First a few words about the man. Vasos Karagiorgis headed an antiquities society in Cyprus since 1960, when the island proclaimed independence. Several years as a cultural advisor to the president of the republic, he is a professor, author of 68 books and 350 papers on the history of the Ancient Greek and Cypriot cultures.
What he did in Odesa is an excellent illustration of how the Greeks treat their historical legacy. He visited in 1999, explored Odesa’s archeology museum, and was amazed by two things: the luxurious exposition, especially the Ancient Greek and Cypriot sections (200 excellent ornamented vases, 800 terra-cotta figurines, and exquisite pieces of jewelry) and that the world scholarly circles knew nothing about the collection. He decided to restore justice and published a catalog.
He tried to look for sponsors in Odesa but could not find any; local businessmen showed little interest in patronage (probably because our young entrepreneurs are still to evolve culturally).
So the Greeks published the catalog themselves, at their own expense. They even invited a photographer from Cyprus. The project was financed by the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation, where Prof. Vasos Karagiorgis is a board member.
The foundation’s financial mechanism is interesting. The organization was founded to preserve and popularize Ancient Greek culture. All businesses owned by the Leventis family contribute part of their revenues to the foundation. Apart from the central office in Cyprus, it has branches in London and Paris. There are about a dozen other foundations preserving Ancient Greek cultural sites and popularizing the culture, all financed by private individuals.
“The Greek diaspora, united by the World Council of Greeks Abroad, conducts tremendous work to popularize Ancient Greek culture. After all, studying it means studying the cultural roots of mankind,” says Serhiy Andronati, head of the Odesa branch of the Ukraine-Greece Society and academician of the National Academy of Sciences.
Finally, about how we treat our cultural legacy: the building of the Odesa Archeology Museum, where the unique collection is stored, which so amazed Prof. Karagiorgis, was erected in 1883. The latest redecoration dates from 1948.
“Our museum is designed to accommodate 10,000 items; we store 172,000,” says museum director Volodymyr Vanchuhov unhappily.
Incidentally, eyewitnesses say what also amazed the Cypriot professor in 1999 was the condition of the museum premises where such treasures are stored, although Mr. Karagiorgis was tactful in sharing his impressions with The Day wouldn’t want to give any advice concerning your internal affairs. However, it seems to me that the attitude toward the storage of historical values that belong to the entire human race should be different.”
The Greek Consulate General in Odesa and the city’s office of the Greek Cultural Foundation assisted in the publication of the catalog.
