The Anglo-Hellenic League

Dedicated to promoting Anglo-Greek understanding and friendship, through charitable and cultural work. 

Calendar of Events 2023

Thurs. 16 February, 8.30am  Private tour of Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth at the British Library London, led by Dr Peter Toth. 

Tues. 7 March, 7pm              Dr Iain Gordon Brown FSA FRSE, “Edinburgh as the Athens of the North”. Friends Room, Hellenic Centre, London. 

Wed. 3 May, 7pm                  Julian Hoffman, “Prespa, a Crossroads Place: On the natural and human communities of the transboundary lakes region”. Friends Room, Hellenic Centre, London. 

Fri. 2 June, 7pm                    Konstantinos Alsinos, Η πληγή του κόσμου (The Wound of the World) (Athens: Mikri Arktos, 2022). Readings in Greek; discussion in English. Lecture Theatre 2, Bush House, King’s College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG.

                                                In partnership with the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's

                                              College London. Booking info available here. 

Mon. 12 June, 6pm                “Yannis Ritsos: new English translations and visualisations”, including a tribute to Edmund Keeley. David Harsent, A Broken Man in Flower: Versions of Yannis Ritsos, intro. John Kittmer (Hexham: Bloodaxe 2023) and Yannis Ritsos, Monochords, trans. Paul Merchant; linocut illustrations by Chiara Ambrosio (London: Prototype 2023). Readings, illustrations and panel discussion. Council Room, King’s College London (Strand).

                                              In partnership with the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's

                                              College London Booking info available here. 

Tues. 13 June, 6pm              Katie Lentakis Award Ceremony. Council Room, King's    

                                              College London.              

                                              In Conversation with Prof. Kevin Featherstone. 

                                              In partnership with the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's

                                              College London Booking info available here. 

Mon. 19 June, 5pm               Annual General Meeting. River Room, King’s College

                                           London. Members only.

Mon. 19 June, 7pm               Runciman Award Ceremony. Great Hall, King’s College London + Zoom Webinar

                                              Guest speaker & keynote address: Prof. Dame Mary Beard

                                              In partnership with the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's 

                                              College London

September (tbc)                    Annual league event in Greece

November (tbc)                     Panel on the Lausanne Treaty and the Exchange of Populations. 

Wed. 6 December, 6pm         Victoria Solomonidis-Hunter, “Marie Spartali-Stillman: A 'Grace' in her own right”. Zoom webinar.

We are grateful to the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A.G. Leventis Foundation for their generous support in sponsoring our events.

Council of the League

26 January 2023 (updated 6 February)

JUDGES ANNOUNCE THE LONG LIST FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2023 

PRESS NOTICE

The judging panel for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award, given annually for a book about Greece, has agreed a long list of 24 books for the competition in 2023.

Out of 47 books submitted for the Award, the judges selected 24 to form their long list. The list, which covers books published globally in English in 2022, includes books on history, biography, literature and philosophy, plus novels, poetry and literary translation. The books selected span Hellenic experience from antiquity until today.

The full long list of 24 titles is attached.

The Award Ceremony for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2023 is scheduled to be held in the Great Hall of King’s College London on Monday 19 June 2023, at 7pm. Details of the award ceremony and of the short list will be announced in due course. 

The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award is sponsored by the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A.G. Leventis Foundation. The value of the prize to the winner is £10,000.

Council of the League

10 January 2023

NOTES:

Since 1986, the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award has rewarded annually the best book published in the previous year in English about Greece or on a Greek subject. The Award is open to scholarly and creative books and to translations into English of Greek literary works. 

The judges for the Award in 2023 are:

Prof. Peter Frankopan (chair)

Dr Vassiliki Kolocotroni

Prof. Judith Mossman

Dr Oliver Thomas 

Dr Sofka Zinovieff 

Keep up with our news on: www.runcimanaward.org and www.anglohellenicleague.org.  

