- George Marcus, Greek-American Philanthropist & Entrepreneur
- “New Shoes!” American postwar humanitarianism in the papers of Anna Howell Hayward (1908–2001)
- ΘΕΙΑ ΦΩΤΩ (AUNT PHOTO) AND HER OXI
- Demi Lovato finds her inner ‘Child Star’ voice with new Hulu documentary
- Hellenic Film Society Closes Out a Successful Run of NY Greek Film Expo 2024
All posts by Alexander Billinis
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Ilias Katsos: the Colossus of …Georgitsi who Built the Colossi of New YorkForgive the borrowed phrase from Henry Miller’s Greek masterpiece, The Colossus of Maroussi, but it rather fits Ilias (“Lou”) Katsos. Lou’s hometown, Georgitsi, known as the Balcony of the Taygetos, is such a place, and in New...
- Posted July 4, 2021
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Who Speaks for the Diaspora Greeks?Greeks are a very individualistic lot. We often quarrel, and tend not to like others speaking for us. Having said that, for centuries Greeks have had to create organizations to foster community, educational, and religious cohesiveness, whether...
- Posted July 3, 2021
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Talkin’ About the Revolution
What good is it to talk about ourselves—to ourselves? I am paraphrasing the words of a good friend who, like me, has spent years conveying the Hellenic message outward, to the wider community. How and why, would...
- Posted April 30, 2021
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The Greek Revolution: A Victory for Human Agency but an Unfinished One
Inequalities and inequities have existed throughout history, almost as certain to the human condition as death (and taxes). Often enough, revolutions designed to remedy an inequity beget others, or are consumed by their absolute quests, or their...
- Posted March 23, 2021
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Silent Partners to Empire: The Greeks and Serbs who helped build the Austrian and Russian Empires
History favors the headlines rather than the fine print. Not unlike social media today, what is usually remembered are the posts and tweets rather than the long, complicated, but often far more rewarding reads. In the details,...
- Posted December 13, 2020
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Sister Cities – The Next Step in Greek-American Relations?
Sister Cities (or Town-Twinning) Programs are an excellent and innovative way to build local-to-local links between communities in different countries, complimentary yet independent of the nations’ international relations. Trade, cultural, ethnic, or historical links might serve as...
- Posted October 10, 2020
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Candidate for US Congress Natalia Linos: Her Campaign at the Corner of Science and ValuesWhat does an epidemiologist and mother of three young children do in a time of a global pandemic and lockdown? Run for Congress, of course. Dr. Natalia Linos’ campaign for Congress, to represent Massachusetts’ Fourth Congressional district,...
- Posted July 12, 2020
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Pammachon: A Martial Art and Ethos with Roots in Hellenism
On March 25, this year, as every year, Greeks in Greece and around the world celebrated the dual holiday of Greek Independence Day and Annunciation. This time, it was different. We celebrated at home, via digital displays,...
- Posted April 13, 2020
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Nicholas Benachi, Founder of the First Orthodox Church in the US
On many occasions in this magazine I have focused on Greek communities in the Diaspora or interesting “Hellenes without Borders.” This month, I will do both. We will meet Nicholas Benachi, the founder of the first Greek...
- Posted February 17, 2020
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Samos, Where Geography is Destiny
As the Bicentennial of Greece’s War of Independence approaches, in 2021, I will be highlighting various places, people, and events that played a key role in this seminal event. Today, I will focus on an island. No,...
- Posted January 13, 2020
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The 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 to the...
- Posted December 8, 2019
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The “Case” for AHEPA
The recent election of New Democracy’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Greece has been greeted with a fair amount of relief and optimism by many in Greece, abroad, and in the large Greek Diaspora. It is early days, but...
- Posted October 18, 2019
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Kehila Kedosha Janina and a Chat with Marcia!
Russel Shorto, a premier historian of New York, calls Manhattan the “Island at the Center of the World.” So, it is, and there are few pleasures like walking the avenues of Manhattan. So much American (and world...
- Posted July 12, 2019
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Philip Christopher on the upcoming Hellenic Issues Conference and the East Mediterranean PartnershipPhilip Christopher is one of those individuals whose contributions more resemble an institution than the force and spirit of one man. His outside role in seeking justice for Cyprus, that “gold and green leaf in the sea,”...
- Posted April 25, 2019
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A Grandson’s Visit: Ano Kastania
While we lived in Greece, a source of succor from the daily reality of life and work in Athens were trips out of the city via Greece’s new superhighways. A plethora of alpine and seaside jaunts, along...
- Posted April 25, 2019
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Learning and Mentoring Never Stops with Educator Angelo Pappasby Alexander Billinis How does a regular guy get 250 people to his half century birthday party on Thanksgiving weekend? I guess that the answer is, you are a guy like Angelo Pappas. Evangelos (Angelo) Pappas...
- Posted March 13, 2019
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The Importance of Being Hydra
We Hydriots are seldom lacking in pride for our island. It is, after all, a time capsule away from the crush of car and concrete, a cubist amphitheater of perfection surrounding a port where man and nature...
- Posted March 13, 2019
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The Battle of the Atlantic: The Gruesome Tale the Numbers Tell of Triumph and TragedyI have always been a textual type. I am a writer, a lawyer, and now a historian in training. I have always been text-heavy. Having said that, I have a business degree, I own part of a...
- Posted January 2, 2019
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“Uncle Nick” of Greenville
I met him through my son. We had just moved to Clemson, South Carolina and I searched for a local Greek community for spiritual and cultural anchorage. After the church service, I saw my son in an...
- Posted December 2, 2018
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Maritime Shift
I have been writing in this column at Neo Magazine for nearly nine years now. Nearly every month, I have had to come up with a topic relating to Hellenism, particularly the Diaspora, to bring to Neo...
- Posted October 16, 2018
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The Macedonia Agreementby Alexander Billinis It is of course premature to call the agreement signed, all too symbolically, at Lake Prespa between Greece and its northern neighbor, “North Macedonia,” as a done deal. National parliaments need to weigh in...
- Posted July 8, 2018
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How to Talk to your Kids about Byzantium
A rather odd title to an article, but the reader familiar with my work ought to be familiar with my . . . eccentricities. Perhaps it is not so odd, as Greek parents often talk to their...
- Posted June 22, 2018
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In Confronting Turkey, History is on our Side, but Historical Lesson is from 1938, not from the Ancient Past
Another Greek Independence Day has come and gone. It’s a time for parades, poems, and speeches, recalling the heroes of that era. This year, the Evzones came to Australia, as they have come to key US cities...
- Posted April 14, 2018
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The Brothers Macedonian
A centuries-old conflict in a region known for discord has returned, once again, to the headlines. The so-called Macedonian Question—in this case, most specifically, what name to assign to this former Yugoslav republic—is back in many of...
- Posted March 11, 2018
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Stamps of My History
Moving is never easy. It is a loss of nerves, and in my case, pounds from work and stress, and it always costs more than you anticipate. Things get lost, and broken. Sometimes, however, things do get...
- Posted January 14, 2018
