On February 8, the exhibition entitled “Philhellenism and Polish Research in Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology in Greece” was opened at the Cast Museum of the Department of Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Speakers at the opening ceremony were: Dr Eleni Manakidou, Chair of the School of History and Archaeology, who welcomed the guests and run the meeting, Prof. Haralambos Feidas, Vice Rector for Finance, Planning & Development of A.U.Th, Prof. Konstantinos Bikos Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of A.U.Th., Prof. Panagiotis Tselekas, director of the Department of Archaeology of A.U.Th., who all spoke about a long-standing cooperation between their University and Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, especially in the fields of archaeology and geomorphology. The Greek hosts were followed by: the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Athens, Mr. Artur Lompart, who spoke about the Polish-Greek cooperation in more detail, emphasizing an important element of cooperation between A.U.Th. and AMU in the form of permanent Polish language courses for Greek students, the director of PAIA, Prof. Janusz Czebreszuk, who focused on the establishment and current activities of the Institute, and finally the vice-director of PAIA, Prof. Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka, introduced all the guests to the exhibition. Among the guests were employees and students of A.U.Th., participants of Polish language courses at the University, a representative of the Polish community of Thessaloniki, and officials from the Greek Ministry of Culture and other institutions, including Dr Elisavet Tsigarida, director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City, and Dr Maria Pappa, vice-director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki Region.
photo: Stella Permathouli