Educational Articles
Goblins in Maniot Tradition
“We are goblins, we are out and about after normal hours, we want the lalagia, we take the children, give us the rooster or the hen, or we’ll break the door!”
Heroes Till The End: The Last Moments of Greek Fighters
Raise your glasses! Long live Greece! Long live the allies!
Child abductions during WWII
Maybe Aspasia or her descendants are among the readers of this article. Maybe not. What is certain is that this archival material gives hope to anyone trying to discover more about family members and ancestors who were abducted during the dark times of the Second World War.
A Review of “The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe” by Mark Mazower
Two hundred years have passed since twenty-year-old Anagnostis Zymaras, my great, great grandfather, joined the company of Kapetan Kostas Katsikas along with other peasants to overthrow the Ottoman tyranny in Peloponnesus. Little did Anagnosis envision that two centuries later the eminent historian of the Balkans, Mark Mazower, would chronicle the revolution that followed, concluding that the independence of Greece had far-reaching effects on nationalist movements throughout Europe.
“Peplos (History and Genealogy)”: Interview with Ioannis Papachristou, Recipient of Second VHPI Grant
By Carol Kostakos Petranek “If you want to do history, start with the history of your family.” When Ioannis Papachristou first heard these words from Prof. Agamemnon Tselikas, they sank deep into his soul. At that time, he was a university student studying philosophy...
Greek Ancestry Summer Webinar #2: Prof Stasinos Stavrianeas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTdAebfqtpg
Greek Ancestry Summer Webinar #1: Prof Gonda van Steen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gYU9oQLZN8 Prof Gonda van Steen prepared the following handout especially for Greek Ancestry's followers! You may download it by clicking on the button below. Adopted-from-Greece-Where-to-StartDownload
The Kasotakis Family: The history behind the name
By Giannis Michalakakos - Teacher of Family Studies, Msc Cultural Management In Greece, most of the surnames derive from nicknames, patronymics (paternal given names), occupations and places of origin. The surname "Kassotakis" is an example of the latter case, meaning...
Tracing Freedom: 1821 – The Revolution of 1821 and its impact on your ancestors
By Giannis Michalakakos, MSc in Cultural Management In order to fully understand the impact of the 1821 Revolution on Greek families, we have to understand life before, during and after the Revolution. Most of the examples discussed below focus on Lakonia, my...
Milestones in Greek Electoral History, pt. 1
This article explores milestones in Greek electoral history which have left an indelible mark and shaped the trajectory of the nation.
Greek Ocean Liners & American Immigration
This article aims to shed more light on the history of Greek ocean liners, the ships that carried many of our ancestors to what was seen as the “Promised Land.”
“Soul-children” (Ψυχοπαίδια)
By Maro Rempoutsika & Gregory Kontos In a notarial record signed on the island of Kythera in 1564, back when the island was under Venetian rule, we learn about the details of an adoption contract.[1] In particular, a man named Georgis Maneas, agreed to accept a...
Goblins in Maniot Tradition
“We are goblins, we are out and about after normal hours, we want the lalagia, we take the children, give us the rooster or the hen, or we’ll break the door!”
Heroes Till The End: The Last Moments of Greek Fighters
Raise your glasses! Long live Greece! Long live the allies!
Child abductions during WWII
Maybe Aspasia or her descendants are among the readers of this article. Maybe not. What is certain is that this archival material gives hope to anyone trying to discover more about family members and ancestors who were abducted during the dark times of the Second World War.
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