Greek Byzantine Cities And Their Cultural Splendor

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On the occasion of Greece’s launching of the Presidency of the European Union Council,
the Embassy of Greece
presents the following event celebrating Byzantine Art in the Nation’s Capital:

Greek Byzantine Cities And Their Cultural Splendor

A special presentation by Dr. Eugenia Halkia

On Friday, January 17th, 2014

Image: Mystras, Church of Perivleptos

Byzantine cities in Greece were urban centers from antiquity that survived on the same spot and often, with the same name until the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. Between 300 AD and 1453 AD, under continually changing circumstances, many ancient cities ceased to exist, others developed and adapted to the social and economic environment, and new ones were founded to meet emerging needs. With the exception of Thessaloniki, no large cities were founded in Greece due to the centralized nature of the state, and also, to the eminence of the capital, which, for the Byzantines, was the center of the world.

Dr. Eugenia Halkia who has co-edited the second catalogue of the exhibition “Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium form Greek Collections” (on view at the National Gallery of Art until March 2, 2014) dedicated to the Byzantine cities in Greece, will discuss their transitions from antiquity until the Late Byzantine period. She will offer a glimpse to the cultural wealth and splendor of the hometowns were the rare artifacts of the exhibition came from.

Byzantine architecture still dominates in many regions of Greece, offering a unique opportunity for a pilgrimage to innumerable religious and cultural sites, while the mosaics, wall paintings and thousands of icons testify the devotion to the traditions and the abiding connection between art and religion through the ages.

Eugenia Halkia, Ph.D.
Dr. Eugenia Halkia is Director Emerita of Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens. She studied Archaeology in the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. She completed an M.A and a PhD in Early Christian Archaeology at the Pontificial Institute of Christian Archaeology, Rome. She worked as curator and director in the Byzantine and Christian Museum (Athens), and in the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Epirus (Ioannina), as curator in the Ephorate of Attica (Athens), and as director in the Ephorate of Messenia (Kalamata). She coordinated many exhibitions on Byzantine Art and Culture. She conducted excavations in Epirus and in Attica. She is the author of several books and many articles on Early Christian Archaeology. She is a member of the Organizing Committee of the exhibition ‘Heaven and Earth” and co-editor of the book ‘Heaven and Earth. Cities and Countryside in Byzantine Greece”

When:
January 17, 2014, Time: 6:30-8:00 PM
Light reception will follow.

A Byzantine Cities posters exhibition prepared by the National Gallery of Art is on view at the Embassy of Greece.

Where:
Embassy of Greece

2217 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington DC 20037

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Please book early. Limited seating is available.