Enquiries to: John Kittmer (Award Administrator) runciman@anglohellenicleague.org  

THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2023

LONG LIST

STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF HER LATE MAJESTY THE QUEEN

The Council of the League is profoundly moved and saddened by the death of Her Late Majesty The Queen. We grieve her loss and give thanks for her life. We join the whole nation in mourning for her. We know that this sentiment will be widely shared among our membership and, as Chair of Council, I have written, on behalf of the Council and our members, to His Majesty The King to express our sympathy and condolences to him and the Royal Family, and to convey our good wishes for his reign. Like his late mother, who travelled to Greece shortly before her own accession to the throne, the King knows Greece well and will, we may hope, want to maintain his associations with the Greek people amid his new responsibilities. I have also written to our Chief Patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent to express our condolences to him as a cousin of the Queen and member of the Royal Family. God Save The King.

John Kittmer

Chair of Council

  on behalf of all the Council

11 September 2022

Two recordings of the award ceremony are available below. The first is a theatre view and the second is the webinar view. Details of the event can be found here. The handout for Prof. Hunter's lecture and photos of the event are also available below.

All photos are © Katerina Kalogeraki.

Council of the League

15 June 2022 

Monday 13 June 2022, 4.30pm

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

River Room, King's Building (second floor), King's College London, The Strand, London WC2R 2LS.

The Annual General Meeting for the year ending 31 December 2021 was held in the River Room at King’s College London, The Strand, London WC2R 2LS on Monday 13 June 2022 at 4.30pm.

A copy of the draft minutes of the meeting will be published shortly.

Council of the League

15 June 2022

JUDGES ANNOUNCE THE SHORT LIST FOR 

THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2022 

At its meeting on 7 April, the judging panel for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2022 agreed its short list for this year’s competition.

Out of the 23 books selected by the judges in January to form their long list, the panel has now picked eight books, published in 2021, as their short list for the final round of judging. 

Peter Frankopan, chair of judges, said: “This has been an exceptionally rich and varied year for the Runciman Award. We have read some astonishingly ambitious books, some covering many thousands of years of history, others re-telling familiar tales in extraordinary new ways, and others still that have captured our hearts, minds and imaginations. The judges deliberated for a long time to select this short list, and we wished we could have honoured even more books this time. We are yet to discuss which of the eight books might win; but we are thrilled by the range and breadth of writers and scholars represented in our short list – taking us from the Siege of Troy through the Byzantine era right up to the present day.”

The Runciman Award is given by The Anglo-Hellenic League annually for the best book published for the first time in English in the previous year about Greece or on a Greek subject. 

The eight short-listed titles are set out below, in alphabetical order (by author):

The judges for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2022 are:

Prof. Peter Frankopan (chair)

Dr Dionysis Kapsalis

Prof. Naoíse Mac Sweeney 

Prof. Judith Mossman

Dr Sofka Zinovieff

The announcement of the winner and award ceremony will take place on Monday 13 June, at 7pm, in the Great Hall of King’s College London, on the Strand.

The award, which is worth £10,000, is sponsored by the A.C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A.G. Leventis Foundation.

Council of the League

8 April 2022

The annual Katie Lentakis lecture was given by Ruth Padel, poet, novelist and classicist. In her talk, Prof. Padel brought together various strands of her work on Greek religion, Darwin and science, starting with her debt to Jane Harrison, the first woman to have an international profile as a classics scholar.  

The event took place, under socially distanced conditions, at the Hellenic Centre.

Council of the League

23 June 2021

Monday 21 June 2021, 5pm 

Annual General Meeting of the League

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The Annual General Meeting for the year ending 31 December 2020 took place at the Hellenic Centre at the above date and time. A draft minute of proceedings will be posted shortly. 

RODERICK BEATON WINS THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2021

WITH GREECE: BIOGRAPHY OF A MODERN NATION

PRESS NOTICE

We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021 is Roderick Beaton for Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation (London: Allen Lane 2019). In winning the Runciman Award for a fourth time, Prof. Beaton has set a new record of achievement.

