Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou | Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica (original) (raw)

Books by Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou

Sidestone Press, 2022

OPEN ACCESS AT: https://www.sidestone.com/books/the-early-modern-zagori-of-northwest-greece

Papers by Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2023

The present essay addresses the different ways of walking in a cultural landscape as a tool to in... more The present essay addresses the different ways of walking in a cultural landscape as a tool to interpret its heritage. From the nineteenth-century travelers to the contemporary regional archaeological surveys, walking plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding of place. Past ways of walking archived in primary sources, contemporary interpretations of montane cultural landscapes, and the ways of walking in the present reveal different attitudes to heritage. This article investigates the region of Zagori in northwestern Greece as a case study to approach different walks, past and present, related both to remembering and forgetting, through the perspectives of dwelling, inhabiting, and gazing at the cultural landscape of Zagori.

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2022

In recent years there is a growing interest in the "Sacred Forests" (vakoúfika) of Zagori in Nort... more In recent years there is a growing interest in the "Sacred Forests" (vakoúfika) of Zagori in Northwest Greece. These are either groves or individual trees, dedicated to patron saints, protected through customary laws, communal regulations, religious excommunications, and supernatural narratives. For ca. 300 years they have represented the tangible reminders of rituals, beliefs, and pre-modern ways of managing the commons to an extent that they survive in the present. This article introduces archaeology into the interdisciplinary discourse revolving around vakoúfika. Through the concepts of dwelling, walking, and archaeological ethnography, I evaluate the concept of static "traditional" mountainous communities and focus on the changes that might have occurred to the rituals and beliefs associated with vakoúfika over the past centuries. The case study is the Sacred Forest of Băeasă (Vovousa), dedicated to St. Viniri and the associated rituals. In situ observations and especially the exploration of the role of two stones in the celebration reveal an archaeological layer to the pilgrim, in which the center of the ritual was the forest not its associated chapel.

Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2022

This article reflects on the experimental building of a Vlach hut that took place in the 14th Sum... more This article reflects on the experimental building of a Vlach hut that took place in the 14th Summer School of the Balkan Border Crossings Network. The approach took the form of an archaeological ethnography and addressed a variety of subjects from ethnographic and experimental fieldworkto videography and critical heritage, all emerging from the same point: thebuilding of a shepherd’s roundhut in the plain of Konitsa. From interdisciplinary methodological encounters to reflections on pastoral identities, legislation and its effects on this built pastoral heritage, as well as fieldwork reflections, while experiencing and experimenting, this article reveals potential avenues for interdisciplinary engagement in contexts such as Summer Schools.

Pathways. Exploring the Routes of a Movement Heritage, 2022

Journal of Modern Greek Studies, 2020

The Fethiye Cami, Hamko's Mansion, and the Ottoman market are three different Ottoman heritage si... more The Fethiye Cami, Hamko's Mansion, and the Ottoman market are three different Ottoman heritage sites in Konitsa (Northwest Greece), situated near the Greek-Albanian border. Although all three sites are safeguarded by law, they oscillate to different extents between the status of unwanted ruins, protected monuments, and potential resources for economic development through tourism. Twentieth-century history (the Lausanne Treaty and the critical role of Konitsa in the Greek Civil War), contemporary politics (the rise of nationalism and irredentist discourses), and the growing touristic value (the Vikos-Aoos UNESCO Global Geopark) have affected these three sites to various degrees. Within the small border town, the sites differ in terms of their original function, states of preservation, and local attitudes toward them. Taken together, they serve to illustrate the forces impacting Ottoman ruins, and their composite relationship with dominant political ideologies, local communities, and financial crises.

Plural, 2020

The present article exposes a conflict regarding the management of natural and cultural values th... more The present article exposes a conflict regarding the management of natural and cultural values through time, using the example of woodland management in Zagori (NW Greece) from the late 19 th century to the present day (2018). The central question is how a cultural landscape now interpreted as significant enough for potential World Heritage nomination (2014 tentative list), was managed through time by the Greek State in a top down approach that led to a polarization between natural and cultural values. First, issues of commune woodland management and emic perceptions of values will be addressed, followed by an outline of state economic factors that shaped the national policies that replaced them. The local communities' reactions during this transformation will be addressed. Finally, it is suggested that such case studies are valuable educational material for heritage professionals, since they offer insights into the processes of site valorization, revealing historical factors, economic stakes, and legislative biases, while also touching upon stakeholder issues.

