Theatrikes Skines presents the much-anticipated theatrical extravaganza The Witches of Smyrna by Mara Meimaridi, adapted for the stage and directed by Stamatis Fasoulis, with an all-star cast and production team.

A production which is expected to prove a landmark on the Athenian theatre scene, it sold an unprecedented 20,000 tickets before it even opened.

Mara Meimaridi's multiple-award-winning atmospheric novel, which captivated a million readers worldwide and received rave reviews when it was transferred to the small screen by Kostas Koutsomytis in 2005, has now come to the Pallas stage, ready to transport theatre-lovers back to late 19th-century Smyrna for a tale of passion, magic, spells, perfumes and love affairs.

Stamatis Fasoulis captures the atmosphere of an incomparable era, taking us back 130 years to the coast of Asia Minor and bringing to life a unique community and its social structures—a multicultural society that would serve as a model for generations born long after its demise.

The production stars Maria Kavogianni in the role of Evtalia, Smaragda Karydi in the role of Katina, who enchants Memos Begnis and Meletis Ilias—the brothers Konstantinos and Syrios Karamanos.

In the role of the witch Attarti, Madame Mirka Papaconstantinou.

The stage designer Athanasia Smaragdi created a small city on the Pallas stage for the production, giving physical presence to collective memory, while Deny Vachlioti conveys the essence of the characters and their stories through her costumes. The incidental music, which was written for the production by Thodoris Economou, spirits us back to Smyrna, its clubs and celebrated fin de siècle cafés: the ‘Ke’ and the ‘Café du Paris’. Dimitris Papazoglou oversaw the production's choreography.

Smyrna, 1887. Katina is poor, quick-witted and ruthless. Her life changes when she meets Attarti, a Turkish witch who takes the girl under her wing. Which is when Katina sets herself a goal: rising just as high as she can in the city she calls home. Love potions, hexes, incantations and spells never miss their mark. She leads four men to the altar, each one better than the last and richer than his predecessor. And as she rises through the social ranks, Katina involved herself in her husbands' businesses, handling deals, banks and tobacco with great aplomb until, one day, she finds herself queen of all she surveys. A hundred years later, her writings, spells and magic resurface in a dusty trunk in her Aegina home.

For children over 15 
With English subtitles

Schools in several Attica district municipalities will remain closed on Tuesday due to heavy snowfall that has been forecast for the coming days, according to a letter Attica Regional director Rena Dourou sent to mayors on Monday.



 

Students were expected to return to school today following the Christmas, New Year and Epiphany holidays. However, due to the weather forecast, schools in 46 out of 66 municipalities of the Attica Region will remain closed for at least another day.

Please click here for a detailed list (Greek only) of the schools that will remain closed on January 8 due to the bad weather conditions in the Attica Region.

Source: ANA-MPA

A photo of the full moon over the Parthenon and the Propylaea in Athens that was recently posted on Instagram by National Geographic has gone viral, attracting more than 1.2 million likes.

 

The photograph capturing the last full moon of 2018 was taken by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Muhammed Muheisen on December 22. This stunning photo of the Parthenon under the moonlight is one of the most popular photos on National Geographic’s Instagram feed.

The Athens State Orchestra joins forces with Canadian Brass – an award-winning ensemble renowned for its genre-bending versatility and joyous performances – for a special show at the Athens Concert Hall, which also features the Rosarte children's choir.

The program ranges from traditional Christmas tunes, Handel and Bach, to a mini-tribute to The Beatles and the European premier of Jeff Tyzik's “New York Cityscapes.” The performance is being held with the support of the Canadian Embassy. Doors open at 8.30 p.m. and tickets cost 14 to 50 euros.

Click HERE for more information!

The center of Athens is the hub for most of the city’s museums, attractions, and cultural events. One of the newest additions to Athens’ museum and entertainment scene is the Museum of Illusions in Monastiraki which opened its doors to the public last September.

 

Get ready to enter a world of illusion, a world that will confuse your mind and senses. The Museum of Illusions is a visual, sensory, and educational experience that will impress children and adults alike.

 

Be brave enough to jump in an illusion created by the Vortex Tunnel that will drive you crazy and make you believe you’re struggling to make a step forward through the rotating cylinder – on a surface so stable and flat! See a deformed reflection of yourself in the Mirror Room, let yourself free in the Infinity Room, resist the laws of gravity and size ratio, and take pictures of yourself and your friends in every possible pose!

 

Before leaving make sure to visit the Playroom, a room full of intriguing and educational games, puzzles, and brain bashers that are great fun but can be quite frustrating as well.

 

Museum of Illusions

Address: Ermou 119 (entrance from Astiggos 12)

 

Photo Credit: Museum of Illusions

Great news for the environment as the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and grocery stores has dropped by 80% following the measures that were implemented in Greece in 2018. A remarkable 1.5 billion fewer plastic bags were used since the environmental measure came into effect on January 1st, 2018.

 

While plastic bags were given away for free in supermarket and retail stores up to December 2017, in 2018 businesses began charging for plastic bags, beginning at 4 cents for thin bags and going up to 40 cents for larger, thicker ones.

 

The reduction in plastic bag use is expected to be even higher in 2019, as from January 1 the charge for plastic bags will begin at 9 cents.

 

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

Two innovative Greek museums have been shortlisted for the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award for 2019.

 

The Kotsanas Museum is a private museum that holds a collection of 150 functional models and replicas of ancient Greek technological innovations. In the museum visitors will see and comprehend various ancient inventions such as elevating mechanisms, hydraulic systems, measuring instruments, and much more.

 

The Museum of Ancient Eleutherna in Crete was created to house the findings of the excavations in the ancient city of Eleutherna. The museum’s permanent exhibition will be updated periodically, so that it relates to the discoveries of the ongoing excavations on the site.

 

There are 40 nominees on the list, such as the Antonina Lesniewska Museum of Pharmacy in Warsaw, the Mastola Radio & TV Museum in Lahti, Finland, and the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire in the UK.

In Greek culture, the pomegranate fruit has symbolized fertility, luck, prosperity, renewal, and regeneration since ancient times. It has been the symbol of many goddesses, including Hera, the goddess of marriage, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, and Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Queen of the Underworld. Since most New Year's day, rituals involve ways to bring luck to a household, it makes perfect sense that the pomegranates are part of these deep-rooted traditions.

The tradition of smashing a pomegranate on New Year's Day dates back to ancient times and originates in the Peloponnese or Serres. In modern times, when the family returns home from church on New Year's Day, the man of the house smashes the pomegranate on the front door. He wishes that the juicy, bounteous ruby-like segments of the fruit fill the home with health and happiness — and joys as many as the pomegranate's arils.  According to Greek tradition, the more seeds that spread all over the floor, the more good fortune will be brought to the house!