Homeric Days in Kos at the Hippokratia 2010 Festival

Homeric Days in Kos at the Hippokratia 2010 Festival

After tremendous success around the world and most recently in Montevideo, Uruguay, ‘Homeric Days’ return to Greece! As part of the ‘Hippokratia 2010’ festival on Kos island, the Homeric events began a few days ago with the theatrical performance Odyssey by the Karmen Rouggeri troupe, and will continue during the first week of August with a series of cultural and educational events dedicated to Homer and the diachronic value of his works, led by the renowned international literary organization, The Readers of Homer.

After tremendous success around the world and most recently in Montevideo, Uruguay, ‘Homeric Days’ return to Greece! As part of the ‘Hippokratia 2010’ festival on Kos island, the Homeric events began a few days ago with the theatrical performance Odyssey by the Karmen Rouggeri troupe, and will continue during the first week of August with a series of cultural and educational events dedicated to Homer and the diachronic value of his works, led by the renowned international literary organization, The Readers of Homer.

EVENTS

On August 3d (23:00) the movie Odyssey: A Love Journey will be presented by film maker Nikos Alevras, who narrates his journey from Troy to Ithaca as a contemporary Odysseus.

Within the context of 'Homeric Days' and by popular demand Yannis Simonides will offer a repeat performance of The Apology of Socrates, which was a great success in Kos in 2009. The Apology will take place at the Roman Odeum on Wednesday,
August 4th 2010 at 21:00.

On August 5th (19:30) Prof. Kathryn Hohlwein will give a talk titled "The Immediacy of Homer," which will be followed by a round-table discussion among distinguished academics and teachers from Greece and abroad. All will be open to the public.

Odysseus in America–first world pre-screening by film maker Charles Berkowitz

'Homeric Days' will have the pleasure to host emerging American film maker Charles Berkowitz, widely known for his documentary Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, based on Dr. Jonathan Shay’s groundbreaking book, as well as his reportages for CNN, CBS and 60 minutes. On August 6th 2010 (23:00) Mr. Berkowitz will preview his latest work Odysseus in America, which documents the struggle of contemporary veterans to reintegrate into society after the traumas of war. Weaving together voices of soldiers from Korea to Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, with excerpts from Homer’s Odyssey, Berkowitz creates a striking parallel between ancient and contemporary times, thus stressing the diachronic value of Homer’s work.

Marathon reading of the Odyssey

The central event of the ‘Days of Homer’ is a night-long reading/singing of Homer’s Odyssey which will take place at the Medieval Castle of Kos on Saturday August 7th 2010. 200 readers of all ages and backgrounds, distinguished personalities from all fields, students, foreign visitors and citizens from all over Greece will participate in an impressive 12-hour long marathon reading. The pre-assigned excerpts can be recited or sung in Homeric, Modern Greek, English or any language of the reader's choice, while for the first time, the acclaimed Modern Greek translation by D. Maronitis will be read as well as projected on a special screen, enhanced with related images.

The night-long reading of the Odyssey will begin at 20:00 with an hour of music, a simple dinner and preparations for a night that honours the traditions and artistic achievements of Homer. The event will be enriched with live Ancient Greek music that transports the audience to the times of Odysseus, performed by the unique ensemble Lyravlos - Greek Musical Heritage Centre (http://www.lyravlos.gr).

The list of participants in the marathon reading is updated daily. Among the readers who will be heard are the following:

His Grace Metropolitan Nathanael of Kos and Nisyros
Giorgos Nikitiadis– Under-Secretary of Culture and Tourism
Kostas Skandalidis – Former Minister of the Interior
Maria Kypraiou – Prefect of Kos and Nisyros Islands
Giorgos Kyritsis – Mayor of Kos
Prof. Kathryn Holhwein – Professor Emeritus of English and Humanities, California State University of Sacramento
Prof. William Mullen – Dept. of Classics, Bard College, New York
Michael Genung, Professor of English Language and Literature, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
Margarita Larriera – Director of the Maria Tsakos Foundation of Uruguay

Yannis Simonides – Director of the Greek Theatre of New York

‘The success of the Homeric Readings demonstrated that culture and its values remain valid and can even counteract and overcome all the negatives that pulse in our society’
--El País, 25/05/2010

On August 8th (19:30), with the support of the National Book Center of Greece, the author Yannis Remoundos will present his work Ach, that Homer!..., a children's book inspired by the Odyssey.

The Organizers

'Homeric Days' are realized with the organizational and financial support of the Public Cultural Enterprise of Kos Municipality, under the personal aegis and participation of the Mayor of Kos Giorgos Kyritsis, in collaboration with the international non-profit literary organization The Readers of Homer (http://www.thereadersofhomer.org) under the direction of founder and president Kathryn Hohlwein and actor/producer Yannis Simonides, the Cultural Action EMSE (http://www.emse.gr) and the 'Maria Tsakos' Foundation of Uruguay (http://www.fundacionmariatsakos.org) under the direction of Margarita Larriera (Ambassador of Hellenism 2010).

‘The greatest cultural event of the decade'--Politis Newspaper, Chios 04/08/2007

The epics of Homer figure among the most ancient and important works of world literature. Let's celebrate them again together!

For participation and additional information:

Sophia Karagianni
Board Member – Communications Officer
Cultural Center of Kos

Vas.Georgiou 3, 85 300, Kos
Tel.: (0030) 2242024548 – (0030) 6945385330
email: pkkos1@kos.gr
Stephania Xydia
Communications Officer
'Homeric Days 2010'

Sapphous 10, 105 53, Athens
Tel.:(0030) 210 32 19 100 – (0030) 6934438748
email: omirika2010@gmail.com

(Posting date 02 August 2010)

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