Roderick Beaton on Writing the History of The Greeks
November 2, 2023 at The Rubin Museum of Art

The Hellenic-American Cultural Foundation held an evening presentation by Professor Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Professor at King’s College London and Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic. Professor Beaton addressed how he and others approached writing the history of Greece and the Greek people, weaving together themes on language, ethnic identity, and the modern nation-state.

Drawing upon his two most recent books, Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation (2019) and The Greeks: A Global History (2021), Professor Beaton took us behind the scenes to explore some of the underlying questions about how Greece and Greeks have defined their position in the modern world, while coming to terms with a recorded history that dates back 3,500 years.

Professor Beaton studied English Literature at the University of Cambridge, before turning to Modern Greek as the subject of his doctorate. He embarked on a long career at King’s College London (University of London), culminating with serving as Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature. His many books and articles on the Greek-speaking world are much acclaimed, and he is a four-time winner of the prestigious Runciman Award. Professor Beaton is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of King’s College (FKC, 2018), Commander of the Order of Honour of the Hellenic Republic (2019), and Chair of Council at the British School of Athens. In early 2023 he was granted honorary Greek citizenship.

Professor Beaton’s books were available for purchase and signature at the reception that followed the presentation.

A video of the event is available, free of charge, on our website.

Maria Callas: A Tribute to Her Life and Music
Sept 27, 2023, at the Kaufman Music Center

As we approached the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas’ birthday, we celebrated her extraordinary contributions to the world of opera as a singer and actress through a narrative of her remarkable career, a series of archival film clips and live performances of the arias she made famous.

Nicholas Gage, who wrote the internationally acclaimed biography of Maria Callas “Greek Fire,” introduced the evening’s event and provided a background of Callas’ career. Maria Asteriadou put together a trio of extremely talented young Greek artists consisting of mezzo-soprano Sophia Pelekasis, pianist Georgia Lazaridou, and violinist Christoforos Petridis, who presented Callas’ most famous works. Currently a student at The Juilliard School in New York, Ms. Pelekasis has performed at the Greek embassy in Washington, DC, and has appeared in several operatic productions at The Catholic University of America. Ms. Lazaridou has given acclaimed performances worldwide, including those at the Athens Megaron Concert Hall, the Chetham International Festival, and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Petridis graduated from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. He has won numerous awards in national and international competitions, and has performed at the Athens Megaron, Vienna Musikverein, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Kutztown University under the tutelage of Kurt Nikkanen.

As one music historian wrote, in her brief lifetime Maria Callas “bestowed upon the world more music, more art, and more humanity than any other individual in the 20th century.” Through the young musicians of today, her influence continues and inspires future generations. We had a spectacular evening celebrating the life and career of Maria Callas. A reception followed the event.

A video of the event is available, free of charge, on our website.

Colonel Bogdanos: One Marine’s Passion to Recover the World’s Stolen Treasures
June 22, 2023, LIVE at the Kaufman Music Center

The world watched in horror as ISIS and al-Qaeda destroyed the fabled cities of Hatra, Khorsabad, Nimrud, and Nineveh. For every masterpiece that was destroyed, thousands of others lined terrorists’ coffers through international trafficking. In a series of photographs, Colonel Bogdanos traced the development of the global black market from al-Qaeda’s looting of the Iraq Museum to ISIS’s current, systemized pillaging, demonstrating how a million-dollar antiquity can travel from a war-torn country to a Madison Avenue dealer.

Matthew Bogdanos, as an assistant District Attorney, created the first-of-its-kind Antiquities Trafficking Unit. Raised waiting tables in his family’s Greek restaurant, he is a former amateur middleweight boxer who joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 19. Leaving active duty in 1988 to join the Manhattan DA's Office, he returned to active duty on 9/11 and deployed to Afghanistan where he received a Bronze Star for actions against al-Qaeda. He then deployed to Iraq where he was awarded a National Humanities Medal from President Bush for helping recover more than 6,000 of lraq's treasures. Since 2010, he has led the recovery of over 4,500 priceless antiquities stolen from more than a dozen countries, including tens of millions of dollars of extraordinary antiquities that have been repatriated to Greece. From Columbia University, Bogdanos has received a law degree, a master’s degree in Classics, and a Recognition of Achievement in International Law, as well as a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Army War College. He has also received numerous awards and written a book, Thieves of Baghdad, whose royalties are donated to the Iraq National Museum.

A small reception was held after the event.