The Hellenic Authors’ Society will begin its 10th cycle of educational lectures on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. (subsequent lectures will be held at the same time on Wednesday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 28) the 10th cycle of educational lectures organized in collaboration with the Epigraphic Museum (1 Tositsa Street), with speakers who are members of the Society and topics covering a wide range of fields, such as Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, linguistics, the environment, and more.

For the 10th cycle on the theme: “ANCIENT GREEK MYTHS OF PLACES, LITERATURE, AND HISTORY,” Kostas Soueref states:

“I intend to present indicative examples of myths, their anthropocentric matrices, their place of origin, their historical background, and their formation, taking into account topographical, archaeological, and philological data. I will delve deeper, following on from earlier research and studies, into the historicity of myths as an element of ideology and cohesion. I will attempt a dialogue with specific ancient positions and the timelessness of myths, highlighting alternative approaches to their course among societies. I will refer to the case of Alcinous and the Phaeacians in Corfu, the myths of the Molossians in Epirus, Hercules of the Mediterranean and Iolaus of Sardinia, and the Homeric geography of the Thermaic Gulf.”

1st Meeting (Wednesday, January 14, 2026): Introduction. 1. Agricultural societies in Homer. 2. Giving and receiving in Homer: The Odyssey, the ark of the pre-monetary economy.

2nd Meeting (Wednesday, January 21): 1. The case of Alcinous in Corfu, the cycle of the Phaeacians and Scheria. 2. Olympus – Dodona, behind the Homeric bond (genealogical myths and Pyrrhus). 3. Northern Ionian Sea: forms of social and political cohesion in Homer. 4. Myths of Acarnania and Aetolia. 5. Kythira in the Aegean and Ionian Seas.

3rd Meeting (Wednesday, January 28): 1. Hercules, Iolaus, and Sardinia. 2. Homeric Geography and the Thermaic Gulf. 3. Myths of ancient Macedonia and Chalkidiki.

ΚOSTAS SOUEREF / a short bio

He was born in Corfu. He studied Archaeology and History in Greece and Italy. He obtained a master’s degree from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and a doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He worked as an archaeologist at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki and as Head of Department at the Ephorates of Antiquities of Florina, Kastoria, and Ioannina. He conducted excavations in Toumba and Souroti, Thessaloniki. He curated periodic exhibitions, making use of new trends in museology. He taught as a specialist scientist at the Universities of Ioannina, Western Macedonia, and the Hellenic Open University. He participated in conferences in Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. His scientific interests focus on the history and archaeology of Northern Greece and the wider region, and on the archaeology of art. He has published monographs and contributed to collective volumes. He has been Honorary Curator of Antiquities since 2020. He has also been a contributor to the magazine Porphyras since its founding (1980), with commentary on film theory, translations, poems, and essays. He is a member of the Corfu Studies Society – Solomos Museum, the Corfu Reading Society, and the Hellenic Authors’ Society. His writings have been published in literary magazines such as Peripolos, I Lexi, Figos, Entefktirio, Filologos, Grafi, Akti, Chartis, Themata Logotechnias, and others.

Attendance at all lectures is free of charge. Reservations are required. To register, please contact the lecture coordinator, Ms. Angeliki Stratigopoulou (Hellenic Authors’ Society), at [email protected]. If all seats are filled, you will receive a negative response via email. Otherwise, your participation will be accepted.