffalo General Hospital.
He has consulted extensively for the US
government and high-tech industry and has
also testified before the California legislature
on the impact of digital technologies and communications
on the entertainment industry.
Among the numerous awards he has received

for his research and teaching activities, there
are three Best Paper Awards and the US National
Technological University Award for Excellence
in teaching.
The University of Cyprus has also awarded
him an honorary doctorate.
Stass Paraskos
Stass Paraskos is the quintessential Cypriot
artist, an artist of a community whose
paintings are not merely personal but rather
"an expression of the intimate correlation
of sensuality and religion in the culture
of Cyprus itself" (John Cornwall).
Born in 1933 in the small village of Anaphotia,
Larnaca, he left Cyprus in 1952 for
England where he cultivated his inborn
talent at Leeds College of Art. Paraskos
began exhibiting and in 1962 was appointed
Lecturer at Leeds and Leicester Polytechnics.
In 1970, he took the initiative of opening
the summer art school in Famagusta.
The job he retired from before returning
to Cyprus full-time, in 1989 was Senior
Lecturer in Painting at Canterbury College
of Fine Art.
Back in Cyprus he devoted much of his
time to developing the Cyprus College
of Art in Lemba, Paphos, attended by students
from all over the world.
Paraskos is the author of several books
including "Cyprus of Copper" (1969),
"Cyprus, Myths and Legends" (1978),
"The Mythology of Cyprus" (1981) and
"Aphrodite Cypris" (1988). In 1996 he
published a collection of poems "Pikri
Osmi" (Bitter Smell). His work is included
in important collections throughout the
world such as those belonging to the UK
Art Council, Leeds University and the State
Collection of Modern Cypriot Art.
He has shown his work in numerous oneman
exhibitions and participated in important
exhibitions throughout the world
including Greece, Britain, USA, Denmark,
the Triennial of India (1994) and the Biennial
of Sao Paolo, Brazil (1996). At the Sao
Paolo Biennial he presented works from
his series "Roads to Freedom". The three
roads to freedom: that of religion, struggle
for national freedom and love lead
inescapably to tragedy, a truly Greek way
of acquiring spiritual freedom.
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Kypr
K Y P R I A K Y P R I A K Y P R I A

ia K Y P R I A K Y P R I A K Y P R I A 2005
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The Kypria International Festival, the annual most
important artistic event in Cyprus, is back for its
15th year with an eclectic programme of 12 quality
performances featuring artists and ensembles
of international acclaim presented on 26 different
nights.
Hundreds of artists from Greece, Crete, the Czech
Republic, Great Britain, Italy, France, Argentina,
Austria, and Armenia participating in the various
artistic groups gave the festival a truly international
perspective.
Apart from each individual proposal’s artistic merit,
its contents and overall character, the committee
responsible for this year’s events also took
into consideration the potential appeal each proposal
would have with the general public and
the participation, where possible, of Cypriot creators
and artistic groups.
The Minister of Education and Culture, Mr. Pefkios
Georgiades, in his introductory note in the festival
programme stressed the fact that "The
Kypria International Festival constitutes a genuine
contribution towards the enhancement of our
country’s cultural milieu, ultimately benefiting all
Cypriot citizens".
He also expressed his thanks to all those who have
made the realisation of the Festival possible, especially
the Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education
and Culture, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
who are the Festival’s main media
sponsor, and Papadopoulos & Schinis who undertook
part of the organisation of the festival. The
Minister extended his thanks to the members of
the Special Advisory Committee who had the difficult
task of evaluating the proposals submitted.
Eleni Nikita, Marina Economou-Stavrinides, Marina
Schiza, Antigoni Solomonidou-Droushiotou,
Nicos Charalambous, Demetris Karayiannis and
John Vickers all put in a lot of work voluntarily
and under tight timetables.
SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS REX
A modern production of Sophocles’ Oedipus
Rex was staged by the Athens Contemporary
Theatre. In this new production, director
George Kimoulis lays great importance on
the music, specially written by Goran Bregovic
and the choruses enhanced by singer
George Dalaras.
Kimoulis said: "Tragedy isn’t an epitaph without
resurrection. Bregovic can turn pain
and desperation into manic joy." The lyrics
of Lina Nikolakopoulou magnificently blend
the music structure with the deepest mean-

ings of the ancient tragedy. The all-star cast
including Monica Galinea and Tasos Chalkias
matches the strength of Sophocles’ characters.
The set was designed by Pawel Dobrzycki,
Professor at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts
and costumes by Emma Ryott from the Royal
Shakespeare Company. The strong emotional
bond between the 55 ensemble of actors
and musicians kept the audience spellbound
from the beginning to the last moment of the
performance.
EROFILI
Crete Municipal District Theatre presented
George Chortatsis’ s Greek tragedy "Erofili".
Direction and dramatic composition of
the play was undertaken by Vasilis Nicolaides,
sets/costumes by Nicos Saridakis and music
by Ludovicos ton Anogion. The cast included
Anna Koutsaftiki, George Partsalakis, Memos
Begnis and Nikos Skoulas.
The drama, one of the most important plays
of the Cretan Theatre, touched the audience
with the immaculate performance of the main
characters.
THE MORAVIAN
PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Kypros Markou, the Cypriot conductor of
international fame participated in the
Kypria International Festival conducting
two major concerts with the Moravian Philharmonic
Orchestra of the Czech Republic.
Kypros Markou is Professor and Director of
Orchestral Studies at Wayne State University
in Detroit. Additionally he is Music Director
of the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra in
Michigan and Music Director of the Westmoreland
Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania.
He has conducted numerous orchestras
in Europe and the U.S.A where he has
been active as conductor, violinist and
music director.
The two programmes included works by Smetona,
Dvorak, Wieniawski, Tchaikovsky, and
Brahms. The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto
No.1 was interpreted by the brilliant Greek
pianist Vassilis Varvareses and the Wienawski
Violin Concerto No.2 was performed by
the Cypriot violinist Nicos Pittas who has won
several awards recently.
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The last programme also featured a work by
Greek composer Phanos Dymiotis: Academic
Overture written to celebrate the establishment
of the University of Cyprus.
OXFORD PHILOMUSICA
The Oxford Philomusica Orchestra was founded
by eminent Cypriot pianist and conductor
Marios Papadopoulos in August 1998 and
is now one of the leading professional orchestras
in the UK and a most significant musical
resource in Oxford. Since August 1999, the
orchestra has presented the Oxford Philomusica
International Piano Festival described by
the Oxford Times as "The most significant
annual event in the city."
Since his London debut in 1974, Marios
Papadopoulos has appeared worldwide as soloist
and has conducted many of the world’s
greatest orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra,
the European Community Chamber Orches-
tra and others. As a pianist he has captured the
attention of the critics for his strong interpretive
power and artistic integrity especially for
the cycle of all the Mozart Concertos and
Beethoven Sonatas.
For the concerts presented within the framework
of the Kypria Festival the Oxford Philomusica
was joined by the French-Cypriot pianist
Cyprien Katsaris. A recipient of many First
Prizes in competitions including the International
Cziffra Competition in Versailles in 1974
and the Queen Elizabeth Competition in 1972
in Belgium, Katsaris has played under the baton
of great conductors such as Berstein, Kurt Moseur
and Sir Simon Rattle.
The concert began with a work by Constantinos
Stylianou, Three Orchestral Pieces, which
was a world première and commissioned
especially for the Kypria. The work’s interesting
orchestration was aptly rendered by Philomusica
under the baton of Marios Papadopoulos.

The programme also included Liszt’s Piano
Concerto No. 2 where Kotsonis’ brilliant technique
and flamboyant style were displayed
with all their vigour. The exhilarating tempi
left the audience in an exalted mood.
INAKI URLEZAGA
The Argentinean ballet dancer Inaki Urlezaga
and his ensemble, the Ballet Concierto, presented
during the Kypria Festival an impressive
first-rate performance. Urlezaga began
performing in gala appearances at the early
age of 14 as a guest artist on international
stages, encouraged by Nureyev’ s teacher, Hector
Zaraspe. That was the start of his meteoric
rise which culminated in his becoming
the principal dancer of the London Ballet since
the 1995/96 season, highly acclaimed by critics
and audiences. Since 1999 he has been
touring the world with the Ballet Concerts
receiving rave reviews.
His performances in Cyprus to music by
Chopin, Debussy, Bach, Gardel, Piazzola and
Offenbach were a tour de force in originality,
expressing overwhelming emotions with
haunting tension and great strength.
OUZERI TSITSANIS
The National Theatre of Northern Greece presented
a work by Yiorgos Skampardonis "Ouzeri
Tsitsanis, 22 Pavlos Melas Str.," directed by
Soteris Hatzakis. In the leading roles: Alexandros
Moukanos, Antonis Fragakis, Eleni
Ouzounidou, Yiannis Samsiaris.
The play is a fresh retrospective of Greek
suffering during the dark years of the Nazi
occupation of Thessaloniki as expressed by the
greatest Greek folk composer, versifier and
masterly craftsman of bouzouki, Vassilis
Tsitsanis. In his own musical idiom created
by assimilating elements from both eastern
and western tradition he presented the genuine
Greek cosmos offering both pleasure and
consolation to music lovers.
Yiorgos Skampardonis’ play seamlessly
interweaves music and theatre making one the
integral part of the other.
Sotiris Hatzakis’ stage direction captured magnificently
the spirit of Tsitsanis’s time, the tempestuous
years that were his source of inspiration
to write some of the greatest odes to
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human bitterness, pain and suffering. The
minimal stage sets were an additional element
to reinforce the mood of need, starvation and
destitution prevalent during the German occupation
of Greece.
THANOS MIKROUTSIKOS - MILVA
Thanos Mikroutsikos, former Minister of Culture
and Chairman and Director-General of
the Greek Festival (Athens and Epidaurous)
is a well-known composer. He has composed
operas, symphonies, chamber music, scores
for the cinema and theatre, electronic music
but also a lot of songs. His concert presented
at the Kypria Festival was not only an opportunity
to hear the much-loved songs of his
repertoire but also to introduce to the
Cypriot audience the great diva of the Italian
song, Milva.
The concert was divided into two parts one
half of which was dedicated to Christos Thiveos,
the passionate young singer/songwriter who
actually studied philosophy under Umberto
Eco. The second part opened with Milva whose
stunning appearance on stage made it hard to
believe that her career has spanned an incred-
ible 46 years: her vibrant, robust voice justifies
the numerous awards she has reaped.
Mikroutsikos’ flawless accompaniment revealed
real piano virtuoso. Every song in the programme
touched the audience’s hearts and
their prolonged standing ovation was a spontaneous
token of their appreciation.

TO EASTERN SHORES
Staying faithful to its eclectic vision, the Kypria
Festival staged a one-off music performance
"To Eastern Shores", a collaboration between
Ross Daly’s Labyrinthos group and Siberian
band Huun-Huur-Tu.
Born in Ireland, Daly has moved around the
world experimenting with traditional music,
influenced by the Asian and Indian sounds
that were becoming popular in the west. A visit
to Crete was all it took for him to fall in love
with the lyre and decide that he wanted to
explore the island’s musical heritage.
The collaboration with the Siberian group is
a seemingly unlikely meeting of traditions
where the pentatonic scales of the Asian steppe
reminiscent of the Far East, meet with the
Near Eastern sounds in a common path of
virtuosity, lyricism and mutual eastern sensitivity.
The audience had the joy of experiencing
instruments as weird and wonderful
as the zarb, rabab, laouto, sanfour and udu in
this unforgettable music performance.
THE VIENNA BOYS’ CHOIR
A breath of youth in the Kypria Festival was
brought by the performances of The Vienna
Boys’ Choir. Here was a choir of young boys
aged between 10 and 14 performing as part
of their annual ten-week tour, with all expertise
and aplomb way beyond their years.
The programme in addition to the traditional
works by Strauss, Schubert and Brahms,
incorporated some more expansive music from
other parts of their touring world including
works from India and China.
Each piece in the long and varied programme
was meticulously performed under the baton
of conductor Andy Icochea, whose rapport
with the 25 choristers was a delight to behold.
The Vienna Boys’ Choir is, by its nature, limited
to trebles and altos but with the clever use
of the solo voices in the Schubert and
Bruckner songs it was able to attain a depth
rarely found in four voice choirs. The programme
ended with the ever popular Strauss
polkas received with tumultuous ovations
by a delighted audience.
STATE DANCE ENSEMBLE
OF ARMENIA
A total of 45 dancers and 13 musicians who
make up the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia
presented during the Kypria Festival the
turbulent history of their people’s past, struggles
and dreams offering us a glance into their
distinctive and captivating folklore.
The Ensemble was formed in 1958 in Moscow
by George Asaturian, Edward Manukian along
with a group of ballet masters, artists and composers.
Since then it has conducted numerous
tours throughout the world earning a reputation
for its artistry and originality.
The performances in Cyprus presented by the
young talented dancers of the Arthur Karapetian
ballet, with their colourful costumes
by Satiak Muradian and Rubina Ohaness,
stood out by their unstoppable rhythmic of
the inspired dances and amazingly gifted folk
musicians.
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10 PIANOS AND ORCHESTRA
The Steinway Club (Cyprus) in collaboration
with the Ministry of Education and Culture
offered music lovers a truly memorable event.
On Monday, 19th September, 2005 the Strovolos
Theatre hosted the world première of
a Concert for 10 Pianos and Orchestra. The
concert was the brainchild of the President of
the Steinway Club and much-respected Cypriot
composer, Savvas Savva. The ten grand
pianos especially constructed for the show
were either shipped or even flown out to
Cyprus by the piano manufacturer Gebruder
Perzina. The Steinway Club has generously
donated seven of the pianos to the Ministry
of Education & Culture so that they can
be placed in seven schools around the
island.
The first part of the concert was devoted to
the 10 pianists who were all Cypriots, holders
of Master of Music in Performance degrees:
Nicholas Constantinou, Eleni Mavromoustaki,
Manolis Neophytou, Julietta Demetriades,
Mikela Papamichael, Plotinos Micromatis,
Ourania Menelaou, Andri Hadjiandreou
and Maria Antoniou. They performed
a Dance Suite for 10 Pianos by Savvas Savva:
Zeibekikos, Kinisa Htes Na’ rtho, Saranta
Palikaria, To Drepani, a contemporary work
with definite Cypriot flavour.
In the second half, the Cyprus State Orchestra
joined the pianists with conductor Maciej
Zoltowski. The work was "Mediaeval Cyprus
– A Concert for 10 Pianos and Orchestra"
and was divided into three parts: Kolossi Castle:
War and Peace; Karmi and Bellapais: From
Dawn to Sunset and finally Petra tou Romiou:
Adonis and Aphrodite. Each of the pieces captures
the rich history of the island which
was particularly colourful during the mediaeval
period.
The concert was recorded by Steinway Club

