One might ask, how did our ancient ancestors fight multiple wars and still engender the fertility of thought so profound as to remain relevant today? How did Greek culture pierce the veil of its own mythology to eventually embrace the Triune God of the Orthodox Church? How did the Greeks from 2800 years ago flourish, then survive centuries of Roman rule, only to become enslaved by the Ottomans for 400 years; and then get through modern World and Civil wars? These questions are not rhetorical.
From here in the 21st Century, we might typically see Greek culture through a looking glass that reveals a legacy of ruined and shattered temples, of statues missing limbs, of friezes lost to the ages, and of shards of pottery at archeological sites. If only these ruins could talk. Ah, but perhaps they do!
They speak through the ancient written records and timeless accounts that have influenced today’s concepts of democratic government, philosophy, mathematics, science, medicine, literature, drama, architecture, and, yes, even sports. Names like Pericles, Cleisthenes, Plato, Euclid, Pythagoras, Democritus, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Homer, Socrates, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Pheidippides are part of our educational curricula at every level of study. Combined with modern Greek culture and the geographic beauty of Greece, whose islands nestle in waters so deeply blue as to shame cobalt, the wisdom and insights of our ancestors come to us as unwitting beneficiaries and heirs to Hellenism.
But even a culture as self-preserving as ours requires stewardship to thrive in modern society. That’s where the Hellenic Preservation Society of Northeastern Ohio (HPS) enters. HPS has been around for decades, during which time it has advocated for Hellenism by sponsoring or supporting books, educational programs, ethnic/cultural parades, church festivals, social events, book signings, the Collis Lectures at CMA, and the Hellenic Cultural Garden in Cleveland.
In late 2023, the Garden became its own 501(c)(3) non-profit entity and is no longer under the purview of HPS, which will continue to work with its new sister organization to support and promote Hellenic Culture in Northeastern Ohio.
And so, as we adjust organizationally, our future looks bright. HPS has begun its 2024 Membership drive under a separate mailing and capable direction of Membership Committee chair Renee Sadler. We ask that you respond favorably and as generously as you can.
Dean Peters
HPS President
HELLENIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY 