Το Aριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης τιμά τον πρώτο Πρύτανή του:Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο για τον Γεώργιο Σωτηριάδη

 

 

Το Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο τιμά τον πρώτο Πρύτανή του:Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο για τον Γεώργιο Σωτηριάδη

Έναν από τους σημαντικότερους ανθρώπους της διανόησης και του ακαδημαϊκού χώρου των τελών του 19ου και του πρώτου μισού του 20ού αιώνα, τιμά το Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου, διοργανώνοντας το Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο, με τίτλο «Γεώργιος Σωτηριάδης: ο αρχαιολόγος, ιστορικός και φιλόλογος, πρώτος Πρύτανης του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης».

 

Το Συνέδριο, το οποίο θα πραγματοποιηθεί την Πέμπτη 15 και την Παρασκευή 16 Ιανουαρίου 2026, στο ΚΕΔΕΑ, είναι αφιερωμένο στη ζωή και στο πολυδιάστατο έργο του Γεώργιου Σωτηριάδη (1852-1942), του πρώτου Πρύτανη του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου και διακεκριμένου αρχαιολόγου, ιστορικού και φιλολόγου. Η Τελετή Έναρξης θα πραγματοποιηθεί την Πέμπτη 15 Ιανουαρίου 2026 και ώρα 16.30.

 

Στις εργασίες του Συνεδρίου θα συμμετάσχουν 22 επιστήμονες από πανεπιστήμια και ερευνητικά ιδρύματα της Ελλάδας, της Γερμανίας, του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου και της Ολλανδίας, επιχειρώντας να φωτίσουν άγνωστες πτυχές της προσωπικότητας και του έργου του Γεώργιου Σωτηριάδη, καθώς και τη συμβολή του στη διαμόρφωση της ελληνικής αρχαιολογικής και ιστορικής επιστήμης.

 

Πρωτοπόρος της αρχαιολογικής έρευνας

 

Ο Γεώργιος Σωτηριάδης γεννήθηκε στο οθωμανοκρατούμενο Σιδηρόκαστρο της «Μακεδονικής Πατρίδος», όπως ο ίδιος συνήθιζε να αναφέρεται στον τόπο καταγωγής του. Πραγματοποίησε σπουδές στα Πανεπιστήμια Αθηνών και Μονάχου. Υπήρξε ένας από τους πρώτους Εφόρους της «Εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας» και κατόπιν της Αρχαιολογικής Υπηρεσίας, καθώς και, γενικότερα, ένας από τους πρωτοπόρους της Αρχαιολογίας στην Ελλάδα. Σύμφωνα με τους διοργανωτές, κατά τη διάρκεια της επαγγελματικής σταδιοδρομίας του, πραγματοποίησε σπουδαίες και θεμελιώδεις ανασκαφές και έρευνες στην Αιτωλία, την Αττική, τη Βοιωτία, τη Φωκίδα, τη Φθιώτιδα και την Ήπειρο. Η ανασκαφική δραστηριότητά του δεν ανακόπηκε ούτε κατά την περίοδο της πρυτανικής θητείας του στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο, καθότι εγκαινίασε την πρώτη πανεπιστημιακή ανασκαφή στο Δίον της Πιερίας, το 1928.

 

Σύμφωνα με τους διοργανωτές, ιδιαίτερα πλούσια και ξεχωριστή υπήρξε η δράση του ως ιστορικός και φιλόλογος, συγγράφοντας έργα αναφοράς τα οποία σημάδεψαν τις πολιτικές και επιστημονικές εξελίξεις του καιρού του. Υπηρέτησε την έρευνα από όλες τις δυνατές θέσεις ως αρχαιολόγος, πανεπιστημιακός δάσκαλος, συγγραφέας και μεταφραστής έργων, και συνδέθηκε στενά με κορυφαίους πολιτικούς και λογοτέχνες της εποχής του.

 

Οι εργασίες του Συνεδρίου απευθύνονται σε ειδικούς επιστήμονες, αρχαιολόγους, ιστορικούς, φιλολόγους, τη φοιτητική κοινότητα, καθώς και στο ευρύ κοινό.

 

Το Συνέδριο πραγματοποιείται στο πλαίσιο του εορτασμού για τη συμπλήρωση των 100 χρόνων από την ίδρυση και λειτουργία του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου.

 

Περισσότερες πληροφορίες, καθώς και το πρόγραμμα του Συνεδρίου διατίθενται από τον σύνδεσμο: 

https://www.hist.auth.gr/administration_annou/diethnes-epistimoniko-synedrio-georgios-sotiriadis/

Aristotle University Honors Its First Rector: International Scientific Conference on Georgios Sotiriadis

 

The School of History and Archaeology of the Aristotle University of honors one of the most important intellectual and academic figures of the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century by organizing the International Scientific Conference entitled“Georgios Sotiriadis: the archaeologist, historian, and philologist, first Rector of the Aristotle University.”

The Conference will take place on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 January 2026 at KEDEA and is dedicated to the life and the multifaceted work of Georgios Sotiriadis (1852–1942), the first Rector of the Aristotle University and a distinguished archaeologist,historian, and philologist. 

The Opening Ceremony will be held on Thursday, 15 January2026, at 16:30.

