Before the Statue of Liberty, another monument stood by a great harbour welcoming ships and arrivals to the safety of a democracy. Standing at around 100 metres, this ancient Colossus celebrated victory and was built in the mould of the powerful Helios the Sun God in 292 BCE, a relative of Apollo. Where does one…
Pyrrhus, a Pyrrhic Victory and the rise of Epirus in the Hellenistic Age
Epirus, is a place of geographical contrasts. The high mountains and windy roads that take you across terrain that only shepherds and trekkers seem to traverse with ease. Then you have a coastline that once acted as a buffer to the Romans; a coastline that has many gems for the water enthusiast. What makes the…
Letters to the Calabrian Greko speakers from Greek kids and students in Australia and Thessaloniki
London based, Adelaide born filmmaker Basil Genimahaliotis joined me recently as we visited the Greek villages of Calabria to film a documentary on the Greko speakers. As part of our journey, we took along letters collected from Dr Efrosini Deligianni, the head of Modern Greek Studies at University of NSW, with her Greek language students…
The Principality of Samos
I remember sitting at the airport waiting to be picked up by a friend, thinking what would Pythagoras make of his island, now filled with tourists and a constant stream of visitors from Turkey (just 1.6 km away at its closest point)? I wondered if I would find the inspiration to add numbers and philosophise…
When ancient Greek statues speak: Galliciano, one of the last remaining Greko towns of Calabria
Every day in Athens, people stroll past ancient statues; statues that were sculpted in classical times. Imagine if these statues could talk, tell their stories. Stories of a culture and a language that is far removed from a world of text speak or social media posts. Well, what if I told you that somewhere in…
Mykonos: the other side WORLD PREMIERE. Thursday, 13 September at Beverly Hills GU Film House cinema
Mention the name Mykonos, and immediately it conjures up images of parties and outrageous nightlife. Mention Delos to the uninitiated and you may receive a blank stare. Mention Kalafati beach and the same stare may remain… That is the way Mykonos has come to be viewed by many around the world, yet it is an…
Tracing the various Hellenic communities of the Mediterranean
Hellenes have been everywhere! From the shores of the Black Sea to Asia, you can find traces of ancient colonies, conquests, migration and great Hellenic and Byzantine empires. This talk provides a snapshot of those historic communities across the Mediterranean, from the ancient colonies to the modern era. A particular focus will be on Egypt,…
Icaria the Free State
It was 2004 and I was stumbling and hopping my way across the Aegean Sea and somehow, I ended up on this small island that has a long history. There are approximately nine thousand inhabitants here and every single one of them appeared welcoming. I ended up staying in Evdilos not exactly a haven for…
Exploring Greek communities around the world, lecture series
President of the Hellenic Studies Foundation at the University of New South Wales, Costa Vertzayias will be teaming up with writer Billy Cotsis to discuss a range of Greek communities around the world including those that became extinct in the last century. The pair will present information based on years of their own research and…
The Empire of Nicaea – undefeated Hellenic empire and its role as protector of Europe
The tragedy of the Hellenic Republic can best be encapsulated by an empire that for a brief period shone brightly, while fighting fellow Hellenes and circling vultures. The Hellenic world since the 1100s has seen many internal wars rather than concentrate on important matters such as the growing Seljuk/Ottoman power and the sustained Bulgarian threat….
Hellenic Colonies and Towns: Ten of the Best Ever
From the shores of the Black Sea to the Sub Continent in Asia, the Hellenes established or re-founded hundreds of cities and towns around the world. By my estimation, there are over forty countries where cities/towns were founded. These colonies and settlements happened in waves, with a significant period coming in the Eighth to Sixth…
1453: an interview with Constantine Paliologos, the last Byzantine Emperor
Billy Cotsis – the writer intents no offence by travelling back in time to interview the hero of 1453, the year the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople. BC: Emperor, you have resisted the Ottomans with the bravery of a million souls. Tonight, being 28 May, 1453 must be a tough one as tomorrow could be your…
Gallipoli: what the Hellenic town means for Turkish, ANZAC, British and Greek people
Gallipoli means many things to many people, and countries. To the Turks it is considered a defining moment for Ataturk and modern Turkey; to the British, yet another example of running a war from a room/bunker in London. For the people of Lemnos, it is the hospital and base for the Allied campaign of 1915….
Phanariotes of Wallachia and Moldavia (Romania)
Under the Ottomans, there were areas of that empire that were either self governed or controlled outright by Greeks. In fact, the early Ottomans are more benign than many have given them credit for. Greeks prospered as they generally had a good handle on commerce and merchant trading. In Constantinople Greeks continued the level of…
Ten greatest Greek kingdoms and empires: from Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, Byzantium, Trebizond
In my new book, I explore 36 Hellenic kingdoms, territories, empires and a fiefdom to demonstrate the extent of the Greek world. From Pyrrhus to Cyprus covers the period following the end of the Alexandrian empire to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. Added to the mix are a number of independent Greek…
Greek speakers of Jordan: Ramadan and a Greek spirit
As I was planning my trip to Jordan, a representative of the Greek Youth innocently pointed out, “you do realise its Ramadan here in Jordan!” I had of course completely and utterly forgotten it was Ramadan.
From Pyrrhus to Cyprus: Forgotten and Remembered Hellenic Kingdoms, territories, entities and a fiefdom
From Pyrrhus to Cyprus: Forgotten and Remembered Hellenic Kingdoms, territories, entities and a fiefdom is the second book from freelance writer and short film director, Billy Cotsis.
The Kingdom of Commagene
As witnessed by an ancient traveller… Around 163 BCE I happened upon a mountainous kingdom located on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now Turkey, bordering Syria. This was the year when this kingdom was truly recognised, after breaking away from the Greek ruled Seleucid Kingdom. The name Commagene refers…
Pericles: an interview from 5th Century Athens
After years of being turned down by Pericles for an interview, finally he has taken the time out to speak me after he delivered the Funeral Oration. Here Pericles tells us about his childhood, his love of Athens, democracy and why Sparta must be defeated. BC: You are known as the First Citizen of Athens,…
Lesvos: fall in Love and the liberation of the island
Event held on November 9, 2016 delivered at Mytilene House with 200 people in attendance “Lesvos will continue to function as an island. That is what we are, an island. It is not a Dubai, it is a remote island.” Good evening, how is everyone? I’m here to talk you a little about a film…
