mortal gods

A musical-theatrical performance based on the Palatine Anthology
(Text adaptation by Minos Volanakis)

Archaeological Site of Olympia (Gymnasium)
Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 July 2021, 21h00

The event of July 18, 2021 will be broadcast online in Greek / English
and will be audiovisually accessible to the visually impaired and hearing impaired

Χ/124
"All a smile, all are ashes, all a zero."

The Palatine Anthology (or Anthologia Palatina), sometimes abbreviated AP, is the collection of Greek poems and epigrams discovered in 1606 in the Palatine Library in Heidelberg. It is based on the lost collection of Constantinus Cephalas of the 10th century, which in turn is based on older anthologies. It contains material from the 7th century BC until 600 AD and later on was the main part of the Greek Anthology which also included the Anthology of Planudes and more material. The manuscript of the Palatine Anthology was discovered by Saumaise (Salmasius) in 1606 in the Palatine library at Heidelberg (Codex Palatinus 23). In 1623, after the Thirty Years' War, it was sent with the rest of the Palatine Library to Rome as a present from Maximilian I of Bavaria to Pope Gregory XV and it was kept in the Vatican Library. In 1797 it was taken to Paris by order of the French Directory and in 1816 it was returned to Heidelberg when the war ended, but one (smaller) part of it remained in Paris (Parisinus Suppl. Gr. 384). The manuscript of the Palatine Anthology consists of 709 pages. The section of the manuscript which is kept today at the Library of the University of Heidelberg (MS Pal. gr. 23) consists of pages 1–614, and the other part, housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, (Par. Suppl. gr. 384) comprises the remaining 94 pages (pp. 615–709). It was written by four scribes around 980. One of the scribes made comments and additions and part of the manuscript was corrected by a Corrector.

Ancient Olympia, a place of special importance for the history of human civilization, a symbol of the ancient Greek spirit, was chosen as the most suitable place for this first multidimensional presentation of the Palatine Anthology to the public. Shortly before the start of the Tokyo Olympic Games, the show is a sacred journey through the centuries and a powerful reminder of the catalytic and timeless role of our cultural heritage.

The Creative Team
Idea – Direction by Elpida Skoufalou
Text adaptation by Minos Volanakis
Original musical composition by Socrates Sinopoulos
Musicians: Socrates Sinopoulos (lyre), Harris Lamprakis (keys/nei), Vassilis Papavassiliou (acoustic/electric bass)
Interpretation: Reni Pittaki (actress) - Periklis Moustakis (actor)
Costume Designer: Thalia Istikopoulou
Sound: Yannis Baxevanis
Production by European Center for Animation & Arts

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Under the Auspices of:
Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs / General Secretariat For Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy.

The event is being held in collaboration with:
- Friends of Minos Volanakis Association
- Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia

Useful information:
The event is supported by the: - Hellenic Republic, Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports
It is offered free of charge to the audience.
The only price is the ticket for the entrance to any Archaeological Sites, where it is needed.

Reservation is mandatory.

For more information visit the website:
https://digitalculture.gov.gr/

We note  that  spectators  should  follow  the instructions and  recommendations of  the Committee of Experts COVID-19 of the Greek Ministry of Health for safe attendance at archaeological sites and museums, in accordance with applicable K.Y.A..
For safety reasons and to avoid delays and overcrowding, it is recommended to arrive early, 1 - 1.5 hours before the start of the event.
Once started, entry will not be allowed.
The use of a non-medical mask is necessary throughout the event, as long as this will be the case at the Archaeological Site of Olympia, where the event will take place on July 17 & 18, 2021.

LIVE STREAMING

With the aim of removing geographical and social restrictions and the wider participation of 
the public the event of July 18th 2021 will be broadcast live. It will be bilingual (Greek / English)  and  audiovisually accessible  in  both  languages (bilingual  audiovisual  accessibility  performance). Audio and video channels will be added to the live broadcast so that the end result is audiovisually accessible to the visually impaired.
The accessibility channels are:
A. International Sign Language for the Deaf.
B. Audio description for visually impaired people.
C. S.D.H subtitles (Greek / English)

Information: 
info@ecaa.gr