The book “Athanasios Psalidas: The Archive as Discourse”, by Dr. Eleni Kourmantzi, published with the support of the Onassis Foundation (Athens, 2023) will be presented at the National Historical Museum. The publication highlights the multifaceted work and contribution of Athanasios Psalidas, one of the most prominent figures of the Modern Greek Enlightenment.

The multifaceted personality of Athanasios Psalidas unfolds through documents from the period 1786-1829, highlighting the philosophy of Humanism and the ideas of the Enlightenment. The aim of this publication is to present to the public a series of documents, classified by sections (Private Life, Public Life, Teacher, Political Life, Publications and Writings and Poetry), allowing the transfer of authentic historical information to the present day. The publication presents a representative sample of the multifaceted presence of Athanasios Psalidas, as it is revealed, as far as manuscripts are concerned, through documents of his Archive, which are contained in the “Stamatios Krinos Collection” of the General State Archives, and, as far as writings are concerned, through original editions of his works, which are in the Onassis Library.

The publication “Athanasios Psalidas: The Archive as Discoruse” is a continuation of two successful exhibitions of books and manuscripts by Athanasios Psalidas, which took place in 2019 at the Onassis Library, in Athens, and in 2020 at the General State Archives – Historical Archive of Epirus, in Ioannina. The publication was presented in May 2024 at the 20th International Book Fair in Thessaloniki, under the auspices of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, and in Ioannina, at the Zosimaia Pedagogical Academy, in February 2025, in the context of the events for ELEFTHERIA 2025 of the Municipality of Ioannina.

Book Launch

Wednesday 07.05.2025, at 18:30

Mai Hall of the National Historical Museum

SCHEDULE

18.30- 18:40 Greeting:
Marietta Minotou, President of the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece

About the book, the following are going to speak:

18:40-19:40

-Vassilios Sabatakakis, Associate Professor of Modern Greek Studies at Lund University, President of the European Society of Modern Greek Studies.

Speech title: “Encyclopedism in the work of Athanasios Psalidas based on the publication of Eleni Kourmantzi”

-Georgios Leontsinis, Professor Emeritus of Modern Greek and European History and History Teaching, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Speech title: “Athanasios Psalidas: Man of political practice and theory, visionary, humanist and teacher”.

-Ioannis Vanakakis, Philologist (MA).

Speech title: “Athanasios Psalidas: The Archive as Discourse: The Matter of the Volume from Evidence to Living Philology”.

-Thanasis V. Kugoulos, Assistant Professor of Semiotics, Literary Analysis and Cultural Interpretation at the Department of History and Ethnology of the Democritus University of Thrace.

Speech title: “Eleni Kourmantzi as a scholar of Epirus literature”.

-Vassilis Panagiotopoulos, Emeritus Director of Research, Department of Modern Greek Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation.

Speech title: “A few words about the Enlightenment of Ioannina”.

19:40-19:50 – Epilogue

Eleni Kourmantzi, Visiting Professor of Modern Greek Literature, University of Athens, Greece
“St. Cyril & St. Methodius”, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

The event will be presented by Vicky Gerontopoulou, Coordinator of the Onassis Library.