June 15, 2018

To all our friends , supporters , followers

  THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE

This year we are celebrating two fantastic
 events.

1.  Our ten years of the Hellenic Culture
     Advocacy

2. The Lifetime achievement Award and 
     Endorsement of our founder Evi Martyn
     by the Marquis Organization for her 
     esteemed professional accomplishments
     in the area of her endeavor , Music and Arts
     
    If you wish to read the fantastic article they
    published about her go to:

    Evi  Martyn, PHD, named a lifetime achiever
    by Marquis Who is Who

  Keep in mind that this is an HONOR reserved
  only for very special individuals

  Enjoy the reading,    Best regards to all
  and thank you for your support.

    

                           Here is the article

 In recent years the story of the Humnographer  Kassiani
 has attracted the attention of many scholars interested 
 in the history and thought of the Greek and Latin Middle
 Ages as well as of modern writers and critics interested
 in the development of Greek literature.

 This magnificent story was told to me by the Archibi-
 shop Xeroubein in Athens Greece , who came to visit
 our religious class in the private school I was attending
 as a high school student.  It was spring and Holy Week
 was approaching . The story was very appropriate  
 coming from a Hierarch of his statute and it left an 
 indelible impression in our minds..-
 To this day, every time I hear the opening hymn 
    " Dear Lord , this woman who committed many sins"
I can not help this emotion that engulfs my entire being
and I recall the first time I heard the magnificent story
of the power struggle and divine dedication of a young
woman named Kassiani..

In the years and centuries that followed the rule of 
Justinian the Great , the Byzantine Empire was brought
to even greater heights by his successors.  Byzantium
reigned supreme and commerce dominated the East and
religion ,arts, letter and culture were greatly cultivated 
in the Empire. 
       With the death of Micheal of Amorion ( 829 AD) 
Theophilos succeeded as emperor ( 829-843) and with
the help of his stepmother Evfrosyne, he began to look
for a bride . According to the custom that prevailed in
Byzantium , the emperor's wife was to be selected 
among the best possible candidates , young ladies that
came from patrician families - smart, educated and 
beautiful. This process was to take place in the palace
in the form of a competition. The young ladies would go
through the rigors of competing against each other and
in the final stage, they were to be presented to the 
Emperor, who would have the opportunity to put them
through his scrutiny and ask them the final questions.

The search was narrowed down to six ladies of which 
Kassiani was one.  The emperor would symbolically
give the golden apple to the one he chose for his future
wife.  
When the young women were finally presented to Theo-
filos for the final test, his attention turned to a particular
young lady of striking beauty who was Kassiani.
Impressed also by her demeanor , he asked her some
questions to see, how she would handle the answers .
Kassiani, answered him directly, showing no fear of the 
examiner and almost shocked him with her obvious
intelligence and direct approach. To his comment 
           " from woman flowed corruption" 
         ( referring to Eve's fall from paradise ) 
Kassiani answered " but also from woman sprung forth
what is supreme "( referring to the mother of God ) 

Theofilos , although very impressed by her beauty and 
mentality , felt that Kassiani was a bit too forward and
intelligent for a woman of her time and decided against
her, selecting another young  lady.

In the days and years to follow, no one ever heard from
Kassiani, again and it seemed that she had disappeared.

Years went by and Theofilos became a great  emperor 
and his extraordinary  support  of the Orthodox faith had
made him a hero. He used to travel in all parts of his empire, visiting monasteries and supporting the Orthodox Church the best he could.
On one of those trips, in a remote region of the Empire he stopped to visit a nunnery. He asked to see the nuns and visit their quarters
They all came to great him, except one, The nun Kassiani
he was told, was absent and not available  this moment.

When he entered her room , his curiosity brought him to
a little table, where he found a small candle burning and 
a fresh manuscript. He stopped to read and recognized 
the story of Maria Magdalena which began 
    " Dear Lord, this woman who committed many sins"

By now, he know that nun Kassiani was the woman he
rejected as his empress and momentarily decided to
show her that he knew who she was. He added:
  " as soon as heard me coming she left out of fear "

This phrase has absolutely no commenting relation to 
the poem Kassiani was writing about Maria Magdalena
but it has been allowed  into the Hymn by Hymnogra-
phers as historical evidence of this amazing event and
is now one of the most beautiful hymns we hear in our
churches of Holy Tuesday following the Liturgy..

This Article has been published by:
Evi Martyn  / Founder of the Hellenic Culture.












