The Finnish Institute at Athens

From Hyperborea to the Middle Sea and Back

Leena Pietilä-Castrén — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The second volume of the electronic series Grifos by the Finnish Institute at Athens explores the Finnish history of antiquities collecting and the influence of ancient culture in “Hyperborea”, as Finland was referred to by one of the prominent collectors. Over the course of the twentieth century, an art historian, a painter, and a clergyman from Finland travelled throughout the Mediterranean and adjoining lands and acquired what is now the antiquarian collection of 66 pieces in the Joensuu Art Museum. It is one of the few such collections publicly displayed in Finland, and this publication in Finnish covers the entire corpus for the first time. The travel reports and paintings of these collectors throw light on their inspirations and goals in collecting. These tangible mementoes, ranging from vases to sculptures, from figurines to lamps, are studied through the connected myths, iconography, and uses of the objects, their circulation through ancient trade, as well their later, modern travels that eventually found them in Finland.

A Swedish Philhellenic Pamphlet from 1821

Petra Pakkanen; George Kalpadakis, Vassilios Sabatakakis — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0200

The first volume of Grifos is a publication of a rare, anonymously published philhellenic pamphlet from the year 1821. It was printed in Stockholm, yet it has hitherto remained uncollected by the scholarly community. The pamphlet is published here for the first time with an English translation and a commentary by George Kalpadakis and Vassilios Sabatakakis. In their introduction the authors place the pamphlet in its historical context and discuss its core themes. The original 1821 text, whose images are reproduced in the final section, has been transcribed and translated by both authors. This rather provocative philhellenic text echoes a few central themes of philhellenism that by the time of its publication had already become part of later frequently repeated rhetoric in philhellenic discourses. Probably in the challenging political climate in Sweden vis-à-vis the Greek war of independence, complex attitudes and ideologies, both for and against the struggle during its early phase, are reflected in the text.