who will release a CD from the concert. Interest
has been shown in places as far as the U.S.A.
and China to have the piece performed.
EARTH FROM ABOVE
The subject of the exhibition «Earth from
Above» presented by the Nicosia Municipality
and Hathor Productions within the framework
of the «Kypria 2005» Festival is planet
Earth and it features 120 giant format aerial
photographs of different counties taken by
Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Since the first exhibition
in Paris in May 2000 over 60 million
people in 30 countries around the world have
seen it. In Nicosia, the open-air exhibition is
displayed from Eleftheria Square along Ledra
and Onassagorou streets.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand invites us to take a journey
with him through the realities of the world
and ponder about the changes in the planet
and the future of its inhabitants. His aerial
photographs reflect the variety of natural habitats
but also man’s imprint and assault on
his environment. His work underlines the fact
that, more than ever, our present levels and
modes of consumption, production and exploitation
of resources are not viable over a long
term. It illustrates a stage when the alternatives
offered by sustainable development must
help to bring about changes that will make
it possible to «answer the needs of the present
without compromising the capacity of future
generations». With his image, Yaun Arthus-
Bertrand raises environment awareness among
us.Fruit of patient research work begun in
1990, these photographs, chosen from
thousands of shots, owe their emotional and
evocative power to Yann Arthus-Bertrand’ s
eye and to his desire to be a witness for generations
to come. The exhibition includes also
photographs of Cyprus which the photographer
took during his visit in June 2004. He is
planning to come back in 2006 to complete
the project of Cyprus from the air. The project
was initiated by Hathor Productions under
the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce,
Industry and Tourism and was made possible
with the sponsorship of the Cyprus Tourism
Organization and Cyprus Airways.
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The annual Paphos Aphrodite Opera Festival
held last September treated its audiences
to three evenings of Giuseppe Verdi’s
La Traviata staged by Poland’s National
Opera, Teatr Wielki.
The Paphos Aphrodite Festival was officially
launched in 1998 as a result of a joint effort
between the various professional bodies in
Paphos with the aim of promoting Paphos
as an international centre of high-profile
cultural events.
The event’ s main sponsors were the Ministry
of Education and Culture, the Cyprus
Tourism Organization, the Cyprus Electricity
Authority and the Bank of Cyprus.
Teatr Wielki, the National Opera of Poland
has a 160-year history of staging operas and
ballets in its Warsaw building dating back
to 1825. Teatr Wielki is no stranger to Cyprus
as La Traviata is its fourth opera to be presented
at the Paphos Aphrodite Festival
under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk who is
also the Musical and Artistic Director of
Teatr Wielki.
As with previous performances, the opera
was set against the backdrop of the Mediaeval
Fort and set designers of Teatr Wiekli
took the challenge of incorporating Butte
La Traviata
The Paphos Aphrodite Festival was officially launched in 1998 as a result of a joint effort between the various
professional bodies in Paphos with the aim of promoting Paphos as an international centre of high profile
cultural events.
Montmartre into the dramatic setting of
the fort. In fact director Marek Weiss –
Grzesinski excelled in conveying the Parisian
atmosphere around 1850 with the symbolic
Moulin Rouge, the bordello-style dining
room, the lovers’ garden of Eden and shrouded
death room at the end. The opera lovers
appreciated the voices of soprano Victoria
Loukianetz as Violetta, tenor Vsevolod
Grivnov in the role of Alfredo and of course
Cypriot baritone Kyros Patsalides’ outstanding
interpretation.
Themis Filippides, General Coordinator of
the Festival, whose team worked under the
direction of Paphos Mayor, Pheidias Sarikas,
was responsible for every single aspect of
the festival. He was satisfied with the fact
that the festival target had been achieved
that is to offer first-rate cultural events matching
international standards. What is
more, the Festival has become an institution
in itself as many tourists schedule their
annual holiday around the Paphos Aphrodite
Festival season. Combining a relaxing
holiday in the seaside resort of Paphos with
an operatic performance set in a breathtaking
environment seems to be captivating
the hearts of more and more people.

The Swedish Cyprus Expedition Visits Bucharest
In 1932, 771 huge boxes of Cypriote antiquities
arrived in Sweden, soon to become
the prime reason for the foundation of Medelhavsmuseet
in Stockholm (1954). The provenance
of this enormous amount of archaeological
material was the pioneering Swedish
expedition to Cyprus undertaken between
1927 and 1931 by Einar Gjerstad.
For the first time since their discovery and
subsequent arrival in Sweden in 1932, the
Swedish Cyprus Collections are now on display
at the National Museum of History in
Bucharest through a representative selection.
This is the expression of an extremely
fruitful co-operation between the Museums
of Stockholm and Bucharest that produced
two exhibitions. The first one in Stockholm
presented important Romanian archaeological
items; the second is the present exhibition
at the National History Museum in
Bucharest.
The present Director of the Medelhavsmuseet,
Bearded head from Arsos, limestone,
580-540 BC, amphoroid crater of III
B ware, Enkomi, 1300–150 BC.
Mr Crisan Museteanu, Director of the Romanian
National History Museum and Dr Vassos Karageorghis,
Director of the A.G. Leventis Foundation.
Dr Sanne Houby-Nielsen, noting the revival
of interest in Cypriote archaeology throughout
the world and the importance of the Cypriote
collection in her Museum, has embarked
on an ambitious plan to enhance the Cypriote
exhibition by organising comprehensive
exhibitions of ancient Cypriote art in various
museums where this art is not represented.
The Museums of Romania did
not possess any sizeable
collections of ancient
Cypriote art except a few
items of pottery and stone
sculpture. Dr Vassos Karageorghis,
Director of the
A.G. Leventis Foundation,
recognising the importance
of Dr Houby-Nielsen’ s
vision supported it wholeheartedly
and, on behalf of
the Foundation, offered a generous
grant for the realisation of
this project. Furthermore, he suggested
to Mr Loizos Karageorges, the
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Red polished figurines, clay, Lapithos, 2000-1800 BC.
Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Bucharest,
that he should contribute to the financing of
the organisation of this exhibition. Mr Karageorges
gladly accepted the suggestion to support
the event and cover all the expenses
including the publication of the exhibition
catalogue.
In this address at the opening of the exhibition
in Bucharest Dr V. Karageorghis underlined
the fact that Romania has strong ties
with the history of Hellenism. "If we search
the ancient past", he added, "we will trace
many similarities between the culture of Romania
and that of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This will no doubt become apparent when,
hopefully, the offer of the Leventis Foundation
to create a special gallery in the National
Museum will materialise within the next
year or two", he concluded. The event was
widely covered by the Romanian newspapers
and television.
Cover of the exhibition catalogue.

The Swedish Museum
of Mediterranean and Far East Antiquities
Petre Alexandrescu
On the 9th September, 2005 an impressive
and unexpected exhibition presented by the
Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm opened at
the National History Museum of Romania.
This came as a reciprocal gesture after an exhibition
of the most valuable archaeological discoveries
in Romania from the National Museum
of History went on show in Stockholm.
The initiatives belong to Dr. Sanne Houby-
Nielsen, Director of the Swedish Museum,
assisted by the archaeologist Radu Lazarescu,
staff member of this museum, and by Crisan
Museteanu, Director of the National History
Museum of Bucharest.
The Bucharest exhibition has a very special
character. It offers the Romanian public
and specialists the opportunity to see the
Aspect of the exhibition. Female statuette from Vouni, Palace, 400-310 BC.
results of the famous Swedish archaeological
expedition in Cyprus carried out between
1927 and 1931. At the time, the Swedish
excavations caused an enormous worldwide
interest by the choice of the location, by the
meticulousness of the archaeological excavations
which was practised only by a restricted
number of archaeologists at the time and
last but not least, by the prompt publication
of the complete excavation reports in the
four volumes of the collection: “The Swedish
Cyprus Expedition”.
Once this was accomplished, Cypriote archaeology
gathered momentum and emerged
on the international scene mainly after Cyprus
gained its independence and the Republic of
Cyprus was established. The progress achieved
47

48
in this field is
greatly due to
the expertise
and tireless
dedication of Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, his
discoveries at the royal necropolis of Salamis,
Cyprus and his numerous publications. At
present, owing to the intensity of the archaeological
excavations and the frequency of publications,
Cyprus is in the advantageous position
of being the best archeologically recorded
country in the Mediterranean (and I would
also add in the Pontic area).
The soul and spirit of the Swedish expedition
was the renowned archaeologist Einar Gjerstad.
After an exploratory tour in 1923, the
young archaeologist returned to the island
with a team which included Alfred Westholm
and Erik Sjöqvist, also well-known archaeologists,
under the chairmanship of Crown
Prince Gustaf Adolf, later rhe King of Sweden.
Between 1927 and 1931 he carried
out extensive excavations aiming to shed light
Aspect of the exhibition. Female statuette from Vouni, Loures, 450-425 BC.
on the whole Cypriote archaeology covering
the entire period from the preceramic
Neolithic to the Middle Ages. During those
four years, 21 sites spread all over the island
were investigated, some of them having acquired
a well-known status such as Enkomi with the
interesting Mycenaean imported pieces, the
palace of Vouni belonging to the period 500-
380 BC, and Kition the Phoenician city.
Situated between the Kingdoms of the
Near East and Crete, Cyprus was an intermediary
in the movement of objects and ideas,
while the rest of Greece in that "dark age"
Model of a cart, Amathus, 600-480 BC. (left)
Head of a bearded figure, Idalion, 6 th century BC.

was still poor. Beginning with the 8th
century BC this intermediary role of
Cyprus between Asia and Europe,
both for the north of Syria and the
south civilizations, the Phoenicians
among them, was enhanced. This is a
characteristic of the 9th century
when the Phoenicians established
a dynasty at Kition
and it is not easy to tell the difference
between the local productions
of ceramics or bronze
and the Phoenician objects.
At the same time (by the middle
of the 8th century the "Greek
renaissance" starts) strong political
links with geometric
Greece were forged. The
Greek geometric style is
introduced in Cyprus as the
Jug of White Painted II ware,
Lapithos, 1900 BC.
Stauettes of Heracles-Melqart, Kition, deposit of sculptures, 480–450 BC.
royal tombs of Salamis bear evidence.
Cypriote pieces of this type (especially
ceramics and seals) found their way
to various regions of Greece and to
the Italian colonies (Pithekusai); a
few ceramic sherds appeared at Histria
too.
The exhibition opened at the
Romanian National Museum of
History and presents a selection
of about 120 pieces from
the excavations of the Swedish
Expedition. It is enough
though, to give an idea of
the importance of Cypriote
archaeology.
Article published in the Romania
“Review 22” in Sept. 2005.
49

50
Hala Sultan Tekke Restoration
A symbolic event at the Hala Sultan
Tekke (Umm Haram), Mosque in Larnaca
took place on 9 December, 2005 marking
the completion of restoration works which
were financed with a grant from the Bicommunal
Development Program with the support
of USAID and UNDP, and were executed
by UNOPS.
The Tekke is one of the most important
holy sites in Islam and among the greatest
of cultural heritage monuments in Europe
and the world. It is a complex made up of
a mosque, a mausoleum, a minaret and living
quarters for men and women and it is
set amidst palm trees on the shore of Larnaca
Salt Lake, a familiar sight to millions
of travellers who pass through the nearby
airport. It was built in a series of stages by
the Ottomans in the 18th and early 19th
centuries at the burial site of Umm Haram
a close follower of Prophet Mohammed.
The final phase of the work to restore the
historic monument began in April 2005.
The aggressive coastal environment coupled
with the ravages of time, insect infestation
and water penetration had caused
extensive damage to the mosque, minaret
and surrounding environment. The main
objective of the restoration work was to carry
out the necessary structural strengthening
to protect and preserve the integrity of
the monument.
UNDP representative Andrew Russel said
the Hala Sultan Tekke project was only one
example of the many achievements of the
Bi-communal Development Program of
which the UNDP was very proud. It was
part of the UN’s continuing efforts to foster
a meaningful dialogue in Cyprus and
elsewhere, as a way to bring about better
understanding between cultures worldwide.
"When I look around", he added, "I do not
see Hala Sultan Tekke as a symbol of the
past, but rather as a symbol of the future,
a future in which Cypriots from all backgrounds
can sit and discuss their common
issues in an environment of cooperation
and respect".
Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and
representatives of the US embassy attended
the event, while Intercollege presented a
virtual tour, which brought to life the historical
and cultural significance of the monument.

Anastasios Leventis, the President of the A.G.
Leventis Foundation, was decorated with the
Order of Merit of the Government of Ukraine,
last November, for the contribution of the
Foundation to the conservation of the country’s
cultural heritage.
During the presentation ceremony in Nicosia,
the Ambassador of Ukraine, Boris Humenuk
pointed out that the decoration was a
token of appreciation and thanks of the government
of Ukraine for the multifaceted and
substantial contribution of the Leventis Foundation
to the preservation and popularisation
of the cultural and artistic heritage of
Ukraine.
In his reply Mr Leventis underlined the
fact that Ukraine, and particularly the Odessa
region is a country with traditional and
age-long culture links with the Greek world.
"Protecting the cultural heritage of many
countries, particularly those where there were
links to Greece and Hellenistic culture has
meant that the Foundation’s activities in
the Eastern Mediterranean now extend beyond
the boundaries of Greece and Cyprus. I am
happy and proud to say that we have fast
accomplished five years of active cultural
involvement in Ukraine, a program initiated
and inspired by my late beloved brother
Constantine Leventis, first chairman of our
Foundation".
The Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr Boris Humenuk
congratulating Mr Anastasios Leventis.
Leventis Honoured
The Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr B. Humenuc,
Mr A. Leventis, Mr K. Lazarides, Ms Photini
Papadopoulou.
The initial major project undertaken in Ukraine
was the renovation and museological refurbishment
of the archaeological museum in
Odessa, a treasure-house of Greek art from
the Black Sea Greek colonies dating from the
7th century BC to the Graeco-Roman period.
Built in 1883 by the Mayor of Odessa,
Gregory Maraslis, it now a most modern
museum equipped with a laboratory for
the conservation of objects.
Another project initiated by the A.G. Leventis
Foundation at the request of the Committee
for the Preservation of the Cultural
Heritage of the Odessa Region is the repair
and conservation of the Greek Church of St.
John the Baptist in Belgorod – Dnestorvsky.
Assistance is also offered by the A.G.
Leventis Foundation to the State University
of Humanistic Studies of Mariupol by
granting scholarships for members of the staff
of the Department of Modern Greek, who
attend courses at the University of Cyprus.
The Foundation also plans to finance an international
Conference on Law and Environment
in the Ukraine to be held at this University
in 2006 and a subsequent one in 2007,
on the history of the Greeks of Ukraine from
the 18th to the 20th century. New projects
under consideration include assistance to the
University of Kharkovo in the conservation
of its historically significant library.
51

52
Cypriote Antiquities
in the Museum of Odessa
The largest and most interesting archaeological
collection in the Ukraine has been
gathered over a course of 175 years by the
Archaeological Museum of Odessa of the
National Academy of
Sciences of the Ukraine.
A particularly interesting
collection from the Museum
includes Greek antiquities,
many of which came
from the excavations of
ancient Greek city-states
in the North Pontic areas
such as Olbia, Tyras, Nikonion
and Pantikapaion.
The Museum possess also,
collections of antiquities
from Cyprus, Egypt, Italy
and other cultural centres
of the past.
The idea to publish a catalogue
of the most important
works of art in the
Odessa Archaeological
Museum was born in the
summer of 1999, when
Dr Vassos Karageorghis
visited Odessa on behalf
of the A.G. Leventis Foundation.
He travelled there
in order to investigate ways
of helping the Odessa Branch of the Greek
Cultural Foundation in its multiple activities.
The Director of the Museum, Vladimir
Flask of White Painted III-IV String-
Hole style, 18th–17th
century BC.
P. Vanchugor, accepted the proposal with
enthusiasm and with the collaboration of
his colleagues helped the realization of
this project.
In the Prefatory Note to
the catalogue, Dr Vassos
Karageorghis recollects
the emotion he experienced
when he witnessed
how vividly the local population
still cherishes their
Greek heritage, not only
that of the remote past
when the Greek colonies
flourished along the shores
of the Black Sea but also
of the more recent past,
when the large Greek community
was active economically
and culturally,
during the 18th and 19th
centuries. The great benefactor
of the town, Gregorios
Maraslis is still
vividly remembered in the
local library, and several
monumental buildings in
the town bring back memories
of the glorious Hellenic
presence in Odessa
which lasted for two hundred
years before it started dying out (particularly
rapidly after 1919).
In an effort to help the revival of the Odessa

Archaeological Museum – a treasure house
of Hellenic culture – and to strengthen
the bonds which unite the
Hellenic world with the town
of Odessa, the A.G. Leventis
Foundation decided to make
the Museum known to the
rest of the world by publishing
the Museum Catalogue.
The collection of Cypriote
Antiquities was presented to
the Museum by T.P. Zuzefovich,
in September 1875. It is a small
collection and none of the objects
has any provenance, but it
deserved its place in the Catalogue.
Dr Vassos Karageorghis,
assisted by his wife, archeologist
Jaqueline Karageorghis,
spent several days in Odessa
describing the most important
objects of ancient Cypriote
art in the Collection. They
strove to provide more accurate
information about the
objects included, giving recent
bibliographical references.
Several other people put in quite
a lot of work and enthusiasm for
the realization of the Catalogue. The
Greek Consul General Mrs Iphigenia
Kontoleontos and her staff helped efficiently
in solving difficulties. Eleni Samaritaki,
Director of the Odessa Branch of the
Hellenic Cultural Foundation acted as a liaison
with the Archaeological Museum and
Xenophon Michael spent several days in the
Museum taking all the photographs of the
catalogue.
Limestone head
of youth,
5th century BC.
53

54
Limestone female statue,
6th century BC.
Mycenaean
III B stirrup jar,
13th century BC.
Bull-shaped rhython
of Base-Ring II ware
14th-13th century BC.