       

   

                        March 10, 2018

   PREFACING THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE
              
In view of the approaching celebrations for the
Easter I would like to prepare our viewers for the
fantastic  and historical event that I published in
the   Hellenic Voice Newspaper under the title
        

 kASSIANI:   " The Empress that almost was"
                         Article published by :
                         Evi  Martyn
                         Founder of the Hellenic Advocacy
        This article was published on 
         Wednesday , April 27, 2005
         Under  ARTS, CULTURE & EDUCATION

Please, follow us, as always, and thank you all
for your support , it gives us great satisfaction 
and pleasure to continue to do this work which
sustains the immortal Hellenic Culture, which is
the cradle of the Western Civilization
Evi Martyn        The article will follow


  


               

                   GREETINGS FROM  EVI  MARTYN

       Dear friends , followers and all those who 
 support our ADVOCACY of the Hellenic Culture
 for the last 10 years..  

     Soon we will be publishing a new article and 
    we will let you know , so you can read it.

We wish to thank you all for your endless support
and wish you that 2018 will bring you happiness.

 Evi Martyn  
 Founder of the Hellenic Culture Advocacy.

     January 27, 2018

                                THE  EVENTS

e.     Even though  in the beginning of the Olympic Games
          running was the only athlopedia to capture  the
          attention of the spectators, other games were soon
          added.  Between 724 and 200 BC they added  ln    
          chronological order , diavlos, dolichos, the pentathlon,
          boxing, wrestling of children ,pentathlon of children,
          boxing of children, the chariot race and many others.

                                     THE  JUDGES

 f.    The Judges sat right  across  from the white
          marble altar, and the spectators sat on the 
          ground.  

                              EPILOGUE

g.    In  this brief passing through the ancient Olympics 
          we have the feeling that we pulled from the past
          all those wonderful and skillful athletes that
          became the beacon of a bygone ERA - people with
          all the virtues and vices of humans, who none the
          less set a world example for generations to come.

          In 2004, the Olympic Games return to the mother 
          land, another moment of reflection and pride.

          Maybe this is the time to connect the ancient with
          the modern Greece.  The eyes of the world would
          be turned to their direction and will admire the
          great PAST.....
                                         END

        EVI  MARTYN// founder of the Hellenic Culture
                                            Advocacy

      P.S.  to read this fantastic article , please, go to:

               www.hellinesandfilellines.blogspot.com

          The Original article was published by Mme Martyn
                                a contributing author
           in the HELLENIC VOICE  News Paper under: 
                         ARTS, CULTURE AND EDUCATION.
        
        


                                    


   

                                 T      THE   LOCATION

    a.  According to contemporary researches, the 
            location of the Olympic games was originally the
            place where the Greeks worshipped Mother Earth
            just  like the location of Delphi and many other
            locations. it is believed they also worshipped 
            Rhea, the wife ot Kronos and mother of Zeus, in
            whose honor they conducted the Olympic Games.

            Olympia during the ancient times was the biggest
            and most famous altar of Peloponnesos equal to
            that of Delphi.   There were several building 
            temples and art works and installations to acco-
            modate the Games. The Olympic Games was a 
            famous event.  Although the general area was
            uninhabited, Olympia belonged to the closest
            City, the city of Pissa.

    b.           PREPARING FOR THE GAMES

         The Olympic Games have been the most glorious
            and renowned of the Classic years . the Publicity
            of the games was a major undertaking. Various
            noblemen traveled all over Greece in order to
            publicize the event  The games also served as a
            means of public relations for the Greek citizens.
                          It was a grand event.

    C.                         THE GAMES

         The games were always in the summer, after the
            the full moon, and caused the spectater to suffer
            greatly due to the hot sun and day.
            It is worthy to mention that the first Olympics 
            took place in 776 BC,  The early games lasted
            only ONE DAY.  Later they extended the time to
            three days, and by the year 468 BC, was five days.

            The messangers were obliged to cover the 
            distance on foot and not on horses.  They had to 
            train in running.

   d.                THE  PARTICIPANTS    

           Athletes who participated had to be Greeks from
           all the various regions including the lower part of
           Italy ( Sicily, Great Greece ) and the colonies of 
           North Africa and Greek cities of Asia Minor.  

           
          Evi  Martyn  // founder of the Hellenic Culture
                                  Advocacy.

          P.S. Please, follow us,, the next publication will include the
               Events, the Judges, and the Epilogue.
               It will be published very soon.  Thank you