The name Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, CBE, FRS, RDI may mean nothing to most Greeks today, but the English-Greek man had the distinction of being the designer of one of the two most emblematic cars in the world, the Mini Cooper.
Born in 1745 in a poor family from Dimitsane in the Peloponnese, Saint Gregory received his earliest education from his uncle who was a hieromonk, and then went to live with him in Smyrna.
The Prince of Wales’s great-grandfather, King George I of Greece, was the second king of modern Greece, reigning from 1863-1913.
Exactly 80 years ago the “Battle of the Metaxas Line” begun. The “Metaxas Line” was the Greek equivalent of “Maginot Line” in France built by Ioannis Metaxas. It was a defensive line located in Northern Greece along the borders with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The Metaxas Line comprised of a total of 21 bunkers and among them the now legendary “Rupel Bunker” (Ρούπελ), all of them equipped with anti-tank poles, wires and everything that is necessary to stop an advancing force.
In the heart of fir-covered Mainalo and in a quiet corner of mountainous Arcadia, where the only sounds you hear are the rustling of the firs and the waters of the river that flows from Arkoudorema, is one of the most historic and glorious villages in the whole country.
In what must be one of the most ambitious genealogical investigations anywhere in the world, a dedicated team of researchers in Pennsylvania recently unearthed the direct and indirect lineage of many Greek Americans whose ancestors fought in the Greek Revolution.
The Hellenic Daily News is the leading International Online Greek News Portal and News Agency based in New York City with worldwide influence, Greek News 24/7 from Greece, USA, Cyprus, Australia, Canada and all over the world.