Announcing the result of this year’s competition, Prof. Peter Frankopan, the chair of judges, said:

‘We were lucky enough to read some breath-takingly good books this year – including many that are both brave and ambitious, including re-tellings of stories that are well-known and investigations of real originality about topics rarely, if ever, looked at. Roddy Beaton’s book is a combination of all these qualities. It is not easy to write broad history for wide readership, and to do so well takes real skill. Covering recent centuries of Greece’s history requires courage too, as many have strong opinions about what should be written about – and how. What makes Beaton’s book stand out above all, however, is that just as Sir Steven Runciman’s books opened doors through which new generations of readers and scholars have since walked, so too will Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation. As a jury, we felt that this wonderful book captured the spirit of the Runciman Award perfectly.’

John Kittmer, chair of the Council of The Anglo-Hellenic League, said:

‘On behalf of the League I warmly congratulate Roddy Beaton for winning this year’s Runciman Award. In its 35-year history Roddy is the only person to have won the award four times: a tremendous achievement. In relaunching the award under new sponsors in this year of the bicentenary of the Greek revolution, we are delighted that the judges have chosen to acknowledge the timely relevance of this great book.’

The announcement of the winner of the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021 was made on Thursday 17 June, 7pm at an event held (because of Covid-19 restrictions) by Zoom webinar. Prof. Stathis Kalyvas (University of Oxford) gave the keynote address on ‘Why the Greek Revolution still matters today’. Peter Frankopan surveyed the field of longlisted and shortlisted books on behalf of the panel of judges. The event closed with an acceptance speech by the winner. 

The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award is sponsored by the A. C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A. G. Leventis Foundation.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award was conceived in 1983, as an initiative of Earl Jellicoe, the then chairman of the League, in honour of Sir Steven Runciman, the distinguished historian of Byzantium and longest-serving chairman of the League (1951-1967). It was first awarded in 1986 and has been awarded most years since then.

2. The award is given to the best book (or books) written in English in the previous year on a Greek subject. It aims to stimulate interest in Greek history and culture from earliest times to the present; to reward and encourage good and accessible writing, of which Sir Steven’s works are an example; and to promote a wider knowledge and understanding of Greece’s contribution to civilisation and values. The prize may be awarded for a work in the field of history, literary studies, biography, travel and topography, the arts, architecture, archaeology, the environment, social and political sciences or current affairs; or for a work of fiction, poetry or drama. Translations from Greek literature into English are also eligible.

3. No award was made in 2020. Books published in 2019 and 2020 were eligible for the award in 2021.

4. The panel of judges for the award in 2021 comprises: Peter Frankopan (chair), Dionysis Kapsalis, Naoise Mac Sweeney, Judith Mossman and Sofka Zinovieff. The judges announced their long list of 21 titles on 14 January and their short list of 7 titles on 9 April (see www.runcimanaward.org). 

5. Roderick Beaton previously won the award in 1995 for An Introduction to Modern Greek Literature (Oxford: OUP 1994); in 2004 for George Seferis: Waiting for the Angel – A Biography (New Haven: Yale UP 2003); and in 2014 for Byron’s War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution (Cambridge: CUP 2013).

6. Enquiries about the Runciman Award can be made to the acting award administrator (Dr John Kittmer) at runciman@anglohellenicleague.org. Information about the two sponsoring foundations can be found at: https://www.aclcf.org/about-en/the-foundation/ and http://www.leventisfoundation.org/en/. The announcement to publishers for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2022 will be made in late October 2021.

Council of the League

17 June 2021

The Anglo-Hellenic League

Runciman Award Ceremony 2021 

sponsored by the A. C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation & the A. G. Leventis Foundation

Keynote speech by Prof. Stathis Kalyvas

Zoom Webinar

Thursday 17 June 2021, 7pm

At a meeting held (because of the pandemic) by Zoom webinar, The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award was relaunched, under the joint sponsorship of the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A. G. Leventis Foundation. 

The keynote speech at the award ceremony was given by Prof. Stathis Kalyvas (University of Oxford) on: “Why the Greek Revolution of 1821 still matters”. 

The chair of judges, Prof. Peter Frankopan, talked about this year’s competition and introduced the books in the short list. He then announced the winner of the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021:

Roderick Beaton: Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation (London: Allen Lane 2019)

Professor Beaton gave an acceptance address and spoke about his winning book.

