MY GREEK TV: HELLENISM AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL TOPICS

In episode 12 of My Greek TV (or Romaic Ruminations, or Greek Gropings, suggestions ongoing) (YouTube channel, Facebook) Dean Kalymniou and Peter Stefanidis are discussing the sheer intractable legal issue concerning the ancient Saint Katherine's Monastery in Sinai versus the Egyptian Government. They go on the trail of Alexander the Great into Baktria. They touch on a Greek legend spread across the Balkans, Greece and Syria, illustrating the cultural influence of Hellenism. As it happens, we serendipically chanced upon a few recent postings that happen to coincide with these issues, illuminating the educational value of My Greek TV even further. 

July 4, 2025 My Greek TV: Sinai Showdown: Greek Monks vs. Egyptian Bureaucracy - Episode 12.

1. More on Saint Katherine's Monastery, Sinai. 

2. The Historian's Craft: The Lost Thousand Cities of Greek Bactria (video)

3. Esplora Travel: The Greek origins of Siracusa (video)

4. This song by our intrepid musicologist Farya Faraji is based on the legend of the building of the Bridge of Arta in Epirus, where the builders, in order to maintain the stability of the bridge, engaged in human sacrifice.

Farya: "Like the Acritic songs, this folk motif descends to us from Medieval Greece, part of a broader corpus of myths and legends from that time.

"Many different melodies based on largely the same lyrical patterns exist throughout the country, but I specifically chose the one from Skiathos, which was documented by folk musicologist Domna Samiou here: • Της Άρτας το γεφύρι - Σκιάθου (ΕΡΤ 1977)

July 4, 2026 Farya Faraji: Builders of Arta - Epic Byzantine Music.

"Lyras by ‪@stefanoskrasopoulis‬ and ‪@Dimitrios_Dallas‬, vocals by Eleni Dimopoulos, Panagiotis Athanasiou and Farya Faraji, music based on folk motifs from the island of Skiathos.

"The Epic Byzantine Series is a musical project where the sounds of modern Greek traditional music are used as a framing device for themes pertaining to the Eastern Roman Empire and the body of folklore descending from Medieval Greece.. (more, lyrics). 

- More on My Greek TV, Farya Faraji, Saint Katherine's Monastery, Egypt, Alexander the Great, Hellenism -