Cypriote Antiquities in Toronto
A new A.G. Leventis Foundation Permanent
Gallery of Cypriote Antiquities
was inaugurated at the Royal Ontario
Museum, Canada on the 3rd November,
2005. The Museum, one of the most
important in Canada that attracts more
than one million visitors annually, has
been reopened after undergoing a major
refurbishment which has doubled its
exhibiting space.
The Cypriote Gallery is the fifth in the
series of permanent galleries created by
the A.G. Leventis Foundation in museums
around the world over the last fifteen
years. Similar Permanent Galleries
can be found in the British Museum, the
Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge, the
Metropolitan Museum of New York
and the Copenhagen National Museum
in Denmark. Two more similar galleries
are in the process of being created: in the
Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University
and at the National History Museum
in Bucharest, Romania.
Most of the Cypriote antiquities in the
Royal Ontario Museum had lain in its
store-rooms since 1885 and have been
exhibited for the first time. It is mostly
by chance that the museum acquired this
important collection. It first purchased a
number of pottery items at the beginning
of the 20th century from Dr. Allen Strurge,
an Englishman who formed his collection
while travelling in Europe. The greatest
bulk of the collection, approximately 300
objects including pottery, terracotta and
limestone sculptures and figurines were
transferred to the museum from the National
Gallery in Ottawa. These had been
donated in 1880 by Colonel Falkland
55

56
Anthropomorphic jug of White Painted V ware, Middle
Cypriote III–Late Cypriote II 1725 -1450 BC.
Warren, an English colonial officer who
served in Cyprus and had somehow acquired
antiquities from Ohnefalsch-Richter’s excavations
at Tamassos. The last acquisition
of the museum came in 1962 from the Dowager
Lady Loch from London, a former
resident of Kyrenia who had family connections
in Canada.
Dr Vassos Karageorghis, Director of the A.G.
Leventis Foundation, was familiar with
the Cypriote collections existing in the Royal
Ontario Museum from his various visits.
He started investigating the possibility
of creating a permanent Gallery in the Royal
Ontario Museum and the proposal he
made to the director of the museum on behalf
of the A.G. Leventis Foundation was promptly
accepted. On three subsequent visits he
collaborated with members of the museum
staff for the implementation of the project,
examining, selecting, photographing
and treating the artefacts in the conserva-

tion laboratory.
A selection of two hundred artefacts from
the collection were presented in the catalogue
published in 2003, preceding the
opening of the gallery. In writing the catalogue,
Dr. Karageorghis was assisted by
Paul Denis, Museum Curator who
Large amphora
of Bichrome IV
ware, Cypro
Archaic I c.
750–600 BC.
Four pairs of gold spiral rings, Mid-Late 5th century BC.
wrote the entries for the collection of jewellery,
E.A. Knox, Collections Manager, who
prepared the index of provenance and the
concordance, Alison Easson who wrote the
entries for the coins, Neda Leipen who prepared
a note about the history of the collection
and Demetra Papanicola-Bakirtzis
who wrote the catalogue entries for the
mediaeval glazed pottery.
The opening of the Gallery of Cypriote
Antiquities which coincided with the inauguration
of the adjoining Prehistoric Aegean
Gallery sponsored by the Greek Embassy
and the Greek community of Canada was
honoured by the presence of the Cyprus
High Commissioner in Canada, Ambassador
Euripides Evriviades and the Greek
Ambassador, Mr Yiannis Mourikis. During
the event, it was announced that annual lectures
on the civilisation of ancient Greece
and Cyprus will be organised at the museum.
Moreover, on this occasion the Royal
Ontario Museum organised an international
symposium dedicated to the Prehistoric
Aegean and Ancient Cypriote civilisation
attended by more than 275 people including
university professors from Canada, the
U.S., Greece and Cyprus.
57

58
WAR
and
CULTURAL HER
The consequences of war, the looting
and destruction of cultural heritages
in general and in Cyprus
in particular is the subject of the
most recent, well documented book
"War and Cultural Heritage: Cyprus
after the 1974 Turkish Invasion"
by veteran American-born journalist
, Michael Jansen.
The Church of St. George at Gastria, Famagusta
District, stripped bare.

ITAGE
Christ Pantocrator surrounded by angels from the
Church of Ayios Themonianos, Lysi (13th–14th
century). The wall paintings are exhibited today
in Houston,Texas.
The book was launched on 18 November,
2005 during a discussion organized by the
Modern Greek Studies Program and the Institute
for Global Studies at the University of
Minnesota, in the U.S.A. Ms Jansen’s book
is number 14 in the Minnesota Mediterranean
and Eastern European Monographs series
which has also published six other books on
Cyprus. A second presentation of the book
was organized by the Cyprus Government’s
Press and Information Office in Nicosia, at
the Cultural Centre of the Laiki Group, on 9
January, 2006.
The Modern Greek Studies Program was
founded by Cypriot-born Professor Theofanis
G. Stavrou, from the University of Minnesota.
This program has established itself
as a major centre of Neo-Hellenic studies outside
Greece.
Starting from Kazantzakis’ precept that thoughts
should be put on paper before the wind
scatters them, Professor Stavrou proceeded to
collect, edit, print and distribute them by initiating
the publication series at the University
of Minnesota. The series include: the
59

60
Modern Greek Studies Yearbook (now in its
twentieth year), the Minnesota Mediterranean
and East European Monograph series (thirteen
volumes) and the Nostos Books in Modern
Greek History and Culture (24 volumes of
translated literature from Greece and Cyprus).
In his address at the launching event in Nicosia,
Prof. Stavrou emphasized the significance of
books like the one by Ms Jansen in making
the voice of Cyprus heard on the international
arena. The author, he said, succeeded in
universalizing a local problem by giving it a
proper and meaningful context. He then
extolled the engaging quality of the book, filled
with suspense and mystery, rarely expected on
such an important topic as culture looting.
On his part the Government Spokesman, Mr.
Chrysostomides, expressed the Government’s
determination not give up its struggle to protect
and recover its cultural heritage. He added
that the President is determined to exert all
necessary efforts and mobilize all available
means for this cause and all the appropriate
agencies of the government are engaged in this
campaign. Mr Chrysostomides further extolled
Michael Jansen’s contribution in this regard
by stating the problem clearly, by placing
the case of Cyprus in a broader context and
by reminding the world of the significance of
the cultural heritage of mankind. Mr. Chrysostomides
also praised Professor Stavrou’s contribution
as a scholar, editor and publisher
adding that this has been equally valuable.
"He has used a prominent academic forum at
the University of Minnesota to spread Ms
Jansen’s and other people’s passionate message
for the protection, preservation and respect
of our cultural heritage," Mr. Chrysostomides
concluded.
As it has been repeatedly pointed out, culture
looting is the second oldest profession in the
world. Following the 1974 Turkish invasion
of northern Cyprus, an incredible amount
of irreplaceable treasures from museums and
Frescoes from the12th century Church of Antiphonitis,
Kalograia, Kyrenia District as they
were found in Munich.
churches experienced this fate of looting
and found their way on the international black
market. Ms Jansen arrived on the divided
island in 1976 as a refugee from the civil
war in Lebanon. She soon became aware of
what was happening and the first manifestation
of her interest in the problem of cultural
heritage destruction was the article "Cyprus:
The Loss of a Culture Heritage" published in
the Modern Greek Studies Yearbook (Volume
2, 1986) at the University of Minnesota which
Professor Stavrou edits.
In her presentation of the book, Ms Jansen
13th century fresco of the Virgin between the
archangels Michael and Gabriel from the apse of
the Church of Ayios Themonianos. Today they are
exhibited in Houston.

pointed out the fact that when archaeological
and religious sites, museums and libraries
are plundered or looted during wars, countries
and societies lose portions of their identity.
People become alienated from themselves
and their history is impoverished. A loss in
one country is a loss in global civilization.
Looting is a crime against humanity.
The book consists of an introduction that
deals with the situation in Iraq following the
U.S. invasion and occupation of the country
in March-April 2003, a situation analogous
to what has happened in Cyprus since
1974. The first part of the book provides essential
material on the wartime period enlivened
by the vivid and impassioned narration of
Yiannis Kleanthous, the keeper of the Kyrenia
Castle whose personal experience gives a
human dimension to the events.
The following three parts trace down the fate
of the plundered churches and the stolen artifacts
and antiquities. There is also a large focus
on the character of a Turk from Munich, Aydin
Dikmen, who is also known as the most active
and influential operator in the world of international
art theft. Although he had an interest
in collecting illegal artifacts since the 1960s,
the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus gave him
a free rein to plunder the north of the
island.
The book also deals with Dikmen’s 25 years
turbulent relationship with the art dealer Michel
van Rijn, a Dutchman who was eventually
instrumental in helping the Cyprus government
and Church to regain some of their looted
treasures. Such is the celebrated case of
the 6th century unique mosaics from the
Kanakaria church adjudicated in the courts of
the United States of America in the 1980s and
restored to their rightful owner, the Church of
Cyprus, in 1991. Another case is the 1997
"Byzantine sting" operation involving the German
police when Dikmen was finally nailed
down after 4,000 pieces, including 330 Byzan-
The Church of Ayios Themonianos, 13th century
at Lysi, plundered.
tine works from Cyprus, were found hidden
inside the wall of an apartment in Munich.
The book is minutely documented and provides
detailed evidence on the facts mentioned,
lending credibility to the incredible flow of
events. It also directs attention to the international
repercussions of the political and cultural
problem of art plundering.
Several other distinguished journalists have
tried to expose the cultural crimes against
Cyprus. Among them is the Turkish Cypriot
reporter Mehmet Yasin whose passionate articles
in the weekly magazine Olay in 1982 were
of singular significance.
As Robin Cormak, an expert in Byzantine art
summed up in a report on Cyprus in 1976:
"The cultural heritage of Cyprus is of central
importance in the history of European
art, a part of a larger cultural system rather
than a source of totally independent creation.
It is an essential witness to the art and architecture
of the other centres in the Mediterranean
within whose orbit it falls. Historians
of Classical, Medieval and Ottoman periods
must treat the culture of Cyprus as an integral
part of their material".
But in this daunting task we also need all
the help we can get: from international organizations,
from governments, from cultural
institutions, from the media and from caring
individuals.
61

62
The Minister of Education and Culture,
Mr Pefkios Georgiades, addressed the 33rd
Session of the UNESCO General Conference
on 8 October, 2005. This year’s General
Conference was marked by the celebration
spirit of the sixtieth anniversary
of the founding of UNESCO. Cyprus has
been a member-state of UNESCO for fortyfour
years now, sharing, promoting and
participating in the Organisation’s vision
with the utmost commitment.
In his address, the Minister referred to
the efforts made by the government in order
to achieve most EFA goals, according to
the EFA Global Monitoring Report. Furthermore,
the legislation for the establishment
of the Cyprus Open University has
been enacted, which is a step towards increasing
the opportunities for lifelong learning.
UNESCO Conference
Greek Ambassador in Francce, Minas Hadjiminas, the Minister of Education and Culture, Mr.
Pefkios Georgiades and Cyprus Ambassador to UNESCO, Mrs Mema Leventis.
Referring to the fight against the use of illegal
substances in sports, the Minister mentioned
that Cyprus has signed the Antidoping
Code and has contributed to the
drafting of the Convention against Doping
in Sports.
Mr Georgiades dwelt more on wider cultural
issues, pointing out the importance
that Cyprus attaches to the protection of
cultural heritage in general. The fact that
Cyprus, for centuries, has been a host country
of the richness of different cultures due
to its geographical position, reinforces its
commitment to contribute to the protection
of this diversity and the promotion of
intercultural dialogue. "This belief", he
said, "motivates our country’s support
towards UNESCO’s recent efforts to establish
the Convention for the Safeguarding

of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which
Cyprus plans to ratify and the Convention
on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural
Contents and Artistic Expressions, in
the drafting of which Cyprus participated.
Our government’s sensitivity in relation to
heritage protection, led us to the decision
to become a candidate country for the World
Heritage Committee", he added.
"To protect what we have inherited from
the past is to preserve our culture from the
erosion of time. Unfortunately, time is not
the only obstacle we face. Indeed, heritage
must also be protected from destruction
due to armed conflicts or from illicit appropriation.
We, regrettably, have examples of
this type of deterioration in the occupied
part of Cyprus, which is not under our government’s
control."
To give an example, the Minister concen-
trated primarily on the ongoing destruction
of an important Neolithic settlement
at Cape Apostolos Andreas-Kastros
of unique historical significance, founded
in the 7th millennium BC during the Preceramic
period which is suffering irreparable
damage as a result of the use of bulldozers
by the Turkish forces.
Without making reference to other examples
of the policy of destruction, looting
and illegal excavation, the Minister appealed
to the International Community and
UNESCO in particular to send a strong
message so that the cultural and religious
heritage should be respected and protected.
"These valuable historic and cultural sites
are part of the common heritage of all the
people of Cyprus, irrespective of their community",
he concluded.
The Neolithic settlement at Apostolos Andreas, Kastros, discovered by a French archaeological mission
in 1970-74, has been levelled with cement by Turkish bulldozers.
63

64
Minister of Education and Culture in Brussels
The Minister of Education and Culture,
Mr Pefkios Georgiades, accompanied by
the Acting Permanent Representative of
the Republic of Cyprus to the European
Union, Mr Panikos Kyriakou, represented
Cyprus at the Synod of the Council
of Education, Youth and Culture which
took place in Brussels on 14th and 15th
November, 2005.
In his remarks in connection with the Programme
for Education and Training 2010
and the priorities which should be set in
the Programme, the Minister of Education
and Culture, Mr Pefkios Georgiades, said
that in Cyprus an overall reform of education
was already in progress, focusing on
the qualitative upgrading of the educational
system at all levels and in all sectors. Within
the framework of this endeavour, the general
objectives and criteria laid down in the
Programme of Education and Training
2010 were being seriously taken into account.
The aim, he stressed, was to offer better
education to young people. He expressed
his agreement with the findings that the
"Education and Training 2010" Programme
is the key to achieving the objectives of the
renewed Lisbon Strategy, which aims at an
economy based on the society of knowledge,
with special emphasis on development
and employment. He also maintained
that priority should be given to the special
aims for providing quality education to the
young, to the "learning throughout life"
objective and to the aim of promoting the
quality of the active citizen, all of which
constitute the keys to the efforts to achieve
the society of citizens of the European
Union. He stressed that acceptance, tolerance
and difference in the multi-cultural
societies of today are indispensable for the
development and progress of the Europe
of today.
Finally, the Minister noted that it is especially
important that the efforts aimed at
the young should be strengthened so that
young people acquire the basic skills and
abilities and are better equipped for their
future academic, economic and social life.
Special significance should be attached to
groups that are in a more disadvantaged
position for economic and social reasons
in general. This objective can contribute
to the social cohesion which is being sought
by the Lisbon objectives as well and particularly
to the increase in the percentage
of participation in initial education and
training, with a parallel reduction in failure
at school and premature drop-out from
school.
Within the framework of the Council of
Culture, the proposal for the Cultural Capitals
of Europe has been approved. Cyprus
will be Cultural Capital in 2017.
At the Council of Ministers of Education,
Culture, Youth and Audio-visuals, a partial
cultural agreement has been reached
in the corresponding Action Programme
for the period 2007-2013 (Learning Throughout
Life, Culture 2007, Youth and Audiovisuals)
without, however, the approval of
the financial aspects which depend on the
more general framework of the European
Union budgets, which have not yet been
approved.