The event was hosted by John Kittmer, chair of the Council of the League. Copies of his introductory remarks and the press notice are attached. A recording of all the event (except the chair's introductory remarks) is available below.

Council of the League

18 June 2021

TWO NEW SPONSORS GUARANTEE THE FUTURE OF

THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD

PRESS NOTICE

The Council of The Anglo-Hellenic League is delighted to announce our two new co-sponsors of the Runciman Award: the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation and the A. G. Leventis Foundation. 

The Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award has been given most years since 1986 for the best new book published in English in the previous year on a Greek topic. The award honours the memory of the Byzantine scholar and philhellene, Sir Steven Runciman. 

Under the new agreement, the two co-sponsors will contribute equally to the funding of the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award for the next five years, beginning in 2021. The total value of the sponsorship agreement to the League is £80,000.

The value of the annual prizemoney for the Runciman Award is set at £10,000. 

The judging of the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021 is underway. The judges, chaired this year by Prof. Peter Frankopan, released their long list in January and published their short list on 9 April. The winner will be announced at a ceremony to take place by Zoom webinar on 17 June, at 7pm. Registration for the event will open on 19 May. 

John Kittmer, Chair of the Council of The Anglo-Hellenic League, said:

‘In this year, when we are celebrating the bicentenary of Greek independence, it is wonderful to relaunch this prestigious award, which recognises the best writing in English about Greece and is a hugely important example of international philhellenism. All of us at the League are thrilled that the A. C. Laskaridis and A. G. Leventis foundations have stepped forward to guarantee the future of the Runciman Award. We look forward to working with them in the years ahead.’

Evi Lazou, President of the A. C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation, said:

‘We are very happy and honoured to commence the support of the prestigious Runciman Award on the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence. As keeping Greek heritage alive is an intrinsic part of the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation’s mission, we cherish the partnership with an established institution that highlights the spirit, history, art and society of Greece.’

A spokesperson for the A. G. Leventis Foundation said:

‘The A. G. Leventis Foundation is delighted to support the Runciman Award, the longest established prize of its type in the UK. Over the years, this prestigious award has recognised and celebrated the influence of the Greek world in its broadest terms on European culture. It rewards both scholarship and creativity, but emphasises the importance of accessible writing in stimulating cultural and intellectual contact between Briton and Greek.’ 

Council of the League

17 May 2021

SEVEN MAGNIFICENT BOOKS TO CELEBRATE THE GREEK BICENTENARY 

JUDGES ANNOUNCE THE SHORT LIST FOR 

THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2021 

‘AMBITION, INVENTIVENESS AND REAL ORIGINALITY’

At its meeting on 7 April, the judging panel for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021 agreed its short list for the competition.

Out of the 21 wonderful books selected by the judges in January to form their long list, the panel has now chosen seven books, published in 2019 or 2020, to go forward as the short list for the final round of judging. 

Peter Frankopan, Chair of judges, said: ‘This was a year of extraordinary depth and variety, covering Greek history, literature and culture from deep antiquity right up to the present day. Inevitably, choosing a short-list from such a strong selection was not easy. However, I am delighted we have chosen a set of books that show ambition, inventiveness and real originality – ranging from re-telling the siege of Troy to the interpretation of the Moon, from Venus and Aphrodite to Greece during the 19^th and 20^th centuries, from the Byzantine Emperor Theodore Laskaris to modern Greek poetry. We will need plenty of coffee (and perhaps something stronger) to select a winner from these masterpieces – each of which deserves to find many eager readers of all ages and each of which will appeal to specialists and the general reader alike.’

The Runciman Award has been run by The Anglo-Hellenic League since 1986, to reward the best book published recently about Greece or on a Greek subject in English. The competition was not run in 2020. In 2021, the League has found new sponsors for the Award and will be relaunching the book prize at an Award Ceremony when Covid restrictions are lifted in London. The Award Ceremony will form part of the UK’s celebrations of the Bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence, which is being celebrated globally this year.

