Author Archives
Alexander Billinis
Chios’ Kambos: The Merchant’s Suburb
In Kambos, Chios, red-stone walls, citrus groves, and historic mansions preserve the story of merchant families whose networks stretched from Greece to Europe, America, and Asia.
New Orleans Stories: A Chat with Vicky Dimitry, Descendant of the First Hydriot in America
It is always a pleasure when, while combing through archives and historical documents, you can trace the living descendants to the subjects you are studying. So it was this spring, in New Orleans, as I…
The Greek American Story Is Older Than You Think
Histories often conform to a narrative, which is often simplified or edited for reasons of brevity or emphasis. The typical Greek-American historical narrative will focus on the mass immigration of generally impoverished Greeks to the…
The Athenian Taverna
Athens today possesses many of the attributes of the global city—great ethnic and cultural diversity and a thriving, eclectic restaurant scene with a plethora of cuisine and fusion options. This is definitely a different Athens…
Kompania Verdi: Where Music Is A Family Affair
Leave it to Greeks to set up a family business. These are ubiquitous, whether in the homeland and the Diaspora. So it is with Kompania Verdi, from the hauntingly beautiful town of Ioannina, Greece. This…
Hellenic Dance Festivals: Reflections On A Long And Deep Cultural Tradition
Greeks in Greece often remark on the skills and zeal of the Greek Diasporans when it comes to Hellenic folk dancing, talents, and traditions, which often carry on into the third and fourth generations, even…
Ship Of Destiny: The Averof
My father took me to see her as I was a young boy on one of our many summer trips to Greece. He recalled getting basic naval training on her decks as a naval draftee…
Book Review: Proselytes of a New Nation: Muslim Conversions to Orthodox Christianity in Modern Greece
Stories of nations often focus on birth, either in violent revolution or some sort of division or attrition and on key headline events and struggles, such as epic wars or trials of nationhood. Rarely are…
Hydra and her Wooden Walls
The use of wood in navigation is older than civilization itself, as it is present in nature. A ride hitched on a fallen log begat the dugout canoe, and the rest is history. The Aegean…
Bill and the “Still”: A Greek American Prohibition Story
Prohibition was an interesting time in our country’s history, an era from 1920 to 1933, when a United States Constitutional Amendment outlawed the production and sale of alcohol in the entire country. It was not…
Buying Rakija in Serbia
Tsipouro, Raki, Rakiya, Rakija, Tuica, Palinka. A transparent spirit of fostering a spirit of transparency. Here is a story of perhaps the finest rakija I have ever drank and how I got it. Vrnjačka Banja…
World Wide [Greek] Commercial Web, Circa 1815
WWW of course means something completely different in our digital internet-ubiquitous era. “Web” prior to our disruptive times could mean that of a spider, or some other set of connections. In this case, I refer…
![World Wide [Greek] Commercial Web, Circa 1815](https://cosmosphilly.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/San-Nicolo-Trieste-Italy.jpg)