The Speculative Eye of Thanassis Lalas
An exhibition charting the career of Thanassis
Lalas was held at Omikron Gallery,
in Nicosia last October to mark the 50
years anniversary of Phileleftheros newspaper.
The exhibition was organized in
collaboration with the Pierides Foundation
and with the support of the Bank of
Cyprus.
Entitled "The Speculative Eye of Thanassis
Lalas", the exhibition captures the
famous journalist’s career spanning 40
years from 1964 – 2003.
Over his career as a reporter for Greek
newspaper "To Vima", one of most
powerful political newspaper in Greece,
Lalas has conducted some high profile
interviews with the likes of Peter Hall,
Franco Zefirelli, Woody Allen, Sean Connery,
Angela Georgiou and many other
celebrities. The exhibition entails original
excerpts from Lala’ s interview notes along
with his satirical sketches. The note-books
offer an insight into Lala’ s humorous world
full of originality and imagination where,
satire and irony reign supreme.
Lalas has a unique approach to drawing.
He uses heavy, thick brushes as if engraving
on linoleum while his colours are bright
and boisterous. Sketching for Lalas is a
form of provocation. His world is a
stage on which he plays out his artistic
actions through both words and drawing.
Although a well-respected journalist who
does not underestimate the power of writing,
he always felt that words were just not
enough. An image is, quite often, stronger
in getting through the message and his
images acted like fireworks.
Marina Lambraki Plaka, director of the
National Gallery of Greece, appreciated
the quality of Lala’ s drawings: "They have
a huge variety, are attractive, expressive,
strong, full of fantasy and energy. They
also keep Lala’ s humour intact and support
his writings. I think they provide a
bittersweet accompaniment to his interviews".
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66
Erato Hadjisavva, Wave. Video installation, 2003.
The Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean
countries was the first international event
in which Cyprus ever participated as an
independent state back in 1963.
This year, the 23rd Biennale of Alexandria
generated great interest amongst the visitors
and participants as it marked 50 years
since it was inaugurated in 1955. The event
acquired a festive character with the presence
of many Ambassadors from European
countries, the Egyptian Minister of Culture
and the Governor of Alexandria.
Participation was extensive – more than
Biennale of Alexandria Prize
eighty artists from eighteen countries, covering
with their work the full spectrum
of art: painting, sculpture, drawing, graphic
arts and installations.
First Prize
Cyprus participated with three artists: Erato
Hadjisavva, Savella Michael and Angelos
Michaelides.
Erato Hadjisavva made an excellent impression
with her video installation entitled
"Wave" and was awarded one of the five equal
first prizes of the Biennale which constituted
the Golden Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Erato Hadjisavva
Born in Cyprus in 1966
Studies
2000-2004 Master in Digital Arts
1985-1990 School of Fine Arts, Athens
1987-1989 Byzantine Painting
1983-1985 University of Economics
During the period 1995-2000 she has taught in secondary
education schools and since 2000 she is an
associate of the Fine Arts School Athens (in the
Art Workshop of Mr Psychopedis)
Solo Exhibitions
2003 Gallery Yiagianos Athens (Catalogue)
2002 Gallery Gloria, Nicosia, Cyprus
1992 Gallery Gloria, Nicosia, Cyprus
1991 Gallery Papadopoulou, Athens, Greece
Selected Group Exhibitions
2005 Photosynkyria, Museum of
Photography, Thessaloniki, Greece
2004 Every Monday, Gallery Hrusothemis,
Greece
2003 Passion, Byzantine and Christian
Museum, Greece
2001 Florence Biennale, Florence, Italy
1993 Pancyprian Exhibition of Cyprus
Chamber of Fine Arts Famagusta Gate,
Nicosia, Cyprus
1987 Pancyprian Exhibition of Cyprus
Chamber of Fine Arts Famagusta Gate,
Nicosia, Cyprus
House of Cyprus-Athens
Thanasis Moutsopoulos, architect, writer
and curator, commenting on the artist’s
work points out: "Erato Hadjisavva steps
onto a series of cognitive domains, from
Gestalt psychology to even robotics as
well as onto milestones in the history of art
as far as structural image or optical illusion
is concerned, from M.C. Escher to
Bridget Riley, Victor Vasarely and Op Art.
However, the artist brings all these experiences
to the 21st century through an array
of manipulations which go hand in hand
with the most recent quests of digital
technology, even of modern cinema in its
most impressive moments".
Her video installation "Wave" challenges
our notions of space and reality. Captured
in an arrangement of television sets, a flock
of birds is flying across the sky, each television
set portraying the same scene with
a slight difference in phase from the others.
By moving through the screens the flock of
birds distorts, and ultimately abolishes, the
boundaries between real, palpable space and
the digitised world of virtual reality, where
the birds’ movement is manipulated and
intensified, born directly in three dimensions,
contrary to the representational tradition
of visual arts, with its common practice
of two-dimensional treatment of threedimensional
objects.
Savella Michael
Born in Nicosia, in 1972
Studies
1992-1997 Painting at the School of Fine
Arts, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece
1990-1991 Graphic Art at the Frederic
Institute of Technology, Cyprus
Solo Exhibitions
2005 Diatopos Centre of Contemporary Art,
Nicosia, Cyprus
1999 Paratirites, Lobby Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
Selected Group Exhibitions
and other Activities:
2005 Accidental Meetings – The Nicosia
Municipal Arts Centre, Nicosia,
Cyprus
Beijing International Art Biennale,
China
2004 Women Cypriot Artists, Kereva Art
Museum, Helsinki, Finland
67

68
Savella Michael, untitled. Ink, pencil, acrylic, paper, 2003.
2003 The languages of gender, SPEL
Building, Nicosia, Cyprus
Made in the world of art, Sarajevo
Winter Festival, Bosnia Herzegovina
2002 Colourists, Pantheon Gallery, Nicosia,
Cyprus
2001 For young artists, Rouan Gallery,
Limassol, Cyprus
2000 Lobby Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus
1999 Sea, Pancyprian Exhibition of the Cyprus
Chamber of Fine Arts, Limassol,
Cyprus
Thessaloniki’s Days in Limassol,
Limassol Cultural Centre, Limassol,
Cyprus
Workshop, Red Crescent Museum of
Gaza, Palestine (organised by the
Doctors of the World and the
Cultural Services of Cyprus)
1998 Friends of Fine Art Society, Nicosia,
Cyprus
1997 Heineken Art, Thessaloniki, Greece
Pancyprian Exhibition of the Cyprus
Chamber of Fine Arts, Nicosia, Cyprus
Pictor’s Studio, Thessaloniki, Greece
(organised by the Cultural Capital of
Thessaloniki Organisation)
1996 Workshop, Vrnzacka Banja, Serbia
(organised by the Schools of Fine Art
Belgrade and Thessaloniki)
Speaking of her painting work, Savella
Michael believes that "complete chaos and
confusion rule, rules and boundaries are
abolished, mistakes are allowed. The innermost
thoughts, wishes and truths are revealed,
journies and new voyages are discovered
promising different experiences, surprises
and reversals".
Angelos Michaelides
Born in Nicosia; has lived in Athens since
1974
Studies
1998-2004 Athens School of Fine Arts (graduated
with excellence)
1988-1994 Medical Studies at the English speaking
University of Pacǎs, Hungary
Solo Exhibitions
2004 Individual exhibition of Diploma work
in the School of Fine Arts ASFA, Athens

2003 Centre of Contemporary Art, Museum
of Modern Greek Art in Rhodes
2003 Epi kolono Gallery in Athens
Selected Group Exhibitions
2005 Museum of Contemporary Art of Chios
2005 Group exhibition of graduates in
Ergostasio gallery in ASFA School of
Fine Arts, Athens
2005 Unclaimed luggage, Madrid, Spain
2004 Grand Bretagne Hotel, Athens
2003 OMMA Centre, Chania, Crete
2002 MoTeR II, Centre of Contemporary
Art, Museum of Modern Greek Art in
Rhodes
Angelos Michaelides’ four artworks presented
at the Biennale are posing a series of
questions about human presence. They
reveal an almost poetical humanism, a reflection
of the Mediterranean universe and
an echo of its longstanding philosophical
tradition.
Angelos Michaelides, Mummy. Acrylic, paper,
Perspex, 2003.
69

70
Helene Black, Relative Distance, 2004–2005.
Installation with video projection, framed photograph,
canvas screen, Plexiglas screen.

SOMATOPIA
An exhibition of Cypriot contemporary art entitled:
Somatopia: Mapping Sites, Siting Bodies was hosted
at the Hellenic Centre in London between the
28 September and 21 October 2005.
The exhibition, organised by the Cultural
Services of the Ministry of Education
and Culture in collaboration with the London
Hellenic Centre and curated by Dr
Antonis Danos, art historian, was opened
by Henry Meyric Hughes, President of the
International Association of Art Critics
(AICA) in Paris and President of the International
Foundation Manifesta (IMF) in
Amsterdam.
The Minister of Education and Culture,
Pefkios Georgiades, pointed out in the catalogue
to the exhibition that this event
marks a new approach in the way Cypriot
contemporary artistic production is promoted
beyond our geographical borders.
It is the first time that Cyprus attempts
to introduce representative samples of its
contemporary cultural profile – including
many concerns and preoccupations that
run through it – by means of a group such
as this.
71

72
The Curator’s concept
Antonis Danos, the exhibition curator
consciously aimed against heterogeneous,
survey show and proceeded to include only
seven artists (showing mainly installations
and videos) who, in his view: "produce work
that is relevant to contemporary, artistic and
overall cultural concerns and issues, and with
whom I felt I could engage into a creative
dialogue".
"This dialogue", he explained, "was to evolve
around certain concerns and interests of mine
(with regard to contemporary art) which I
have condensed under the title, Somatopia:
Mapping Sites, Siting Bodies. By this I did not
intend a thematic exhibition, in any sense.
After all, I believe that all artistic creation is,
to an extent, an exploration, a negotiation
and a rendering of spaces – metaphorical
or literal, as imaginary or actual places, as
natural or artificial landscapes as 'sites' or
'non-sites'. And more often than not,
within these explorations, bodies are situated
– whether as presences or absences –
in all of their manifestations and symbolisms
and as agents and / or receivers of actions,
events, experiences and discourses.
"The fact that all seven artists live and
work primarily in Cyprus unavoidably carries
certain particularities – the most immediate
'site' is the Cypriot environment, and
the 'bodies' they negotiate, explore and situate
are bodies within, products of this environment.
Yet this is far from claiming that all these
artists share some clearly defined, common
Cypriot identity. In a world of great
mobility and diminished distances, each of
us is defined by as much diverse as common
experiences, due to contacts with, and absorptions
from various and different cultures.
Therefore even when contemporary Cypriot
artists are mapping aspects of a common
territory – the Cypriot environment – and
exploring 'bodies' within it, each one is doing
so from a different perspective, since each
one is situated at a different nodal point within
this space.
Antonis Danos, the exhibition curator, urged
the artists to engage into a dialogue with
art critics and historians. The resulting texts
included in the exhibition catalogue have
opened up various routes of communication
between viewers and the art works which
may be different from those intended by the
artists themselves. Furthermore they have
enriched the conceptual frameworks within
which the artists had originally sited their
works and negotiated these artworks from
a different perspective.
The curator also expressed his thanks to Dr
Eleni Nikita, Director of the Cultural Services,
who entrusted him with this work,
to Louli Michaelidou, Cultural Officer who
offered invaluable assistance as well as to
Agathi Kalisperas, Director of the Hellenic
Centre and Marie Kalli for their equally valuable
assistance.
klitsa antoniou
Born in 1968. Studied Fine Arts at the
Wimbledon School of Art, at St. Martins
School of Art (B.F.A.), and at the Pratt Institute
New York (M.F.A.). She has had solo
exhibitions in Cyprus, the United States
and China. Her international participations
include, amongst others, "A View
to the Mediterranean Sea: The Cyprus
Case", Herzliya Artists’ Residence, Israel
(2005); Lulea Biennale, Sweden (2005);
Terra Vita", Xiamen, China (2004); Biennale
of Jeollabuk, South Korea (2003);

Klitsa Antoniou, A-Lethe Hydor, 2005.
Installation with frames, seaweed, prints,
string (detail).
"Open 2002", Venice; Cairo Biennale
(2001); "De-Core-Instanz: Deconstruction,
Installation, Orensanz"; New York
(2000); "Six workshops in Sarajevo",
Rome(1999); Biennale of Young Artists,
Cable Factory, Helsinki (1997); Biennale
of Young Artists, Turin (1997); Biennale
of Young Artists, Rijeka (1995). She is
cofounder of the Atrageous Group. [www.klitsa.com]
Klitsa Antoniou’s construction – installation
is entitled A-Lethe Hydor, which literally
translates "Water of Truth", in which
A-lethe derives from a synthesis of A (denoting
absence) and lethe (forgetting) thus
"water of forgetting; a concept borrowed
from Greek mythology, is the water
the dead had to drink before entering the
Kingdom of Hades, the god of the underworld.
73

74
Four massive "walls" made of dozens of old
picture frames each hanging from a metal
frame on the ceiling make up the installation.
The frames hovering above the viewer’s
eye level form an architectural territory,
an elevated space. Familiarity, despite
the overwhelming size, invites us to step
into the "interior" space: layers of seaweed
grow out of the picture frames. A claustrophobically
enclosed space, destructing
and forbidding familiarity and estrangement,
passage and blockage, remembrance
and forgetfulness coexist. (Antonis Danos)
Antoniou’s installation aims to understand
"truth" as being fluid, like the seaweed’s
growth; always subject to memory’s ability
to remember, yet constantly alternating,
in a way that the past cannot conflict
with the sense of present – or future – personal
and national identity. (Artemis Eleftheriadou)
helene black
Born in 1950, in Cyprus and grew up in
Australia. Since 1992, she has been living
in Limassol, Cyprus. Studied art at MTC,
Melbourne University, with further parttime
studies at the National Art School,
Sydney. Her work has featured, amongst
others, at the Soders International Art Biennale,
Stockholm (2003); Buenos Aires Art
Biennale (2002); "Festival of Arts and
Sciences", Aix-les-Bains, France (2001);
"Cinema Concrete", dLux Media Arts, Sydney,
(2001); "Blanc sur Blanc", Saint Etienne
Museum of Modern Art, France (2001);
"Medi@terra 2000", The Factory, Athens;
"Through The Looking Glass", Beachwood
Centre for the Arts, Ohio, USA (2002).
She was awarded 1st prize (Cyprus) at the
"Homage to Vincent Van Gogh" compe-
tition (1996), and her entry was selected
for the permanent collection of the Foundation
Vincent Van Gogh, Arles, France.
She is a founding member of NeMe, an
interdisciplinary collective.
[www.hblack.net;www.neme.org]
Helene Black’s Relative Distance echoes the
dynamic of her own name, for a distance
is embedded in it – and sustained. It is also
recognition of the distance inherent in all
names. Black, a Greek Cypriot, migrated
as a child to Australia then returned to
Cyprus, yet not as a return to close a cycle,
for her insistence of retaining the anglicised
version of her name is a choice to stay in
the breach – a moving ambivalence, a simultaneous
refusal and embrace of belonging.
Black’s body of work over 30 years includes,
among other concerns, a concentration on
the physic mediations of portraiture –
whether painting, photography or, more
recently, film. Through these mediations
within portraiture Relative Distance incorporates
"Time" as a central motif – central
because it is always possible to return to a
place, but time is irreversible. (Denise Robinson)
Helene Black’s Relative Distance constitutes
another invitation into familiar - yet displaced
- territory. In the dim light of a room’s
interior, we are visiting a woman’s story (of
her life). The projection screen is dominated
by her presence, filmed in her living
room’s surroundings. Hegemonic -
moral, social and economic - discourses
have colonised, however, her narrative as
much as they have been inscribed on her
body, sited as little more than a 'stage prop',
in the second, nearly static projection. In
the row of images along the room’s exterior
surfaces, her space has now also been