The seven short-listed titles are set out below, in alphabetical order (by author):

The judges for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award 2021 are:

Prof. Peter Frankopan (chair)

Dr Dionysis Kapsalis

Prof. Naoíse Mac Sweeney 

Prof. Judith Mossman

Dr Sofka Zinovieff

Details of the new sponsors and of the Award ceremony will be announced shortly.

John Kittmer (Award Administrator)

  for the Council of

The Anglo-Hellenic League

9 April 2021

Bicentenary of the Start of the Greek War of Independence 

Letter to the President of the Hellenic Republic

By way of letter dated 25 March 2021, our Chair has written to the President of the Hellenic Republic, Her Excellency Mrs Katerina Sakellaropoulou, on behalf of the members and Council of the League, to express our congratulations on the start of the bicentenary celebrations. A copy of the letter (in Greek) is set out below.

21 BOOKS TO CELEBRATE THE GREEK BICENTENARY

OF 1821-2021 

JUDGES ANNOUNCE THE LONG LIST FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2021 

The judging panel for the Runciman Award, for books about Greece, has agreed its long list of 21 books for the competition in 2021.

Out of 79 books submitted for the Award, the judges selected 21 to form their long list, which covers books published in 2019 and 2020. The long list includes books on history, archaeology, reception of antiquity, biography, literature and myth, plus novels and literary translations – across three and a half millennia of the Greek experience.

Peter Frankopan, chair of judges, said: ‘This is a wonderful - and thrilling - long list. We have such an amazing range of books about Greece in all its forms and glories. The books we have chosen go from the siege of Troy to Herodotus through the Byzantine era to Greece in the Cold War and bohemian lives on 1960s Hydra. As we face weeks more locked down because of the pandemic, what a treat to be able to dive into books written by some of the superstars of the academic and literary worlds.'

John Kittmer, chair of the League, said: ‘It is great to be relaunching the Runciman Award in 2021, when we are celebrating the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence. I am delighted to welcome Peter Frankopan as chair of judges and Sofka Zinovieff as a new member on our panel.’

The Award Ceremony for the Runciman Award 2021 is scheduled to be held in London on 17 June 2021, as part of the UK’s celebration of the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence. Details of the award ceremony and of the short list will be announced in due course, alongside news of the League’s new sponsorship deal for the Runciman Award.

The full long list of 21 titles is attached.

Council of the League

14 January 2021

NOTES:

Since 1983, the Runciman Award has been run annually by The Anglo-Hellenic League to reward the best book published in the previous year in English about Greece or on a Greek subject. The Award is open to books of scholarship and creativity. The competition was not run in 2020, while new sponsors were sought. A new sponsorship deal has been agreed and will be announced shortly. 

The judges for the Runciman Award 2021 are:

Prof. Peter Frankopan (chair)

Dr Dionysis Kapsalis

Prof. Naoíse Mac Sweeney 

Prof. Judith Mossman

Dr Sofka Zinovieff 

Saturday 22 February 2020, 9am

Troy – Myth and Reality: Private Exhibition Viewing

British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG

By kind agreement of the British Museum, a group of twenty members and supporters of the League had a private viewing of the widely acclaimed exhibition, 'Troy: myth and reality'. The tour was organised by curator Lesley Fitton and led by Alexandra Villing, lead curator of the exhibition. This event raised £690 for the League's charitable purposes. We are grateful to all who kindly donated.

Friday, 7 February 2020, 7pm

Second Annual Lecture in memory of Niki Marangou, by John Kittmer: 'Anglo-Hellenism: adventures in cultural exchange'

Cotsen Hall, Anapiron Polemou, Athens 10676

Monday 17 June 2019, 6pm 

Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2019

King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Dr Anastasia Bakogianni: ‘Fidelity vs. Creativity: The Screen Reception of Ancient Tragedy in Modern Greece’

The League announced the winner and short-listed students for the Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2019.

The winner of the £500 award was Gina Prat Lilly for an essay entitled: 'Between dictatorship and exile: Two Antigones of postwar Spain. Salvador Espriu’s Antígona and María Zambrano’s La tumba de Antígona.' 