Journal of Greek Media and Culture, 2019

This article explores Parko Eleftherias ('Liberty Park') and Athens Polytechnic (Polytechneio), t... more This article explores Parko Eleftherias ('Liberty Park') and Athens Polytechnic (Polytechneio), two historical places linked with the period of the Greek military Junta (1967-74), and their position in the urban life of contemporary Athens. Focus is placed on the limits of artistic expression tolerated in those two historical places, examining different attitudes towards them. We discuss the so-called public programs organized in the framework of documenta 14 (d14) in Parko Eleftherias, aiming to an extent to bring the dark heritage of the EAT-ESA (Eidiko Anakritiko Tmima-Elliniki Stratiotiki Astynomia = Special Interrogation Centre-Greek Military Police) into light. In the second part, we contrast that case, where all performances were conducted freely and under legal permission, with the 2015 Polytechneio graffiti incident, when artists covered overnight the southwestern façade of the neoclassical building with a gigantic oeuvre of street art that was removed by the authorities, given the illegal nature of the action. This contrast reveals the dynamic relationship between art narratives and attitudes towards monuments, which have followed different pathways of development after the Junta regime ended.

Ηπειρωτικό Ημερολόγιο, 2019

Title: "Local narratives, local history, and archaeology" This article outlines some methodologi... more Title: "Local narratives, local history, and archaeology"

This article outlines some methodological thoughts regarding research focussing on the Ottoman past of Greece (and the case of Zagori, Epirus), especially when local narratives and local communities are involved in the shaping of the research questions. The main part challenges the recent concluding remarks of the book "The roots of Soudeniotes (οι ρίζες των Σουδενιωτών)”, revealing the pitfalls and limitations of interdisciplinary research when set out to confirm or reject a local narrative that is built against the biggest national Other: the Ottoman - Turk.

The choice to publish this work in Greek and in the annual periodical of Epirus (Ηπειρωτικό Ημερολόγιο) was conscious: a form of indirect public engagement to prompt dialogue, as the earlier research on the book had attracted the interest of the local communities.

Castillo, A. (ed.), Segundo congreso internacional de buenas prácticas en patrimonio mundial: Personas y communidades, 2015

This article explores attitudes towards heritage in periods of conflict. The aim is to compare ho... more This article explores attitudes towards heritage in periods of conflict. The aim is to compare how notions over heritage monuments are renegotiated during periods of war and other conflict situations. The above relationship is examined through the Athenian Acropolis, one of the most profound symbols of World Heritage.

Castillo, Alicia (ed.). Actas del III Congreso Internacional de Buenas Prácticas en Patrimonio Mundial: Acciones Integrales. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid. (pp. 816-833), 2018

This paper is a shortened version of my MA Thesis, in the field of Heritage Management (Universit... more This paper is a shortened version of my MA Thesis, in the field of Heritage Management (University of Kent and AUEB).

With the belief that 2015 was opening new democratic avenues for Greece, I developed the idea of a heritage-related educational program that would have been implemented in the Greek military service (still compulsory for every adult). The aim was to counter chauvinist historical and archaeological narratives -mostly channeled through the secondary level educational system- by revealing alternative ones, stressing the facts that unite populations, rather than divide.

The journey was worth it, although it wasn't (and won't) be implemented.

Edited Volumes by Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou

Book Chapters by Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou

Οθωμανικά Μνημεία στην Ελλάδα: Κληρονομιές υπό Διαπραγμάτευση (επιμ. Η. Κολοβός, Γ. Πάλλης, Π. Πούλος), 2023

This article consists of an archaeological ethnography evolving around the Koulia of Hasani Baba,... more This article consists of an archaeological ethnography evolving around the Koulia of Hasani Baba, at the highlands of Koukouli on Tymphi, Zagori. It was discovered through a combination of archival research, ethnography and landscape archaeology fieldwork regarding the Ottoman Archaeology of Zagori.

The paper sets off with a brief discussion on the restrictions that a “post-Byzantine” research framework brings towards the archaeological analysis of the Ottoman archaeological landscapes. The first part deals with the general context of Ottoman Zagori and the process of identifying the ruined structure. It stresses the importance of local folkloric accounts as potential guides to hidden aspects of Ottoman materialities, through the example of the prominent Zagorisian, Kostas Lazaridis, amateur folklorist of the 20th century, who preserved - and published - the archives related to the Koulia. Through Lazaridis, we learn about a Bektashi spiritual Baba, who rented the summer pastures of Koukouli village and decided to build a tower (Koulia or Pyrgopoulo) according to the texts for his own pleasure (rahat) and for his guests (misafir). Lazaridis reconstructs, based on his own positionality the historical context of Koulia, which in the context of this article is juxtaposed to the attitudes of the last Sarakatsani pastoralists using the highland meadows towards the same ruin. This way, we stress the multireferential values of the ruin concluding thus the archaeological ethnography of Koulia.

