Mr. Nikolas Manitaki’s, professor at the Department of French Philology at the University of Athens, book “The French Institute of Athens 1915-1961. The sustainability of Greek-French relations”, will be presented on Wednesday, April 26, at 19.00 at the Chania Spiritual Center (Pneymatiko Kentro), by the Greek-French Association of Chania and “Asini” publications.
Speakers:
-Marina Aretaki, ETEP, Department of Modern Greek Philology, University of Crete
-Amalia Kotsaki, professor, School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete
Coordination-presentation of the author by Mrs. Fotini Kostakis, secretary of the Hellenic-French Association of Chania.
The event will be welcomed by Ms. Stella Koutsoupaki, president of the Greek-French Association of Chania and Mrs. Antonia Kokotsaki, French Language Education consultant of Heraklion.
With the support of the Region of Crete – Chania Regional Unit.
The book
The book studies the varied history of the French Institute, from its founding in 1915 to 1961, the year of the retirement of its charismatic director, Octave Merlier. During this time, the French institution emerged as the most important center for learning the French language in Greece, with thousands of students and dozens of branches, both in the Athenian metropolis and in many towns in the province. It evolved in parallel into the main channel for the diffusion of French intellectual and cultural production in Greek territory, through a series of successful and high impact events.
These events included, among others, the organization of talks with invited important representatives of French letters, such as Paul Eluard, Albert Camus and Michel Butor and visual exhibitions with works by contemporary French artists (P. Picasso, F. Léger, J. Villon, et al.).
Through the inspiring guidance of the well-known Philhellenes Octave Melier and Roger Milliex, the French Institute of Athens finally found itself at the heart of the intellectual and artistic life of the Greek capital, developing strong ties with intellectuals and artists such as Elli Alexiou, Yiannis Gaitis, Odysseas Elytis, Nikos Kazantzakis, Giorgos Theotokas, Nikos Poulantzas, Giorgos Sevastikoglou, Giorgos Seferis, Dido Sotiriou, Yiannis Tsarouhis and many others.
The study of the history of the French institution also allows to highlight a series of issues that marked the history of Greek-French relations in the 20th century, such as the widespread use of the French language before the war, the French habits of the Greek citizens, the linguistic and cultural competition of the Great Powers, the emergence of French cultural diplomacy, the “democratization” of French and the post-war transition from French to Anglo-American linguistic hegemony.