The two highly commended entries were Medea Manaz for an essay entitled: ‘Is Acting Madness? A Metatheatrical Reading of Euripides’ Bacchae’ and Mark Coomber for 'The Importance of Christianity to the Imperial Ideology of the Empire of Trebizond 1204-1448’. 

The award ceremony was followed by an illustrated lecture given by Dr Anastasia Bakogianni, Lecturer in Classical Studies at Massey University, New Zealand. 

Thursday 13 June 2019, 5pm 

Annual General Meeting of the League

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The Annual General Meeting for the year ending 31 December 2018 took place at the Hellenic Centre at the above date and time. The AGM approved the minutes of its meeting in 2018; noted the Chair's report; noted the Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for 2018; and elected members of the Council for 2019-2020.

Monday 18 June 2018, 6pm

Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2018: A celebration of 100 years from the founding of the Koraes Chair

King's College London: Great Hall King's Building Strand Campus

The League was represented at the event to celebrate the centenary of the Koraes Chair. Three members of the League's Council gave addresses: Prof. Roderick Beaton (outgoing holder of the Koraes Chair), Prof. Sir Michael Llewellyn Smith and John Kittmer. The keynote speaker at the event was Ms Lydia Koniordou, Greek Minister of Culture. The Koraes Professor-designate, Gonda Van Steen, gave the vote of thanks.

As part of the centenary event, the Chair of the League announced the winner of this year's Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award.  This prize is awarded annually in honour of Katie Lentakis, a former Vice-Chair of the Council, to a final-year undergraduate in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King's College London, for an essay on a topic related to any field of Hellenic Studies. 

This year, three students were short-listed for the award: 

• Felicity Beech, for an essay entitled “Euripides’ ‘New Helen’ and Homer”, supervised by Professor Ismene Lada-Richards
• Nicolaus Christenson, for an essay called “Spartan Educational Ideals in the Prussian Cadet Corps of the 19th Century”, supervised by Dr Dan Orrells and 
• Harry Tanner, for an essay entitled “The Meaning of  τάλας: A Scientific Approach”, supervised by Dr Akrivi Taousiani.

The winner for 2018 is Harry Tanner. The League congratulates him for his excellent essay.  A copy of the introductory remarks contributed by the Chair of the League is attached.

For an account (in Greek) of the event in the newspaper Καθημερινή, click here. To see the full video of the centenary event, click here. 

Thursday 14 June 2018, 6pm

Runciman Award 2018

The Hellenic Centre, 16–18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The winners of the Runciman Award 2018 were announced at a ceremony, in the presence of our President and Chief Patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent, on Thursday 14 June 2018.

Congratulations to Matthew Simonton, author of Classical Greek Oligarchy: A Political History, and Colm Toibin, author of House of Names.

Guest speaker: Neil MacGregor, OM

Sponsored by Elias Paraskevas Attorneys

Information about the award (including list of books submitted, short-list and interviews with short-llisted authors) can be found at www.runcimanaward.org. 

Awarding the winners (from L - R): HRH Prince Michael of Kent, Chief Patron and President of the League; Dimitris Paraskevas, Sponsor of the Runciman Award; Mary Mount, publisher of Colm Toibin (joint winner); Prof. Matthew Simonton (joint winner)

The winning books 

Thursday 14 June 2018, 4.30pm

Annual General Meeting

The Hellenic Centre, 16–18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The Annual General Meeting for the year ending 31 December 2017 was held on Thursday 14 June 2018 at 4.30 pm, with John Kittmer in the chair. 

Thursday 31 May 2018, 5.45 pm 

Private visit to "Rodin and the art of ancient Greece"  

British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG

Under the guidance of distinguished art historian and archaeologist Ian Jenkins, a private visit by members of the League took place of "Rodin and the art of ancient Greece". 

Tuesday 17 April 2018, 7pm.

'The Macedonian Front 1915-1918: Soldiers, Nurses and Politicians at the forgotten front'

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS

The League, together with the Macedonian Society of Great Britain, presented a round table with illustrations on Macedonia in the First World War. 