Helene Black, Relative Distance, 2004–2005. Installation with framed photograph, canvas screen, Plexiglas
screen, monitor.
conquered and looted, containing only her
absence. Her final filmed portrait is protest,
is exposure (of her as mush as of her colonisers),
and is, perhaps, a sole glimpse of (her)
empowerment. (Antonis Danos)
melita couta
Born in 1974. Studied sculpture at Central
St. Martins College of Art and Design,
and at the Slade School of Fine Arts,
London. Her participation in group exhibitions
include, amongst others, "A View
to the Mediterranean Sea: The Cyprus
Case", Herzliya Artists’ Residence, Israel
(June 2005); "100 Artists for a Museum",
Casoria International Contemporary
Art Museum, Italy (May 2005); "Accidental
Meetings", Municipal Arts Centre, Nicosia;
"Openasia: 7" Exhibition of Sculptures and
Installations", Lido, Venice (September
2004); "Mythology: A bet on imagination,
a bet on art", The 9th Cairo Biennale
(December 2003); "Chaos and Communications":
10th Biennale of Young Artists
from Europe and the Mediterranean, Sarajevo
(July 2001). She has designed sets
for theatre productions in Cyprus, Malta
and the UK. She lives and works in Cyprus.
[www.melitcouta.com]
In Melita Couta’s installation - collages
Urban Legend fragments of familiar objects,
bodies and buildings are arranged in unfamiliar
relational compositions creating a
simultaneously utopian and dystopian landscape.
She seems to be mapping a world in
the process of its own making, one made
up of bodies and structures themselves in
the process of developing. Her assemblages
constitute views - better, still - of a universe
constantly changing, re-arranging, re-forming.
(Antonis Danos)
Couta’ s collages form worlds whose con-
75

Melita Couta, Objects of Desire,
2005. Synthetic hair, carpet.

struction is not subsumed beneath a pregiven
law and whose outcome is not delivered
by history. It is as if people have joined
with the animals and given up attending
to their health or fulfilment or perfection
of their bodies, in favour of exploring possibilities
of their soma possibilities not codified
in advance or determined by genetic
code but possibilities before the law. It is as
if they ignore what is given by the code prescribing
the development of their bodies
and expressed by the repeatable finalities
of beauty and symbol, and instead go back
before that inscription to examine the contingent
and the arbitrary characteristics
of their soma possibilities not codified in
advance or determined by genetic code but
possibilities before the law. It is as if they
ignore what is given by the code prescribing
the development of their bodies and
expressed by the repeatable finalities of beauty
and symbol, and instead go back before
that inscription to examine the contingent
and the arbitrary characteristics of their
soma. Couta’s collages are choreographies
of possible linkages and manifold
forces in which the figures are no less
built or constructed than the structures they
link. And this gives the buildings a live part
in a dialogue between the two. (Jonathan
L. Dronsfield)
yiannos economou
Born in 1959. After working as an accountant
for some years in London, he re-entered
and studied Fine Arts at the Kent Institute
of Art & Design, graduating in 1993. He
mainly uses video, but also film and photography,
as his media of expression. His
themes come from his personal milieu,
investigating time and space as experienced
in contemporary society, especially, in view
of escalating technological advances in shifting
ideological landscapes. He has shown
his work in solo and group shows in Cyprus
and abroad, and at international film festivals.
His latest short film, The Machine
Dream, won the best experimental film
award at the Cyprus Short Film Festival
(2005). He lives and works in Paphos.
In Yiannos Economou’s video Cross Country
Run it is a male figure that seems, at first
sight, to be the agent mapping the landscape;
as the runner meets with an endless
parade of landscapes, it becomes apparent
that not only is he not a surveying–colonising
eye but, rather, more of a Sisyphusean
body, performing an endless task or,
more fittingly, a Ulyssesean ghost, never
arriving – he was never bound for anywhere
in the first place. As his volume-less blue
profile struggles through the fragments of
landscape - often being eclipsed by them
- he comes to stand for an entire people’s
unending wandering into a known territory,
but towards an unknown destination.
(Antonis Danos)
In a dialogue with Dr Andreas Panayiotou
(currently teaching Social Sciences, Communications
and Cultural Studies at the
Frederick Institute of Technology) Yiannos
Economou specifies that Cross Country Run
is not really a tracking shot, nor is it a film,
for that matter.
It contours a running man photographed
in the 19th century by E.Muybridge, put
in a loop to give the illusion of movement.
But the eleven silhouettes remain static.
What really move are the images of scattered
objects photographed, videographed
or scanned in Paphos over a period of three
months. The man has been running for
77

78
130 years in the same pace, two-dimensional,
alone, going nowhere. We are trapped
in a free-floating reality. But there is a sense
of the return to earth, the lost land. Reunification
is going to happen inevitably
because the market, the geography, the international
dynamics will do it from below.
But when it does these will be nothing to
celebrate for it will not be an ideological
project but a de facto progress.
lia lapithi
Born in 1963. She studied Art (Bachelor
of Fine Arts) and Architecture (Bachelor of
Environmental Design – Architecture) at
the UCSC, California. She has also obtained
a Master of Fine Arts degree from Lancaster
University, as well as the Diploma of Architecture
(RIBA 2), from the Canterbury
Institute of Art and Design. She has had
Yiannos
Economou,
Cross Country
Run, 2004.
Video.
several solo shows, and has taken part in
group exhibitions in Cyprus and abroad.
Amongst the international exhibitions she
participated in are the 3rd Florence Biennale
(2001), where she was awarded the
4th prize for multimedia, and the 20th
International Alexandria Biennale (1999),
where she was awarded the Grand Prix (First
Overall Prize). [www.lialapithi.com]
A woman’s body is framed within a landscape
(salt marsh) which, in turn, is inscribed
- both literally and as 'art' - by her body, in
Lia Lapithi’s film, 26 Weeks, part of the Lick-
Bed installation. A largely autobiographical
narrative undermines, however, the agelong
equation, woman-nature. The 'story'
is one of endangered pregnancy; of salt,
not just as an essential ingredient (visitors
are invited to lick the salt blocks arranged
as a bed 'mattress' on a metal frame, in the

middle of the installation), but also as a
means for abortion; the salt lake’s expanse
treads the edge between fertility and sterility.
At the same time, it has itself been sterilised
and turned into an artificial ground
in the exhibition space.
In a conversation with Henry Meyric Hughes,
published in the exhibition catalogue,
Lia Lapithi confesses that the film 26 Weeks
deals obliquely with her fears of illness and
death and their closeness to everyday life,
adding that "like the rest of the artworks
included in the exhibition, it deals with the
poetics of the body’s fragility and should
be appreciated for its fundamentally lifeaffirming
qualities." H.M. Hughes agreed
that the life-affirming quality of her work,
its aspiration to purity and catharsis, its
strongly visual, aesthetic and tactile appeal
are evident.
evgenia vasiloude
Born in 1962. Studied (1981-88) at the
Kiev School of Fine Arts, Ukraine, in the
Department of Engraving and Graphic
Arts. Her studies included drawing, painting,
engraving, lithography, etching, book
illustration, poster design, calligraphy, industrial
design and history of art. She has
had four solo exhibitions, and has taken
part in several group shows in Cyprus
and abroad. She has participated, additionally,
in international engraving exhibitions,
including, "Lilla Europa 2002: 2nd
Biennale of small scale painting and printing",
Hallsberg and Örebro, Sweden; "5"
Triennale mondiale de l’estampe petit format
Chamaliers 2000", Auvergne, France:
5th Engraving Biennale, Belgrade (1998);
4th Engraving Biennale, Gyor, Hungary
(1998). She received the second jury
Lia Lapithi, 26 Weeks. Video.
prize at the 2004 Cairo Biennale. She lives
and works in Cyprus.
In Evgenia Vasiloude’ s Hymn to Demeter
installation, nature has seized the walls of
this space, in the form of layers of engraved
prints-images of wheat. Outdoors has been
brought indoors - a 'non-site' standing for
a 'site' - while, the apparent conflation,
nature-feminine-creation, is challenged
as much as redefined: over the projected
(video) images, a (female) voice recites
the hymnal (male) logos to the goddess of
the earth, and those very words have been,
additionally, inscribed visually within the
pictures of nature. In the process, the artist
herself has re-created the natural into the
artificial of art-culture. (Antonis Danos)
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80
Evgenia Vasiloude, Hymn to Demeter, 2003-2005. Installation with silkscreenprints on canvas and PVC,
Plexiglas cube, video.
Looking at Vasiloude’s work one realizes
that a renewal lies at the heart of her
practice as an artist. Not only because she
insists on preserving the craftsmanship of
the old engravers, using the traditional skills
along with more contemporary techniques
of artistic production, but also because of
her obsessive return to myth and classic
archetypes of feminity. The myth is no
longer the object of an artistic transfer, but
becomes a vehicle through which the transference
itself is thematised. Hymn to Demeter,
then, functions as a dramatization, a
ritual of passage in which spectators are
invited to participate. (Maria Margaroni)
yannos yapanis
Born in 1972. After studies in Cyprus and
the USA, he enrolled at the Instituto
delle Scienze Cinematografiche ed Audiovisive
(Florence), from which he graduated
as director of photography, after having
specialised in Photographic Portrait and
Camera Obscura. He is a co-founder of
ZooTroupe Productions (Italy). He has
worked as Director of Photography on several
short films and documentaries. He has
participated in photographic exhibitions
in and out of Cyprus. His first short film,
Mavroscoufitsa (Little Black Riding Hood),
(2002), has been screened in several
international film festivals, including, Cannes
(Official Selection); Drama [Greece] (Best
New Director); Montreal; Alpe Adria, Trieste
(Special Mention); and at the Cypriot
Short Film Festival (Third Prize).

Since 1998, he lives mostly in Cyprus, where
he works in film and other media.
A run toward the unknown is probably
what is also (though more satirically) 'codified'
in the last (freeze) frame in Yannos
Yapanis’ s video-short film, Infomercial: a
man is running after another man dressed
as a chicken, who is holding a real chicken,
which the first man was chasing, all
along. Is this chicken the promise of a future
that resists capture-arrival? Taking as pretexts
recent political events in Cyprus –
the island’s entry into the European Union
and the referendum on the proposed UN
plan for the reunification of the country
– the artist is focusing on a body, standing
in for the 'collective' one, and on a familiar
yet resisting recognition space, in order
to 'map' a people’s predicament. It is
with a disorienting ‘map’, however, that we
are being presented, a subversive one as well
as irritating - both in its unorthodox set up
Yannos
Yapanis,
Informercial,
2005.
Video.
and 'material' (especially sound) and, more
importantly, in its refusal of 'meaning'.
(Antonis Danos)
The interest of Informercial lies in its being /
managing not to be totally incomprehensible,
but at the same time not to offer an
abstract and conceptual key reading, because
the "text" does not offer itself for a distanced
reading, turning us interpreters of a code.
It offers the possibility of constructing one’s
own code by which to try to turn chaos into
order - if one succeeds! The work’s interest
lies, additionally, in its rejection of a reference,
its refusal to become a symbol of
something that already exists, in opening a
passage to the unknown – the unrecognisable
– and to fundamental scheme,
and in wanting at all costs to give value to
the fundamental difference that stands before
all individualization; which is above all
incomprehensible as it is different. (Roberto
Constantini)
81

82
Terpandros Exhibition

The Evagoras Lanitis
Centre in Limassol hosted
the exhibition "Recreation
of Ancient Greek Musical
Instruments" last October.
This unique exhibition, the
showcase of the artistic creativity
and genuine workmanship
of musician, tutor
and craftsman Michalis
Georgiou was organized
by the Evagoras and Kathleen
Lanitis Foundation,
under the auspices of
the Embassy of Greece.
The main objective in the
recreation of ancient Greek
musical instruments in
their original form, as mentioned
by the creator himself
is "to achieve that resonance
which will lead us
to a better understanding and
conception of the reverberations
of the universe".
Michalis Georgiou has undertaken
a huge task demanding an arduous
and complex work. The multi-dimensional
nature of the research program to reconstruct
ancient Greek musical instruments requires
exchanges of views between researchers of various
disciplines: archaeology (ancient pottery,
sculptures and mosaics), ancient Greek writers,
notation and instrumentation of ancient
Greek music, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy
and many other topics.
But, "it would be impossible to reconstruct an
ancient Greek instrument", Michalis Georgiou
83

84
Michalis Georgiou addressing the exhibition opening.
The Greek Ambassador, Mr Dimitris Rallis and his
wife.
Kathrine L. Nikita from the Evagoras and
Kathleen Lanitis Foundation.
confesses, "relying solely on various archaeological
findings or literary texts. In the passage
of time vital information has been lost. Moreover,
a significant amount of information is derived
from myths: Many drawings of frescoes display
scientific imperfections and inaccuracies as
well as musical instruments that do not exist;
they serve only to enhance aesthetic balance".
An artist feels free to fill in any missing element,
laying emphasis on the aesthetic aspect of the
created object and ignoring the scientific anomalies
associated with it. On the other hand the
researcher or the scientist will abstain from reaching
a final conclusion once he has detected a
missing link in the chain of elements of the subject
under research.
The instruments presented by Michalis Georgiou
in the exhibition are the result of many years
of personal scientific research as well as the full
perception of the myth through consciousness.
Artistic creativity is used to fill the void of vanished
information. It is the degree of artistic
arousal in the individual brought on by the instrument’s
resonance that determines how successful
the recreation of an instrument is, enabling
long forgotten resonances to resurface.
The exhibition "Recreation of Ancient Greek
Musical Instruments" presented the opportunity
for the publication of a catalogue in the
series Cypriot Creators entitled "The Quest for
the Resonance of the Universe" dedicated to the
work of musician, tutor and craftsman, Michalis
Georgiou.
The bi-lingual (Greek/English), lavishly illustrated
catalogue was published by En Tipis publications
with the support of the Cultural Services
of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Alongside the texts signed by Savvas Kokkinos
and Michalis Georgiou concerning the project,
there are minute details about the origin
and structure of each ancient instrument
replica.

