PAULA SCALCAU, Hellenism in Romania. An Illustrated History, EUR 14,8

Foreword by Georgeta FILITTI
ISBN 978-973-8319-73-8
This chronology, in English, with fully coloured illustrations, highlights the key moments of the Greeks’ presence in Romania. The Hellenism that developed in the territory stretching between the Carpathians, the Lower Danube and the western shore of the Black Sea for more than two and a half millennia is, without doubt, one of the most important chapter of the Greek diaspora. Although, in the last two centuries, Romanian and Greek specialists alike studied the problem, there has been no unitary and ample approach until now. That is why this book has a special value.
The author presents the assertion of the Hellenic elements in the Romanian space from the foundation of the first Greek colonies on the shore of the Black Sea in the seventh-sixth c. BCE until the year 2011. Information from all domains are selected – economy, politics, Church, culture, science, education and art. Moreover, the dialogue between the two cultures and the similarities that favoured the circulation of books, manuscripts and scholars are highlighted.
The reader learns, for instance, that in 335 BCE Alexander the Great crossed the Danube and entered Wallachia for a short while, that for many centuries Dobruja was under the sway of the Byzantine Empire, whose civilisation influenced the entire area north of the Danube during the Middle Ages, that the Romanian Principalities were a beneficient shelter for all those who fled from the Ottoman expansion. Moreover, a lot of Greeks held the highest positions in the Romanian Orthodox Church, becoming bishops or metropolitans in Wallachia and Moldavia, which were, at that time, vassal countries to the Ottomman Empire and, during 1711-1821, were ruled by the Phanariot princes. In the 19th century, notable benefactors, such as Apostolos Arsakis, Panaghis Harokopos or Evanghelis Zappas founded institutions, in Romania and Greece, which still stand today.
The foreword, signed by the well-known historian Georgeta Filliti, the ample bibliography, the index, the rich illustration (more than 400 colour illustrations) and the layout make this book a real event and one of the indispensable works in the domain.
The publication of the book enjoyed the support of several institutions (Marfin Bank Romania, Bank of Cyprus Romania, SofMedica Group of Companies, through Mrs Ekaterini Sofianou) and persons (Andreas Hadjijamianou, Nikolaos Moropoulos, Eirinikos Platis, Christos Seferis) who understood the importance of having this novel „visiting card” of Hellenism in Romania. The effots of the Publishers were encouraged by the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Romania through its active Commercial Bureau.