Speakers were:

Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith, Visiting Professor, King’s College London

Professor Vasilis Gounaris, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Alan Wakefield, Imperial War Museum

Professor Christine Hallett, The University of Manchester

Dr Anthony Hirst

Wednesday 21 March 2018, 8.45 a.m. 

Private visit to "Charmed lives in Greece: Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor"

The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG

The private visit to the exhibition was guided by two of its Curators, Evita Arapoglou and Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith. 

Monday 27 November 2017, 7pm

Post-crisis Greek Foreign Policy: Challenges and Prospects

Round-table discussion 

Monday 9 October 2017, 7pm  

Prof. Roderick Beaton

"Nikos Kazantzakis: a retrospect, 60 years from his death"                      

The Hellenic Centre, 16–18 Paddington Street, London W1U 5AS 

Thu 15 June 2017, 7.00pm

Runciman Award 2017

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington St., Marylebone, London W1

Directly following the League's Annual General Meeting, the ceremony for the Runciman Award 2017 took place. The Prize is sponsored by Elias Paraskevas Attorneys.

The Prize was awarded jointly to Professor Ivan Drpić and Professor Marc Domingo Gygax.

Epigram, Art, and Devotion in Later Byzantium by Professor Ivan Drpić (CUP)

This is a gripping book with wonderful illustrations that evoke the richness and complexity of the texts and objects explored in it.

Dr Dionysios Stathakopoulos, Chairman of the Judges

Benefaction and Rewards in the Ancient Greek City: The Origins of Euergetism by Professor Marc Domingo Gygax (CUP )

 This is an entirely new way of looking at the system of the gift in ancient Greece. Focusing on benefaction of various kinds and the reciprocity it sparked the author explores the origins of the system in archaic Greece and illuminates the tensions with which it was fraught.

Dr Dionysios Stathakopoulos, Chairman of the Judges

Fri 31 March 2017, 7pm

John Kittmer

Former British Ambassador to Greece (2013-2016)

Reflection on four years in Greece: Optimism amid crisis?

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington St., Marylebone, London W1

Tue 11 October 2016

All that glitters is gold: The Grave of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington St., Marylebone, London W1

This fund-raising lecture by the husband-and-wife team of Jack Davis and Sharon
Stocker presented for the first time in London an account of the major archaeological discovery in Greece last year, next to the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor at Pylos in the Peloponnese: the unrobbed, and unexpected, grave of a 15th century BC Mycenaean warrior-prince, buried with his weapons and in his finery with a wealth of sealstones and jewellery. The Grave of the Griffin Warrior is a spectacular find that matches contemporary graves such as those Heinrich Schliemann dug at Mycenae, while helping to explain the Cretan connections with the southwest Peloponnese and the rise of the site that later hosted the Mycenaean palace.

Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis have worked principally on Kea, in the Argolid and
Albania, and at Pylos, where the University of Cincinnati has excavated since 1939.
Dr Stocker is a Senior Research Associate at Cincinnati, and Professor Davis the Carl
W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology and Head of the Classics Department at Cincinnati; he has also been Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

The Anglo-Hellenic League was honoured to present this lecture, sponsored by the A. G. Leventis Foundation.

More information on the topic at www.griffinwarrior.org

Sat 10 September 2016
The 2016 Albania – Corfu Swim

The Anglo-Hellenic League Council, in its effort to contribute to other good causes, agreed to support the organisers of the 2016 Swim from Albania to Agios Stephanos, Corfu. All funds raised were given to The Smile of the Child Home, which is situated in the north of Corfu where 22 children are currently housed and educated. The Smile of the Child also distributes clothes, food and medicines to needy families throughout the island as well as continuing to support the children when they go on to further education.

Wed 15 June 2016
Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2016
Council Room, King’s College London, Strand WC2

The Centre for Hellenic Studies is pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s award is:

Vanessa Szymanska (Classics), for a dissertaton entitled

What significance did the cult of Artemis at Brauron bear upon the lives  of young girls and their families in Classical Attica? An exploration of key scholarly debates  and a reconcilation of literary and material sources’,

supervised by Professor Hugh Bowden.