If an ancient Greek were to hear today’s music,
he would certainly be impressed by the polyfonia,
impact and instrumentational strength,
because those were not characteristic of ancient
music.
On the other hand he could consider our melodies
to be monotonous, because only two modes are
used in our days, (Major and Minor scales),
whilst in ancient Greek music there existed seven
different ways, each of which had a different
character (mixolidios, lidios, frygios, dorios etc).
Modes were of special importance to the ancient
Greeks and this can be deduced from the fact
that Plato dealt with these, as he considered
some of them suitable for his Politia and others
not. These modes were bequeathed to Byzantine
music as the Eight Sounds, while they were
being used by the Western Church too. In Eastern
music the modes are known as makams. In contemporary
music modes reappeared in Jazz with
the same term modes with ancient Greek names
About Ancient Greek Music
Michalis Georgiou
(left – right) The Greek Ambassador, Mr Dimitris
Rallis, his wife and Michalis Georgiou.
(mixolydian, dorian, ionian, aiolian, locrian,
etc.)
An ancient Greek would also find contemporary
music poor in musical intervals, since only
the rough intervals of tones and semi-tones
are used in contrast to ancient music which used
a variety of musical intervals. Apart from the
Cleoriki kithara (cradle
kithara), 5th century BC.
Greek salpinx, trumpet, kochlos, keras. Seven-stringed lyra, 5th century BC. Oxival, clay pots with wooden bases.
85

86
The Terpandros Orchestra playing at Casteliotissa Hall.
scales which were composed of tones and semitones
(diatonic scales), there existed those which
were composed of semitones and three-semitones
(chromatic scales), and others composed
of quarters of tones and two-toned intervals
(henarmonic). The kind of intervals used
by each scale is called genus. Each genus had
different shades which were called colors. The
fact that would seem strange to the ancient
Greeks is that contemporary scales would sound
disonal, having fallen victims of blending. Because
of the fact that ancient scales were based on natural
intervals in accordance with Pythagoras’s
findings in the 6th century BC semitones and
tones were not equal between them, with the
result that it was difficult to transpose musical
pieces (a fact that did not bother the ancient
Greeks, since their melodies were mostly monodies).
In the 16th AC century, western musicians sacrificed
the melody of unequal musical intervals
in order to gain complete freedom for the transportation
(for the sake of polyphony), and comfort
for the practical use of keyboard instruments.
This was achieved with the equalization
of the twelve semitones of the octave, in other
words the equal temperament where semitones
become equal, and fourths and fifths are allowed
to become slightly imperfect. So a compromise
was found between the laws of nature and the
needs of art.
At this point it should be stressed that ancient
Greeks had a different concept of concord from
our own. To them there were only four perfect
concords: Unison, the eighth, the fifth and
the fourth. A noticeable fact is that the ancient
Greeks never considered the third as a concord
interval, although it forms the basis of contemporary
harmony. In fact Gavdentios calls
it disonal as an intermediate step between
concord and discord intervals.
One can easily understand how ancient Greek
music gave a variety of choices regarding the
kind of intervals used (genuses, chroiai) and
to the way that unites them (systems).
So a composer could compose a piece and
perform it differently if he wished to do so.
He could change the scale (like today) with the
selection of another tone transposing the piece.
He could change the mode that is to do a modulation.
Today this is also done mainly between
Major and Minor scales. He could change the
genus and chroia that is to do a complete change
of the piece. Today this is not possible because
melody uses only the diatonic scales. He
could change the system from synimmeno (conjuct)
to diazevgmeno (disjunct). That is to do
a systematic change. Apart from the melody, he
could also (like today) change the rhythm, speed
and character of the piece by using the rest of
the changes.
It is obvious that where Western music was seeking
beauty through polyphonic multiplication

of quantity in big orchestras, Eastern music
discovered it by dividing the quality into smaller
melodic intervals.
Many ancient pieces have been found on papyrae
as well as in engraved form. From classic ancient
times the melody for the first stasimo of Orestis
of Euripides has been preserved and partially
one stasimo from Ifigenia en Avlides. From
Hellenic period parts of tragedies have been
preserved, the Hymn to Asklipios and some
instrumental pieces. From the latest Hellenic
period we have the works of Athineos and
Liminios. From the Roman period we have
in perfect condition Epitafios of Sikilos, the
call to the Muse and to Kalliopi, the Hymn
to Sun and to Nemesis of Mesomides as well
as many other vocal and instrumental extracts.
A Christian hymn to the Holy Trinity of the
3rd AC century was also found written in the
ancient musical notation (parasimantiki).
We are in a position to perform these pieces
even today thanks to the great research of many
ancient harmonic authors, like Aristoxenos,
Euklides, Ptolemeos, Kleonides, Gavdentios,
Voithios and mainly Alipios, who provides us
with charts with all the symbols of parasimantiki
in the fifteen tones and three genuses.
Below we have Epitafios of Sikilos, a piece which
was found on an engraved plaque in Aidinio,
near Trallis. It is dated around the 2nd BC century
and it is of an unknown composer.
The first 5 verses form an introduction without
music, as well as the last one, which is only
found partially. This piece is written in lonios
tone, Lydios mode.
In diatonic genus and in a disjunct system.
Although it does not seem to follow a certain
tempo it has a rhythm in dactylic genus.
ŸÛÔ ˙ÂȘ Ó· ¯·›ÚÂÛ·È, ‰ÈfiÏÔ˘ ÌË Ï˘apple¿Û·È, appleÚfiÛηÈÚË Â›Ó·È Ë ˙ˆ‹ Ì·˜. Ô ¯ÚfiÓÔ˜ ÛÙÔ Ù¤ÏÔ˜ Ì¿˜ ʤÚÓÂÈ
87

88
Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis came to
Cyprus last October for a series of events honouring
his 80th birthday.
Theodorakis was decorated by President Tassos
Papadopoulos with the Grand Cross of
the Order of Makarios III for his contribution
to music, the arts and culture and his participation
in the struggle for world peace
and democracy.
Presenting the honour to Theodorakis, the
President said that "there is no limit to the
boundaries of the music and the power of
poetry that go beyond space and time, giving
human life a special dimension and a new perspective".
An emotional Theodorakis asked
the President for permission to add in his CV
from now on that he is not only a Greek
and a Cretan but also a Cypriot. He also sent
a message of unity to the Turkish Cypriots,
expressing the hope that a settlement would
be reached soon.
The President of the House of Representatives
and AKEL (Communist Party) leader,
Demetris Christofias received Theodorakis
and extolled his role as "international citizen,
struggling for world peace, and brotherhood
among people". Describing his gigantic
contribution to humanity as a composer,
Christofias said that during his visit on the
island, Theodorakis was going to "open his
huge wings, as he did in 1975 when he embraced
the refugees and took into his arms Cyprus,
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots".
Theodorakis was also honoured by the National
Guard and Defence Minister, Kyriakos
Mavronicolas, was pronounced an honorary
citizen of Nicosia by Mayor Michalakis Zam-
Mikis Theodorakis Honoured
President Tassos Papadopoulos presenting the
distinction to composer Mikis Theodorakis.
belas and was given the Golden Key to the
city.
The highlight of his visit was a massive concert
held in old Nicosia d’Avila Moat with the
participation of the Choir and Orchestra of
the Moscow New Opera Theatre and the Mikis
Theodorakis Orchestra. George Dalaras, Maria
Farantouri and Petros Pandis also sang in celebration
of the music veteran’s many decades
of creativity. The programme included
songs of resistance and music expressing the
suffering of the oppressed as well as songs taken
from the everyday struggle for survival of
the poor in Greece, Cyprus and elsewhere.
In his address before the concert in his honour,
Theodorakis remembered that immedi-

ately after the war in 1945, "when Greece was
under British supervision and the mere mention
of Cyprus was not allowed, I took part
in the first march for Cyprus, which took place
in central Athens… This is how my engage-
Theodorakis with Leonidas Malenis.
President of the
House of Representatives,
Demetris
Christofias presenting
an Honorary
Diploma to
composer Mikis
Theodorakis.
ment with the island started and since then,
for 60 years, no day has gone by without Cyprus
being on my mind. The same happened for
thousands and thousands of Greeks, for whom
Cyprus is a major national duty, and who will
never be at peace with themselves, unless they
feel that there is absolute security here".
The musicians praised the Cypriot public
on the progress they have made, saying that
Greece is in awe of Cyprus for having the ability,
talent and vision to create prosperity and
wealth out of the severest conditions of fear
and separation inherited from the past".
This world famous symphony "Zorba, the
Greek" enthralled the audience of about 7.000
Greek and Turkish Cypriots including politicians
and dignitaries from both sides of the
divide. Afterwards the great composer got up
and walked to the stage to sing with the audience
some of his most popular songs including
the one dedicated to Cyprus "Chrysoprasino
Fyllo". Standing ovations marked the
finale of this memorable concert.
89

90
Vicenza Numismatica of Vicenza, Italy, is a
distinguished European organization whose
exhibitions of coins are considered an important
European event in numismatics.
Vicenza Numismatica also awards the international
prizes Vicenza Numismatica and Vicenza
Palladio to the finest coins in the world and
rewards artists that have distinguished
themselves.
A silver coin, issued by the Central Bank of
Cyprus and designed by Clara Zacharaki Georgiou
was awarded the prestigious international
award by Vicenza Numismatica being , therefore,
given the title of "the finest coin in the
world", minted in 2004.
The Central Bank of Cyprus, as the issuing
authority of the Republic of Cyprus, issues
Vicenza Numismatica Award
President Tassos Papadopoulos, congratulating Clara
Zacharaki Georgiou on receiving the Vicenza Numismatica
Award.
besides the usual circulation coins, collectors coins in gold, silver and cupronickel. Some of
The General Secretary of Vicenza Numismatica (left), artist Clara Zacharaki Georgiou, George Mavroudis,
representative of the Central Bank of Cyprus and the President of the Philatelic Society, Italy at the award
ceremony in Vicenza.

these issues are commemorative. They have
legal tender status, but are not intended for
circulation. Some of them are inspired by
the history or civilization of Cyprus ; some
others depict the flora and fauna of the
island, mainly species on the verge of
extinction as for example the latest
issue in the series depicting the seal
"Monachus monachus".
The commemorative collector’s
coin conferred the Vicenza
Numismatica award is a £1
silver coin , titled "Triton", issued
by the Central Bank of Cyprus
to mark the island’s accession
to the European Union in May
2004.
Triton, the son of Poseidon, god
of the sea in Greek mythology and
the sea nymph Amphitryte, is depicted
blowing his conch shell announcing
the birth of Aphrodite, goddess
of love, on the shores of Cyprus. Twelve
stars are framing the coin.
Artist Clara Zacharaki Georgiou, a wellknown
painter and stage costume designer
is no stranger to coin designing, either. She
is the only woman in the Mediterranean space
to have designed an entire series of state coins
since she won the competition, among 21
artists, for the Cyprus coin series in 1983. In
fact, out of the 30 coins designed by Cypriot
artists in the past 30 years, eight of them
came from the hands of Clara.
She has also designed some more commemorative
coins: the first one in 1981 on the occasion
of the World Food Day. Another one, for
the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
depicting the Cyprus moufflon, was used as
one of the five coins issued by FAO to raise
funds. Some more commemorative coins were
The commemorative
coin "Triton".
designed by Clara Zacharaki Georgiou for the
Olympic Games of Small Countries, issued
after she won a competition with her design
"O Agon"; for the town of Nikaia (Pireus)
to mark 60 years from the battle of Kokkinias;
for the Socialist Party EDEK, and the emblem
of the Cultural Foundation "Akamanteio".
Clara Zacharaki Georgiou was born on the
Dodecanese island of Leros. She lived there,
91

92
until her family was forced to leave for mainland
Greece as they refused to take up Italian
citizenship during World War II. She grew
up in Athens where she attended the School
of Fine Arts. By 1963 she had met her husband,
Aris Georgiou, former director of the
Paedagogical Academy and moved to Cyprus.
For 27 years she taught Art in secondary
schools, an experience she carried out with
great zest and enthusiasm. It was during
this period that she indulged her love for
the theatre by creating students’ theatre workshops
and staging performances befitting professional
standard.
In 1983, she had her first solo exhibition with
works inspired by the Cypriot landscape
and Cypriot antiquities. Her buoyant, blithe
spirit is reflected in the vibrant colours she
uses and the recurrent images of antiquities
mirror her deep love of anything Greek. In
fact, her latest exhibition was dedicated to the
Elgin marbles
and expressed her fervent desire to have them
reinstated in their place of origin.
The exhibition opened in Nicosia in 2002,
toured several European capitals: Athens, Brussels,
London, Luxembourg.
On the move in real life, Clara moves with
ease in her art too from one medium to another:
oil paints, acrylic, mixed media, stained
glass, wood painting. But her first choice is
always the humble but demanding media of
watercolours. According to the artist:" it suits
my disposition in the transparency and the
sensitivity it requires".
She is also an accomplished stage and costume
designer and has collaborated over the years
with the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC)
and other theatres. For a number of years she
was the Secretary of the Cyprus International
Theatre Institute, and in this capacity
she participated in many I.T.I. conferences
around the world.
The present accolade awarded by Vicenza
Numismatica to Clara Zacharaki Georgiou
is an international recognition for
her work. "This award", the artist
points out, "is a matter of value
that gives me great happiness
because it comes from a town
in Italy where I am totally
unknown. I consider this as a
great honour for me and, of
course, an honour to Cyprus."
The Central Bank of Cyprus offers
for sale to the public any available
stock from its issues. Details can
be found at its website: www.cetralbank.gov.cy

Lyssarides Honoured
Veteran politician and Honorary President
of EDEK, Dr Vassos Lyssarides, recently
exhibited some 80 paintings at the House of
Cyprus in Athens.
The opening of the exhibition took place
under the patronage of the President of Greece,
Karolos Papoulias, and speakers included the
Cyprus Ambassador to Greece, Yiorgos Yiorghis.
An album containing all the paintings on display
and Lyssarides’ accompanying poems
has been compiled and published by the Cultural
Services of the Ministry of Education
and Culture in collaboration with the Vassos
Lyssarides Foundation.
The album, as the Minister of Education and
Culture, Mr Pefkios Georgiades, pointed out
"aspires to show another aspect of the course
of Vassos Lyssarides, his creative performance
in the fields of poetry and painting".
The poetry of Vassos Lyssarides is Doric and
elegiac, charged with "a bitter, thoroughly
bitter, bitterness" as he himself writes, and
takes us to a world of metaphysical transcendence,
where the uncompromising and
ceaseless struggle emerges as the quintessence
and precondition of the vindication of every
being.
The Cypriot landscape is the protagonist in
his paintings and sketches, either with its
modest, low-roofed houses which serve as a
reminder of the human presence, or as nature,
sometimes calm and bathed in the Mediterranean
sunlight, sometimes harsh and intractable.
During his visit to Athens for the opening of
the exhibition, Lyssarides was also awarded
an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine at a special
ceremony at the University of Athens,
conducted by the Dean of the University, Dr
G. Bambiniotis. The ceremony was well
attended and the audience included the President
of Greece and the Ambassador of Cyprus
among other dignitaries.
Vassos Lyssarides with his wife, Barbara in the
garden of their house.
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94
Vassos Lyssarides was born in the village of
Lefkara on 13th May 1920.
He graduated from the Pancyprian Gymnasium
and University of Athens Medical School
with distinction.
During his studies he organised the Pan-student
Committee for the Cyprus Struggle (with
the participation of all young activists), of
which he was President. During the same period
he was General Secretary of the Coordinating
Committee of Cypriot Associations in
Greece, as well as head of the National
Committee of Cyprus in EAM.
On his return to Cyprus at the conclusion
of his studies he was President of the Peace
Movement, a position which he resigned from
when the Soviet Union invaded Hungary.
When the national liberation struggle began,
he enlisted in EOKA. He was awarded the
title of head of the political section.
He represented EOKA at the London Conference
and voted against the Zurich-London
agreements, stressing that they legalised the
military and political presence of Turkey.
In 1963, during the Turkish Cypriot uprising,
he was leader of the popular army (under
the aegis of the state) which liberated Pentadactylos.
He was an active member of the anti-junta
struggle with links with the resistance
organisations of the Greek people. He played
a leading part in the resistance to the traitorous
stand of EOKA B activists and against the
coup d’état.
By his stand on 15th August 1974 during the
meeting of the Cypriot political leadership
under the threat of the armed supporters of
the coup d’état, he thwarted acceptance of the
Gunes Plan which provided for "peaceful"
Turkish occupation. He stressed that the postcoup
d’état situation was illegal and that only
with the return of the lawfully elected Archbishop
Makarios would legality be restored.
This activity, the need to silence this voice and
to consolidate the post-coup d’état situation,
led to the attempt on his life on 30th
August 1974, which resulted in the assassination
of Doros Loizou.
In 1969 he founded EDEK, of which he
was President until 2001. He is now Honorary
President. He was Vice President of the Organisation
of Afro-Asian Solidarity with the peoples
of South Africa and for the release of Mandela
(ICSA), with tens of meetings in all the
capitals of Europe. He was closely associated
with the world-wide national liberation movement
and particularly that of Africa, the leaders
of which he repeatedly gave hospitality
to and with whom he cooperated closely (Gambral
of Guinea-Bissau, Neto of Angola,
Tambo of South Africa, Dos Santos of Mozam-
Vassos Lyssarides, Palestine, oil on canvas.