The second part addresses Hasani Baba and his Koulia, and the ways in which his example can reveal different avenues of approaching early modern Greek archaeology: beyond the dichotomies of orthodox/muslim and Greek/Turk. Between these identities imposed from above, lie countless subaltern individualities, which historically and anthropologically informed archaeology has the potential to bring into light through the investigation of the material conditions that made them possible. The example of Hasani Baba in Zagori, shows that if we move past the “post-Byzantine” interpretational framework in favor of the ottoman archaeological landscape, we are in front of a wide spectrum of data that can bring archaeology closer to local communities, local economies, and local contexts.

Τα Μνημεία των Άλλων: Ανεπιθύμητες Κληρονομιές στις Παρυφές της Μνήμης και της Λήθης (επιμέλεια Δ. Πλάντζος), 2023

Το κείμενο αυτό διηγείται την ιστορία ενός ερειπίου που ποτέ δεν θα μετατραπεί σε μνημείο, διότι ... more Το κείμενο αυτό διηγείται την ιστορία ενός ερειπίου που ποτέ δεν θα μετατραπεί σε μνημείο, διότι τόσο το επίπεδο διατήρησης όσο και οι μνήμες που παράγει δεν θρέφουν κανένα ηγεμονικό στοιχείο, ώστε η ανάδειξή του να σφυρηλατήσει έναν τόπο μνήμης. Πρόκειται για το ερείπιο που άφησε πίσω του ένας Μουσουλμάνος Μπεκτασί δερβίσης κτηνοτρόφος, ο Χασάνι Μπαμπά, όταν νοίκιαζε επί σειρά ετών (1829-1833) τα θερινά βοσκοτόπια του Κουκουλίου, χωριού στο Ζαγόρι, για να ξεκαλοκαιριάσει τα χιλιάδες ζώα του κοπαδιού του.

Youkali, ένα liber amicorum για τον Σταύρο Μουδόπουλο, 2023

Podcasts & Outreach by Faidon Moudopoulos-Athanasiou

Παρουσίαση της δράσης "Επιστροφές" (https://www.boulouki.org/ann-reappearances) στην ραδιοφωνική ... more Παρουσίαση της δράσης "Επιστροφές" (https://www.boulouki.org/ann-reappearances) στην ραδιοφωνική εκπομπή Σημείο ΑΡΤ του Τρίτου Προγράμματος, με τον Δημήτρη Τρίκα.

Το Μπουλούκι και ο Σύλλογος Νέων Αρίστης συνδιοργανώνουν, υπό την αιγίδα της περιφέρειας Ηπείρου ... more Το Μπουλούκι και ο Σύλλογος Νέων Αρίστης συνδιοργανώνουν, υπό την αιγίδα της περιφέρειας Ηπείρου και με την υποστήριξη του Δήμου Ζαγορίου, το 1ο συμμετοχικό εργαστήριο πέτρινης δόμησης στον οικισμό της Αρίστης στο δυτικό Ζαγόρι, το οποίο θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις τρεις πρώτες εβδομάδες του Ιουνίου 2020, και καλούν τους Αριστινούς και τις Αριστινές από την Ελλάδα και το εξωτερικό να δηλώσουν συμμετοχή. Πράγματι, η δράση αυτή απευθύνεται πρωτίστως σε ανθρώπους με καταγωγή από την Αρίστη –ανεξάρτητα από την επαγγελματική τους εξειδίκευση– οι οποίοι θα έχουν την ευκαιρία να εργαστούν από κοινού και να κτίσουν το νέο καλντερίμι του οικισμού, υπό την καθοδήγηση τριών έμπειρων μαστόρων-εκπαιδευτών.
https://www.boulouki.org/ann-reappearances?fbclid=IwAR2pIWgdljyaaznlaMLK054ILMvZszhpMRVB5MCYFdVlPvms77AV38VURls

Boulouki and the Aristi Youth Foundation are co-organising the First Participatory Stone Masonry Workshop to take place in Aristi (west Zagori), during the first 3 weeks of June 2020. We invite all the people from Aristi, both residing in Greece and abroad, to participate. This workshop targets primarily people with origins from Aristi and the wider Zagori region, independently of their professional expertise, to build a new kalderimi (cobbled pathway) in the village, under the guidance of three experienced craftsmen (tutors).
https://en.boulouki.org/ann-reappearances?fbclid=IwAR2pIWgdljyaaznlaMLK054ILMvZszhpMRVB5MCYFdVlPvms77AV38VURls

Paper delivered at the 3rd International Conference in Heritage Management (Eleusis, 2016).