Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series, Lecture Three: “Greece: Futures” by Dr. Peter Frankopan

World-renowned historian and award-winning author Dr. Peter Frankopan is presenting “Global Greece: A History” for the inaugural Thalia Potamianos Lecture Series hosted by the Gennadius Library. In his first lecture, “Greece: Beginnings,” Dr. Frankopan talked about how to understand the global context of classical Greece. In his second lecture, “Greece: Legacies,” he examined the influence of Greek language, culture, and history into the Middle Ages, tracing their impact on the spread of religions, on art, and on the contemporary world, including in Ukraine and Russia.

In his final lecture, “Greece: Futures,” Dr. Frankopan will look forward, taking the story of global Greece from independence in 1821 to the present, and on into the future. He will chart the roles that Greece has played, is playing, and will play, not only in its own neighborhood in southeastern Europe but also in other regions, locations, and continents. Dr. Frankopan will assess what the 21st century has in store for Greece, Greek culture and language, and Europe as a whole in a rapidly changing world.

“Greece: Futures” will be held at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Dr. Glenn D. Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art, will introduce the speaker, and Dr. Maria Georgopoulou, Director of the Gennadius Library, will deliver the welcome message. To reserve your seat for this highly anticipated lecture, please click the link below. This lecture will also be livestreamed on the School's website.

Lecture Schedule

Lecture One: "Greece: Beginnings"
Thursday, October 7, 2021
7:00 p.m. EEST (Greece) / 12:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.)
Cotsen Hall, Athens

Lecture Two: "Greece: Legacies"
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
6:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.)
Lohrfink Auditorium, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Lecture Three: "Greece: Futures"
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
6:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.)/1:00 a.m. EEST (Greece; Wednesday, May 11)
St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City

About Peter Frankopan

Dr. Peter Frankopan is Professor of Global History at Oxford University, where he is Stavros Niarchos Foundation Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. He is the award-winning author of The Silk Roads, a New York Times #1 Best Seller. Dr. Frankopan's lectures will examine the role that Greece and Greek culture, literature, and language have played over the course of more than two and a half millennia. Rather than exploring the familiar and limited Mediterranean context, he will discuss it from a global perspective, allowing for a better understanding of not only world history but Greece itself.

Please click here to learn more about Dr. Frankopan.

About the Lecture Series

Established in June 2020, the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series seeks to create a stimulating environment to draw both the academic community and the general public to the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Every year, a highly distinguished, internationally renowned scholar is selected to conduct research and develop programs on a topic relevant to the Gennadius Library. The research will culminate in a minimum of three annual public lectures, which will be delivered in Athens and the United States.

The Thalia Potamianos lectures are being made possible by a generous grant from Phokion Potamianos, an Overseer of the Gennadius Library. Mr. Potamianos named the series in memory of his grandmother, a distinguished Greek doctor, academic, and philanthropist.

Please click here to learn more about this lecture series.