Wed 9 March 2016

Visit to the Travellers Club, London SW1
A joint event of th Anglo-Hellenic League and the Friends of British School at Athens
 
On 9 March 2016 members of the Anglo-Hellenic League held a joint gathering with the Friends of the British School at Athens in the Library of the Travellers Club. The purpose of the occasion was to view some of this Library’s rare and fascinating books relating to the earliest expeditions made by British travellers to the historic sites of ancient Greece, and to see the replica of the frieze from the temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae. The temple was 'discovered' by a group of travellers including Charles Cockerell, one of the founding members of the Travellers Club. Its original frieze, brought back by this group, is now in the British Museum, and the replica in the Travellers Club Library is one of only two ever made. Nearly 40 members of the two organizations attended. The Librarian of the Travellers Club, Sheila Markham, and Ian Jenkins of the British Museum greatly added to the interest of the occasion with deeply learned and fascinating talks about what we were seeing. From comments received after the event it appears that all present found it a richly rewarding experience.

Wed 24 February 2016

'For the Greece We Love'
A special event to support Elliniki Etairia
(Greek Society for the Environment & Cultural Heritage www.ellet.gr)

On 24 February 2016 the Anglo-Hellenic League hosted a special event to support Elliniki Etairia, the Greek Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage, at the Hellenic Centre in London. An audience of 140 attended the evening, which was  generously sponsored by the A. G. Leventis Foundation, and supported by the Centre.  Costa and Lydia Carras, the founders of Elliniki Etairia, spoke powerfully about the struggles and achievements of the Society over the last 40 years throughout Greece, with a stirring account of the campaigns it has fought against governments and developers, with many notable successes.

They showed the broad range of work Elliniki Etairia undertakes, to protect the built environment — buildings of national or local significance, or whole areas of a city like the Plaka in Athens — and areas of the natural environment, whether significant for their natural history or (as with protection of the coast and restoration of long-distance footpaths) for people and recreation. We heard how the Society wins supporters inside Greece and beyond, working with the Europe-wide organisation Europa Nostra.

An estimated total, including Gift Aid, of £7300 was raised to support the work of Elliniki Etairia.

Thu 18 June 2015

Runciman Award 2015

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1

This year’s winner of the Runciman Award for books published in 2014 was Armand M. Leroi’s The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science (Bloomsbury Publishing)

The Award was announced at a ceremony by the Chairman of the panel of judges 
Dr Chris Burnand.

Tue 16 June 2015

Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2015

Council Room, King’s College London, Strand WC2

Winner of the prize:

Miss Rebecca McNamara (Department of Classics), for her dissertation entitled
‘The Ambiguous Home of Life and Death: the symbolic uses of the skene and the female in Aeschylus' Agamemnon’,

supervised by Dr Emmanuela Bakola.

Tue 25 November 2014
The 'Anglo-Hellenic Review' 50th Issue Celebration/Farewell Dinner

Vasis Taverna, 56 Maple Street, London W1

A celebratory supper to celebrate the final issue, and to express the League’s appreciation of the generous contribution of the Review’s editorial staff, writers and sponsors.

 Thu 19 June 2014
Runciman Award 2014

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, London W1

This year’s winner of the Runciman Award for books published in 2013 was Roderick Beaton’s Byron’s War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution (Cambridge University Press)

The Award was announced at a ceremony by the Chairman of the panel of judges Dr Angeliki Lymberopoulou. 

Tue 10 June 2014
Katie Lentakis Memorial Fund Award 2014

Council Room, King’s College London, Strand WC2

Winner of the prize:

Miss Melissa J Gardner (Department of Classics) for her dissertation entitled
'A Comparison of the Representation of Divinity in the Homeric Epics and the Epic of Gilgamesh', supervised by Professor Giambattista d’Alessio.

Tue 27 May 2014

'Crete on the Eve of Enosis', Sir Michael Llewellyn Smith KCVO

Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1

A joint Anglo-Hellenic League and Friends of the British School at Athens lecture 
chaired by Mr Gerald Cadogan.