Twenty-two scholars from universities and research institutions in Greece, Germany,the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands will participate in the Conference. Through their contributions, they aim to shed light on lesser-known aspects of the personality and work of Georgios Sotiriadis, as well as on his contribution to the shaping of Greek archaeological and historical scholarship.

Pioneer of archaeological research

Georgios Sotiriadis was born in Ottoman-ruled Sidirokastro of the “Macedonian Homeland,” as he himself used to refer to his place of origin. He pursued his studies at the Universities of Athens and Munich. He served as one of the first Curators of the Archaeological Society at Athens and later of the Archaeological Service, and more broadly as one of the pioneers of archaeology in Greece. According to the organizers,throughout his professional career he conducted major and foundational excavations and research in Aetolia, Attica, Boeotia, Phocis, Phthiotida, and Epirus. His excavating activity did not cease during his term as Rector of the Aristotle University, as he inaugurated the first university excavation at Dion in Pieria in 1928.

According to the organizers, his activity as a historian and philologist was particularly rich and distinctive, as he authored seminal works that left a mark on the political and scientific developments of his time. He served research from every possible position—as an archaeologist, university professor, author, and translator—and maintained close ties with leading politicians and writers of his era.

The proceedings of the Conference address specialist scholars, archaeologists,historians, philologists, the student community, as well as the general public.

The Conference takes place within the framework of the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the founding and operation of the Aristotle University.

More information, as well as the Conference program, is available at the following link: 

https://www.hist.auth.gr/administration_annou/diethnes-epistimonikosynedrio-georgios-sotiriadis/

 

Media Contacts:Professor of Classical Archaeology, School of History and Archaeology,Eleni Papagianni, tel.6944440347.Associate Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology,School of History and Archaeology, Ioannis Fappas, tel.6945135021

Ancient Egyptian pleasure boat unearthed in Alexandria’s sunken harbor

 

Greek graffiti found on the central carling date to the first half of the 1st century CE. 

Credit: Christoph Gerigk © Franck Goddio / Hilti Foundation 

Archaeologists excavating the submerged harbor of ancient Alexandria have found remains of a rare and luxurious type of vessel described in classical sources but never before recovered: an ancient Egyptian pleasure barge known as a thalamagos. The discovery was made near the sunken island of Antirhodos, once part of Alexandria’s Portus Magnus, during underwater excavations led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM).

This wreck consists of remarkably well-preserved wooden timbers, approximately 28 meters in length, from a boat that was originally about 35 meters long and about 7 meters wide. The design was worked out in order to provide maximum width, allowing space for a central pavilion and an elaborately decorated cabin. Its flat-bottomed hull, with a sharp chine at the bow and a rounded stern, is highly specialized; it is unlikely to have been designed for travel across open water but rather for calm, shallow waterways. According to archaeologists, the vessel was powered solely by oars and required more than 20 rowers.

 

Greek graffiti found on the ship’s central structure date it to the first half of the first century CE and indicate that it was locally built in Alexandria. This timeline corresponds with the accounts of geographer Strabo, who visited the city decades earlier and spoke of cabin-boats used in festivals, leisure, and religious ceremonies along canals lined with dense vegetation.

 

The wreck is less than 50 meters from the remains of the Temple of Isis, another focus of ongoing excavation. By its location and dating, researchers believe the vessel might have sunk in a catastrophic event around CE 50, when earthquakes and tidal waves caused large parts of Alexandria’s shoreline, palaces, and temples to collapse into the sea. A quite different interpretation proposes a ritual function: the barge may have belonged to the Isis sanctuary and thus played a role in the annual navigium Isidis, a ceremonial procession reenacting the goddess’s solar voyage toward Canopus.

Similar vessels appear in ancient art, such as the famous Nile mosaic of Palestrina, but the newly found wreck is much larger than most known depictions. The discovery also calls to mind the legendary floating palaces of the Ptolemaic rulers, including those said to have belonged to Cleopatra VII, a testament to the long tradition of ceremonial and pleasure barges in Egypt.

archaeologymag.com

“Alexander the Great: Back to Egypt” Exhibition at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

 

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is hosting a collection of artworks by Greek expatriate artist and architect Makis Warlamis (1942-2016) on Alexander the Great, in an exhibition entitled "Alexander the Great: Back to Egypt," from 13 December 2025 to 17 January 2026, in the Library's East Exhibition Hall.

Fifty-three works of art will be on display, including 40 large-scale paintings, 12 bronze and ceramic sculptures, and “Beit Bendar,” which is an impressive original woodwork.

In parallel with the exhibition, a number of events related to Alexander and the Hellenistic period will be held, including educational activities for children of different ages with the aim of connecting them with the history of the city and the library.

After being displayed in other venues, this art collection will continue its journey to convey Alexander's enduring message of tolerance, creative coexistence, and cooperation among peoples. This cultural event reveals the vast potential that art opens up on both the political and economic levels, creating unique relationships of interest and trust with the Near and Middle East, where shared historical monuments and admiration for the Macedonian king remain present to this day.

 

The exhibition is held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina under the patronage of the Greek Embassy in Cairo, the Greek Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Interior, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the National Academy of Sciences.