Vassos Lyssarides, Demonstration, oil on canvas.
bique, Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Nasser
and with foreign European leaders, for example
Olof Palme, Willy Brandt, François Mitterrand).
A fraternal and longstanding friendship
also bound him to Andreas Papandreou.
He also developed close collaboration with
the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the
President of Cuba, Fidel Castro.
In 1960 he was elected a Member of the House
of Representatives for the first time, representing
the Patriotic Front (which included
all the trends which had taken part in the anticolonial
struggle) and has been elected continuously
since then.
He served as President of the House of Representatives
from 1985-1991.
A pioneering and successful doctor, he practised
medicine for decades and for this reason
the people called him "Doctor" instead of
using his full name.
He has been President of the Hippocratic Medical
Association and of the Pancyprian Medical
Association, of which he is Honorary President.
He was the personal doctor of Archbishop
Makarios.
He writes poetry and paints. He has exhibited
his work in one-man and group art exhibitions
in Greece and Cyprus.
In 1996 he received an Honorary Doctorate
from the Panteion University. In June 2002,
on a visit to Ramala, the Palestinian leader,
Yasser Arafat, by unanimous decision of his
Council of Ministers, conferred on him the
Highest Honorary Distinction of the Palestinian
Authority.
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96
Poems by Vassos Lyssarides
Nostalgia
You came,
and the Spring knelt reverently
with love, and in awe.
You left, and Winter could not
erase the beauty.
You came, and since then the flowers
have refused to look at themselves in the mirror.
What shall I say to you?
As a wayfarer I just yearn
for the Spring and the flowers.
I long delayed
I long delayed departure, and now I have forgotten
the way out.
They’ve stripped me of self-respect and dignity.
Wounds are not healed with false love.
If you are on your knees
It is because you yourself have learnt to kneel.
Compassionate souls offered me
What I never deserved to have as mine.
And I, insignificant I, am wounded by praise
Which they generously, unjustifiably bestow
And do you know?
Empty pride did not kill me,
The love I spent in vain
murdered me.
It’s time to leave.
I should have left earlier.
Vase of flowers, oil on canvas.
Cry call, watercolour.
Misty Landscape, watercolour.
Translation: Christine Georgiadou
Ithaca
I set out for my little Ithaca,
I don’t know how many years ago
And now, with sweet pain I long for the unripe
Persephone
And Telemachus, unborn in the womb.
Sweet life, sweet-sour wine,
good company with fellow-archers
and sullen Ares.
Without altars, without sacrifices.
I pull at the oar when the tired sails
Refuse to put to sea
Soft violet sunset binds me with chains of gold
to the blue, unending sea
to the unending, half-quenched east-west horizon.
I have seen many cities, many men
and roam with foolish wisdom.
Now I know it.
The anxiety crushes me.
The return terrifies me.
I do not want to know the new Ithaca.
My first Ithaca must remain
alive in the memory and in the expectation.
Farewell, Ithaca.

On Monday, 24 October, 2005, the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the UN was
celebrated in Nicosia in a most particular and
moving event held on both sides of the Green
Line. The ceasefire line area in the middle of
Nicosia, pockmarked with landmines was filled
with music as school children and professional
musicians on both sides of the divide took it
in turns to sing songs, beat on drums or play
musical instruments.
This unusual bicommucal event aptly called
«Long Distance Call» was put together by
Dutch composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven and
was supported by the United Nations, the
United States and the Dutch government. It
brought together four hundred Greek and
Turkish Cypriots who performed Cypriot
songs, in their own languages from rooftops,
Long Distance Call
balconies and streets along the Green Line
revealing the musical similarities of both sides
of the island. Music was also made by percussionists,
wind players or using oil barrels
and metal found in Old Nicosia workshops.
There was also a brief performance by musical
artist Haji Mike with some locally inspired
rapping.
The program was devised so that each side
could play its piece to listeners on the other
side. Composer Twaalfhoven was coordinating
the proceedings so that a flurry of
sounds from the north should be immediately
accompanied by a comeback from the
south. His intention was to help people reflect
on the similarities, forget the history and see
things in a fresh light.
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98
A major programme for the Composition of
Cypriot Songs was successfully carried out
within the framework of the innovations
introduced by the Ministry of Education and
Culture to develop music education in secondary
schools. The Inspector for Music
in secondary schools, Mrs Maro Skordi,
inspired, supervised and coordinated this
important programme.
Workshops on the composition of Cypriot
music were held in which talented pupils
from the lyceums of Larnaca and Ammochostos
worked hard and enthusiastically
in their free time under the well-known Cypriot
composer Michalis Christodoulides. They
created their own Cypriot songs with verses
which they themselves chose and which
they presented at a final concert.
The Concept
The organiser, Maro Skordi, explains the
rationale behind the whole endeavour. "With
Cypriot Song Composition
our accession to the European Union the
need to preserve our own musical heritage
has become more pressing. We were concerned
that pupils at our schools did not have
sufficient contact with Cypriot music or the
Cypriot vernacular in poetry. I wanted, therefore,
to encourage the pupils in the belief
that through these workshops they would
have a good start to getting acquainted with
Cypriot music, which encompasses a priceless
treasure."
The Workshops
Mrs Skordi explained that Michalis Christodoulides,
who uses ancient Greek music in his works
as well as elements of Cypriot music, which
he knows well, was brought over from Athens.
He has written a series of very important traditional
and “akritic” Cypriot songs. Michalis
Christodoulides undertook the workshops,
encouraging the pupils to write as they feel,
using whatever sounds they know and can
Organiser of the programme
Maro Skordi
and composer Michalis
Christodoulides during
the workshop.

Music Inspector Maro Skordi and composer Michalis Christodoulides during a rehearsal.
express, subtracting and adding until the right
sounds were found.
There was some difficulty in finding verses.
The pupils made their choices from the Cypriot
Anthology which contains poems by accomplished
poets, such as Demetris Lipertis
and Vassilis Michaelides. They also found
verses written by their fellow pupils or their
teachers.
The Concert
The final concert was held at the Larnaca
Municipal Theatre on 12th October, 2005.
In the first part the work of the pupils was
presented. They were free to work individually
and in groups of two or three. Twelve
songs were performed.
In the second part, the "Mesoyeios" ("The
Mediterranean") Group performed traditional
Cypriot songs. "Mesoyeios" was founded
in 1991 and its aim is to preserve and pass
on the folk song. It uses traditional instruments,
conducts research, records and presents
the folk songs of Cyprus and the wider
Greek space. The founder and artistic director
is Michalis Hadjimichael.
The music teachers of the Larnaka and Ammochostos
Lyceums helped to make the whole
concert a reality, with Elena Papaevripidou,
teacher at the Archbishop Makarios III Lyceum
acting as general coordinator. The scenery, a
huge Cypriot garden, was the work of the
Art teacher at the Archbishop Makarios III
Lyceum, Mikella Psara, with the help of pupils
at the school who painted smaller pictures
with elements relating to the scenery.
Commenting on their unique experience
in the composition workshops, the pupils
expressed their tremendous enthusiasm,
described the joy of creation and hoped that
they would get another chance to try their
hand.
99

100
The International Committee for the Conservation
of Mosaics (ICCM) in collaboration with
the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the
Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) of Tunisia
have successfully organized the 9th International
Conference on the conservation of mosaics. The
conference was chaired by Cyprus University
Professor of Archaeology, Demetrios Michaelides
who has been the ICCM President since 1999.
The conference took place in Hammamet in
Tunisia, from the 29th November-3rd December
2005, and it was supported by ICCROM,
the Getty Foundation and the University of
Cyprus.
The first ever meeting on mosaics conservation
took place in Rome in 1977. It was organized
by ICCROM at the recommendation of a number
of scholars. Nine specialists were appointed
to examine a series of mosaic-related topics,
ranging from ethics to techniques and from
methods of lifting to methods of in situ conservation.
They prepared a paper that was put
forward for discussion by about 60 participants,
after which it was agreed that the meeting would
mark the beginning of a new chapter in mosaic
conservation, and thus the International Committee
for the Conservation of Mosaics was
founded. It was agreed that the Committee
would be truly international and included not
just conservators, but also archaeologists and
art historians. ICCROM agreed to serve as the
Committee's first Secretariat, and it was decided
that ICOM, ICOMOS and IIC should be
observers. It would also seek co-operation with
various international organizations, in an attempt
to share information and co-ordinate projects.
The International Committee for the Conser-
The 9th International Conference
for the Conservation of Mosaics
Niki Savvides
vation of Mosaics has functioned on an
entirely voluntary basis and without capital for
almost three decades. Its Board continues to
consist of conservators, archaeologists, art historians
and architects, which, it is felt, makes
for a better understanding of the problems that
mosaic conservation faces. In its 29 years of life,
ICCM can look back at nine International Conferences
around Europe and the Mediterranean,
and a number of Round Tables. The Proceedings
of all the conferences have been published,
and there are also 11 Newsletters and a web-site
(http://www.iccm.pro.cy). Most importantly,
there is a steadily increasing number of paying
members who, at present, represent different
countries.
ICCM can also claim to have been instrumental
in bringing mosaic conservation (a previously
neglected field) to the forefront of
conservation matters, as well as in contributing
to the vast improvement of the quality of literature
produced on the subject. Starting with
ancient floor mosaics, the Committee has expanded
both chronologically and geographically, and
at the more recent conferences there have
been papers dealing with medieval, modern,
and even New World floor and wall mosaics.
Also, one of the first recommendations of the
Committee, namely the in situ conservation of
mosaics, has now become more or less the
rule in mosaic conservation. The Committee
has also played an important role in emphasising
on the one hand the essential role of preventive
conservation, and on the other the importance
of maintenance in assuring the wellbeing
of mosaics.
The theme of the most recent conference was

Head of Achilles; detail from the Achilles Mosaic, Kourion.
“Lessons learned: Reflecting on the theory and
practice of mosaic conservation”.
A total of 45 papers, 25 posters and three video
films were presented, reflecting on theory, practice
and decision-making processes related to
mosaic conservation. The papers also addressed
how these processes have changed over the
last 30 years, and what has been learned on
issues such as training, sheltering, reburial, treatments,
lifting and relaying, documentation,
maintenance, presentation and site management.
The conference had nearly 300 participants
from 30 different countries, the largest since
the founding of the ICCM. A significant number
of participants came from Arab-speaking
countries, including Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria,
Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine
and Turkey.
Two papers dealt with Cypriot issues. The first,
by Demetrios Michaelides, Professor of Classical
Archaeology at the University of Cyprus,
in collaboration with the archaeologist Niki
Savvides gave a historical overview of the
shelters constructed since the 1930s over the
Annex of Eustolios at Kourion, and discussed
the effectiveness of the current shelters, in terms
of conservation, interpretation and presentation.
As they have stated in their paper, their
intention was not to criticize the authorities
responsible for the shelters, but to warn of the
negative consequences which might result in
irreversible damages to the archaeological remains
in case of unplanned interventions without a
long-term perspective.
The site of Kourion is one of the most important
archaeological sites of Cyprus. Most of the
monuments one sees today on the acropolis
101

The Orpheus Mosaic is the largest single figural representation on the island. While
its iconography, Orpheus and the Beasts, is one of the most commonly depicted, the
arrangement of Orpheus and the Beasts within a single panel adheres to an iconographic
tradition common throughout the Mediterranean basin, which yet
remains quite different to those found in northern Europe and Great Britain. Orpheus
is usually depicted plucking the strings of the cithara (lyre), with his right arm, whereas
in the Paphos mosaic, his arm is outstretched to the right. Another remarkable
aspect of the mosaic is the inscription above the head of Orpheus, which is the
most important feature of the mosaic. The beginning is missing but the rest of it
reads: "…OC INNIOC PECTITOYTOC EOIEI", where the first word can be
read as either [TIT]OC or [°AI]OC. This is translated as "Titus (or Gaius) Pinnius
Restitutus made it", which probably refers to the owner of the house who commissioned
and paid for the mosaic. The rarity of such inscriptions on mosaics, make
this one unique in Roman Cyprus.

of the site date to the Roman and Early Christian
period. Its mosaics and in particular those
of the Annex of Eustolios, dated to the early 5th
century AD, were the first mosaics discovered
on the island that acquired international importance:
they are one of the few monuments,
world-wide, that illustrate the passage from
Paganism to Christianity.
The second paper was an "Evaluation of the
Orpheus Mosaic Project, Paphos, Cyprus" and
was presented by Dr Martha Demas, from the
Getty Conservation Institute, written in collaboration
with Neville Agnew, Thomas
Roby, Demetrios Michaelides, Giorgio Capriotti
and Niki Savvides. The conservation of the
Orpheus mosaic was a project carried out by
the Getty Conservation Institute in collaboration
with the Department of Antiquities of
Cyprus in 1988-1992. It involved the conservation
of the floor mosaic depicting Orpheus,
from the homonymous house in Paphos, by lifting
it using the rolling method and relaying it
in situ. As this was a method infrequently used,
the project was seen as an opportunity to
combine a training component by allowing the
participation in the project of a group of conservators
from the Mediterranean. The project
concluded with the installation of a prototype
temporary shelter over the mosaic, and was
followed by a publication analysing the philosophy
and the approach behind it. As the shelter
is still on site, it was decided that this was a
good opportunity to evaluate a well-known project,
by assessing the effectiveness of both the
shelter and the conservation method used for
the mosaic.
Generally speaking, the conference pointed out
the current trends in the conservation of mosaics
and the management of archaeological sites.
The presentations showed that the approach to
mosaic conservation has not been static over the
last thirty years but has evolved immensely from
one offering limited options for a single
mosaic (namely detachment), to one involving
complex decision-making and planning with a
range of viable in situ alternatives. The significance
of sustainability, cultural heritage values,
long-term planning, and stakeholder participation
in the decision-making process
were also widely acknowledged. Regarding stakeholder
participation, many papers discussed the
importance of collaboration between archaeologists,
conservators, architects, and the local
people in making decisions concerning the conservation
of cultural heritage.
The conference included excursions to archaeological
sites with mosaics and sites where mosaic
conservation projects are currently running:
Thuburbo Maius, Jebel Oust, Carthage, Neapolis
(both the site and the regional museum with
the magnificent mosaics, perhaps the best of
their kind in Tunisia). A reception was hosted
at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, a spectacular
17th century palace, which houses one of the
best collections of mosaics in the world. There
was also an optional post-conference excursion
to some of the spectacular archaeological sites
of Libya. Starting with Tripoli, the participants
visited the Castle, the Medina and Tripoli Museum.
But the visit to sites of Tripolitania -
Leptis Magna and its museum, Sabratha and
Villa Silene were the highlights of the tour.
During the conference, Demetrios Michaelides,
was re-elected President, for the next triennium.
The next international conference of the
ICCM will take place at Palermo in Sicily, in
2008.
The present shelter at the Annex of Eustolios,
looking SW.
103

104
Annita Santorineou in Sophocles’ "Antigone" – THOC.
The 9th International Festival of Ancient Greek
Drama held between July 9 and August 7,
2005 offered its discerning audiences the chance
to watch international productions of drama,
music and ballet of great cultural diversity.
The venues were the Paphos Ancient Odeon,
the Curium Ancient Theatre and the Makarios
III Amphitheatre in Nicosia.
Over the years, the Festival, which is very popular
among both residents and tourists of
Cyprus, has acquired greater prestige and consequently
an increasing number of theatre and
ballet companies have shown interest to participate.
The Festival Selection Committee,
Festival of Ancient Greek Drama
consisting of representatives from the Cyprus
Centre of the I.T.I., the Cultural Services of
the Ministry of Education and Culture and
the Cyprus Tourism Organisation undertook
the arduous task of making the final choice.
The eight companies that participated in the
Festival this year were: the Cyprus Theatre
Organisation with Sophocles’ "Antigone"; the
Russian Ballet Moscowia with a ballet inspired
by Aeschylus’ "Prometheus", the myth of
the Titan who violated Zeus’ orders to offer
mankind the gift of fire; the Company:
Collisions with a tour-de-force performance
of Euripides’ "Medea" using striking visual

imagery that seduced the audience; the Larissa
Municipal Regional Theatre of Greece with
Aeschylus’ "Prometheus Bound" presenting
the hero as the originator of inventions and
progress; the Yerevan State Youth Theatre of
Armenia with Aristophanes" attack on education
and morals: "Clouds"; the National
Theatre of Northern Greece with Aristophanes’
pacifist attack on war-making: "Peace"; Opsis
Theatre from Canada with "Electra" by Hugo
Hoffmanstahl after Sophocles and Scala Theatre
from Cyprus with Aristophanes’ rollicking
comedy "Frogs".
As every year, this year too, the Cyprus Centre
of the International Theatre Institute organised
between 18 and 24 July, the International
Aeschylus’ "Prometheous Bound", Municipal Regional Theatre of Greece.
Meeting and Festival of Theatre Schools. In
this major activity of the I.T.I. the seven schools
which presented scenes from ancient Greek
drama in their own language and cultural
approach were: the Orenburg Institute of Culture
from Russia, the Latvian Academy of Arts,
the Lebanese University of Beirut, "Vladimiros
Kafkarides" Theatre School, the U.S.A. Pomona
College, Budhi Drama School from Shrilanka,
and the City University of New York.
The Professional Session of the International
Summer Institute for Ancient Greek Drama
ran for four weeks, between 11 July
until 5 August 2005. Eleven participants were
involved in the four-week workshop production
of Euripides’ "Iphigenia in Aulis"
105

106
under the direction of Nicos Shiafkalis (Director
of the Institute) and Professor Heinz-Uwe
Haus (Academic Chair of the Institute).
The tutors of the Summer Institute were: Prof.
Michael Walton, Prof. Freddy Decreus, Prof.
Heinz-Uwe Haus and George Mikellis.
Aristophanes’ "Peace", Theatre of Northern
Greece.
Iphigenia in Aulis
A Workshop Production on the Land of Aphrodite
Ancient Greek Drama is still having a universal
appeal. The reason why can easily be
explained and I believe that as long as man
will continue trying to understand himself
and the others, to understand himself through
others and to improve as homo-politicus plays
such as King Oedipus and Oresteia, the only
extant trilogy, will always be present.
This universal appeal and a desire to learn
more about the Ancient Greek Drama brought
a number of drama students from various
countries to Droushia, a picturesque village
in the mountains of Paphos, the land of
ancient goddess Aphrodite, to attend the
International Summer School for Ancient
Drama and Theatre, organized annually by
the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre
Institute. They worked with experts on the
theory and practice of Ancient Greek Drama,
watched relevant performances in the
ancient theatre of Paphos and on video,
and contributed greatly in discussions which
followed the performances. They also participated
in a workshop production of Eurupi-
George Mikellis, Philologist - Theatrologist
des’ Iphigenia in Aulis under the guidance
of distinguished directors Dr Heinz-Uwe
Haus and Nicos Shiafkalis. The aim of this
production was purely paedagogical. It aimed
at involving the students in the process of
giving life to a special kind of drama, giving
solutions to problems and in general getting
acquainted with a unique piece of art
and its requirements, as well as with characters
who have no equivalent in the world
of drama. The whole process was of educational
benefit to them. The fact that the audience
who attended their performance on
August 3rd 2005 enjoyed it greatly came as
a natural consequence.
The performance showed its paedagogical
character in a very clear way. It obviously
lacked experimentation, because one has first
to master the traditional form and then to
experiment. The co-directors had wisely
planned to give emphasis to the structure
of the tragedy and succeeded in creating a
synthesis of the component parts.
The chorus danced, sang the lyrics and recit-

ed the verses, putting into practice what had
been taught about the function of the ancient
chorus.
The characters came out of the chorus
where they returned when they finished their
part. The directors’ intention was obvious.
They wanted to make their young students
aware of the fact that ancient tragedy started
when the chorus leader of dithyrambus, a chorus
hymn in honour of Dionysus, separated
himself from the chorus and recited his
part.
The costumes were inspired by paintings on
ancient vessels and care had been taken to
choose the right colours.
The whole production was characterized by
a unity of style and aesthetic harmony. I consider
this an achievement because the young
actors had a different background and culture
and this could have undermined the synthesis
of their contribution. However, thanks
to their hard work and the guidance, they had
received, not only did they avoid this danger
but they functioned as a well trained group.
Concluding, I have to point out that although
the purpose of this project was for the students
to gain what the Journey of Ulysses back
to Ithaca had to offer, quoting the Greek poet
C.Kavafis, they managed to complete the journey
having become wiser.
The enthusiasm of their audience confirmed
the above mentioned.
107

108
The Theatre Organization of Cyprus (THOC)
conferred the Theatre Awards covering the
2003-4 and 2004-5 theatre seasons during a
ceremony that took place at Latsia Municipal
Theatre on 12 December, 2005. This year’s ceremony
was dedicated to the memory of Cyprus
theatre pioneer, Nicos Pantelides.
The THOC Major Theatre Award was given to
veteran director and actor Nicos Charalambous
for his outstanding contribbution to the arts.
The President of the Republic, Tassos Papadopoulos
presented the award to Nicos Charalambous
who was acclaimed with standing ovations by
the packed theatre hall.
The awards in other categories were as follows:
• Best Male Performance prize went to Neoclis
Neocleous for his role in Beckam Borchert’s
"Outside the Door" - a 2003-4 THOC production,
directed by Heinz–Uwe Haus. He treated
aptly the subject of the human indignation
roused by the cruel reality in tune with the antimilitaristic
spirit of the writer.
• Best Female Performance Award went to
The President of the
Republic Tassos
Papadopoulos congratulating
Nicos
Charalambous on
receiving the THOC
Major Theatre
Award.
Marina Maleni (left)
presenter.
THOC Theatre Awards
The Minister of Education and Culture, Mr. Pefkios
Georgiades conferring the Best Director Award to
Heinz-Uwe Haus.
Marina Maleni, presenter.
Stella Phyrogeni for her performance in Virginia
Wolf’s "Orlando" – a 2004-5 Persona Theatre
Group production, directed by Lea Maleni. The
actress used with great artistry the words and the
movement when dealing with the major topic
of the relationship between sex and identity.
• Best Director Award was won by Heinz-Uwe
Haus for Beckam Borchert’ s "Outside the Door"
- a 2003-4 THOC production – an object les-

Yiorgos Neophytou, Chairman of the Board of Directors of
THOC, Andis Partzillis, Director of THOC. Marina
Maleni, presenter, and Harris Kafkarides, Best Set Design.
Actor Neoclis Neocleous, Best Male Performance Award.
Actress Stella Phyrogeni, Best Female Performance Award.
son in stage-directing with a crystal clear concept
in pursuing its objective.
• Best Set Design Award was given to Harris
Kafkarides for his work on Michalis Pieri’s "The
House" - a 2003-4 THOC production, directed
by Evis Gavrielides, for conveying to the
house space a spiritual entity.
• Best Costume Design Award was won by
Stavros Antonopoulos for his costumes in Nicolai
Gogal’s "The Inspector General" - a
2004-5 THOC production directed by Yiannis
Jordanides. His costumes acquired a morphoplastic
quality reflecting the writer’s excessively
sharp satire.
• Best Music Award went to George Rodosthenous
in recognition of his compositions for
Rona Munro’s "Iron" - a 2004-5 Ethal production
directed by Varnavas Kyriazi. The dominating
theme of unbounded cruelty is aptly
blended with motifs of human suffering or love.
• Best Choreography/Movement Award was given
to Arianna Economou for her work in
Peter Schaffer’s "Equus" - a 2004-5 Theatre Ena
production. Her choreography succeeded in
rendering the double-faced nature of dream and
nightmare.
• Best Lighting Design Award was won by Andreas
Christodoulides for the impressive atmosphere
of mystery and tenor he achieved through
his lighting effé in Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation
of Susan Hill’s novel "The Woman in
Black" - a 2003-4 Theatre Ena production directed
by Andreas Christodoulides.
There was no prize for Best Theatre Writing/Adaptation.
The Award’s Judging, Committee
was chaired by lawyer Yioula Ioannou
and made up of literary and language expert
George Georgiou, teachers and literature experts
Nona Moleski and Kika Olympiou and teacher
Costas Georgiou.
The text of the ceremony was written by Andreas
Paraschos and presenters were Marina Maleni
and Andreas Tsouris.
109

110
The "Cyprus Film Days 2006" festival opened
as a sequence of the "Film Horizons 2001-
2003 ", an event greatly appreciated by the
Cypriot audience. Organised by the Cultural
Services of the Ministry of Education and
Culture in close cooperation with the Rialto
Theatre, the Cinephile Club and Media Desk
Cyprus, the Festival was held between January
8 – 14, 2006, with two venues, namely
the Rialto in Limassol and the Opera 1 cinema
in Nicosia.
The 12 films presented include top prize
and award winners at the Cannes and Karlovy
Vary festivals and were personally selected
by internationally acclaimed critic Nino Fenek
Mikellides, the Artistic Director of the Festival
and Director of the successful film festival
of the Athens daily Eleftherotypia, known
Cyprus Film Days 2006
as: "European Film Panorama".
In his address at the opening of the festival,
Nino Fenek Mikellides stressed the fact that
"at a time when audiovisual arts are rapidly
evolving, while American film industry continues
to expand at a dangerous pace, further
consolidating its dominance in the context
of the rapacious globalization, a festival
promoting national film industry is not
only necessary but also imperative".
"Especially in the case of Cyprus, considering
the role it can play in this area between the
east and west as a member of the European
Union, the cinema should have a significant
position in its cultural affairs," Mikellides
added. "As a means of artistic expression, and
also of contact and understanding amongst
people of different views, counties and reli-
My Nikifor, Director Krzysztof
Krauze, Poland 2005.

Eleni’s Olives, Director Yianna Americanou,
Cyprus 2004.
gions, a film festival can play an important
role in relationships, mutual understanding
and cooperation."
Cyprus Film Days 2006 presented European
films as well as works from other continents:
Northern and Southern America and
from Asia. European films included:
"The Beat my Heart Skipped" by Jacques
Audiard, from the Cannes Film Festival, the
British film "Gypo" by Jan Dunn, "Wrong
Side Up " from the Czech Republic, the Russian
"The Sun" by Alexandr Sokurov , the German
"The Wild Blue Yonder" by Werner Herzog,
the Polish "My Nikifor" by Krzysztof
Krauze which received Best Actress award
Fool Moon, Director Longinos Panagi, Cyprus 2004.
at the Karlovy Vary Festival, "How I Killed
My Angel " from Fyrom.
From South America there was the touching
film "Viva Cuba" by Juan Carlos Cremata
Malberti, and from Asia the exquisite film
"Old Boy" by Chan-wook Park.
Cyprus was represented by some award winning
short films: "Eleni’s Olives " by Yianna
Americanou, "Chronos" by Ioachim Mylonas,
"At Kafka"s Trial Room" by Kyros Papavassiliou
and "Fool Moon" By Longinos Panayi.
Finally, the programme included documentaries,
a genre which has managed to regain
the attention of the audience, through the topics
presented which are not merely recorded
but also interpreted and commented upon.
From the United States there was John Rossiter’s
independent production "Mondovino".
Chronos, Director Ioakim Mylonas, Cyprus 2004.
Greece was also represented in the festival with
last year’s two award winning documentaries:
"Buzz" by Spiros Taravoras and "Black Baah"
by Thodoros Marangos.
During the festival, the audience had the opportunity
to participate actively in the event
through the "Audience Award" prize, by
voting for the best film.
Within the framework of the festival, an open
discussion session with the general public, film
directors and Cypriot professionals from the
film industry was organized with the support
and cooperation of Media Desk Cyprus.The
event was hosted at the Artos Foundation.
111

112
New State Orchestra Conductor
Spyros Pisinos is the new artistic director and
chief conductor of the Cyprus State Orchestra.
Emerging as one of the most versatile and charismatic
conductors of his generation, Spiros Pisinos
has recently made his successful debut with
the Philharmonia Orchestra of London in two
different programs. In addition, he has conducted
St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Young Philharmonic
Orchestra, Genoa’s Carlo Felice Opera Orchestra,
the Cyprus and Thessaloniki State Orchestras,
the West Australia Symphony, the Orchestre
National de Montpellier and the Nuremberg Symphony
both in Nuremberg and on tour to the
Rheinland region.
In 2001 he was engaged as cover conductor by
the New York Philharmonic under Maestro Kurt
Masur. As a result of his work in New York he
also filled this position at the Orchestre National
de France actively assisting Maestro Masur in
major productions.
In the operatic realm, Spiros Pisinos conducted
Rigoletto at Dusseldorf’s Deutsche Oper am
Rhein, and Cosi Fan Tutte in a multinational coproduction
with Germany’s Bremen Opera, Cyprus’
Rialto Theatre, and the Israel Camerata Orchestra.
In 1999, he was asked by Maestro Antonio
Pappano (Music Director of Royal Opera Covent
Garden) to undertake orchestra, choir and soloist
rehearsals for Lohengrin, at the Teatro Carlo Felice,
in Genoa, Italy. In 1996, he was offered the position
of coach and conductor at the Nationaltheater
Mannheim, where he actively worked
in all capacities on an extremely diverse repertoire
ranging from the baroque to contemporary.
In addition to conducting symphonic and
operatic repertoire, he performs chamber music
as a pianist. Noteworthy performances include
his collaboration with the Jerusalem String Quar-
tet and the Vienna String Soloists, an 11-member
ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic led by
the Philharmonic’s concertmaster Rainer Honeck.
Born and raised in Cyprus, Spiros Pisinos
began piano studies in 1970, at the Ethnikon
Odeon Kyprou under Loulou Symeonidou. In
1978, Spiros Pisinos successfully earned his diploma
in piano performance and was granted the
conservatory’s Medal of Outstanding Achievement.
In 1978, he was offered a full scholarship
to further his piano studies at the Moscow
Conservatory; he chose, instead, to undertake
private instruction under Enrique Barenboim,
father and teacher of Daniel Barenboim.
A recipient of the Paris-based Leventis Foundation
scholarship, Spiros Pisinos completed
studies in orchestral conducting at the Vienna
Conservatory under Professor Georg Mark and
the late Professor Rheinhard Schwarz from where
he graduated in 1996. In 1982, prior to devoting
himself exclusively to music, Spiros Pisinos
had studied Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania
and had subsequently carried out radiological
research at M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute
of Technology) and Massachusetts General
Hospital.