Greek Archives

Fear Was Not in My Dictionary: The Revolutionary Work of Sara Fortis

by History Guild | Jan 9, 2024 | Military History | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
When the small Greek town of Kuturla burned in 1943, teenage Sara Fortis had been on the run from German occupying forces for two years already. From the raw age of fourteen, she had hidden her Jewish status and worked for underground resistance movements as a nurse and teacher. But when her sanctuary burned, when she was separated from her mother, Fortis was no longer willing to hide. She was no longer willing to limit her resistance to ‘women’s work.’

Fake news was a thing long before Donald Trump — just ask the ancient Greeks

by History Guild | Jan 1, 2024 | Political and Economic History | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
Thucydides and Plato lived through the crisis of Athenian democracy and, not unlike Trump, informed posterity that the fate of their beloved Athens resulted from the systematic misinformation and mis-education of the citizens.

Cheating, bribery and scandal: how the ancient Greeks did the Olympic Games

by History Guild | Dec 25, 2023 | Social and Cultural History | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
While in antiquity instances of bribery remained the exception – and were heavily punished – there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that attempts to manipulate the outcome of the competitions are as old as the Games themselves.

Reg Saunders, Australia’s first Aboriginal commissioned officer – Podcast

by History Guild | Dec 7, 2022 | Military History | 0

A skilled and determined soldier, Reg Saunders rose through the ranks to become Australia’s first Aboriginal commissioned officer. This podcast tells his story.

Siege warfare, polygamy and sacrilege: meet history’s most outrageous king, Demetrius the Besieger

by History Guild | Oct 20, 2022 | Military History | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
Alexander the Great was a successful conqueror, but a poor planner. He died without an acceptable heir to inherit the empire, just a soon-to-be-born baby son, and a half-brother not quite up to the task.

Vital Hasson, the Jew who worked for the Nazis, hunted down refugees and tore apart families in WWII Greece

by History Guild | Sep 5, 2022 | Military History | 0

Reading time: 7 minutes
I learned a lesson when conducting research for my book, “Family Papers: a Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century.” I had discovered the story of a young Jewish man forgotten to history until now, a story that taught me that neither cultural affiliation nor family history is a reliable predictor of future behaviour. In short, identity is not destiny, and all of us can fall prey to the tides of history.

Australians in the Mediterranean during WW2 eBook

by History Guild | Jun 21, 2022 | Military History | 0

Thousands of Australian soldiers saw combat in a series of battles in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Their service is less well known as it has tended to be overshadowed by the later battles in New Guinea and the Pacific. History Guild has created and published this eBook which tells the stories of the determination, resilience, bravery and sacrifice of the Australians who served in the Mediterranean theatre of the Second World War. It is available as a free download below.

The Battle of Crete, WW2 – Video

by History Guild | Jun 13, 2022 | Military History | 0

The Battle of Crete saw around 40,000 Allied troops, including over 6,500 Australians, defending against a German airborne invasion. The Allies fought valiantly, but were eventually overcome by the German paratroopers. However, they inflicted such severe casualties on the Germans that they never again used their airborne forces on a large scale.

How Cyprus Became Divided

by History Guild | Nov 18, 2021 | Military History | 0

Reading time: 8 minutes
Cyprus is a country that on paper is whole, but in reality is divided into several parts. Greeks, Turks, Cypriots and the United Kingdom have all staked claims on the island, with the UN in the middle, doing their best to maintain the peace. But what made Cyprus into an island of lines?

How a Cyprus Museum Uses Tech to Make the Past Come Alive

by History Guild | Nov 3, 2021 | Military History, Political and Economic History | 0

What do you do when a building important to your city’s history is inaccessible? When you can see it, but simply cannot get anywhere near it? This is the question facing the Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus and one of the last few divided cities in the world. One group of researchers seems to have found a solution, using cutting edge tech.

Knowledge of the Ancients: Early Measurements of the Earth

by History Guild | Oct 18, 2021 | Social and Cultural History | 0

The desire to obtain knowledge of the world around us is a classic human trait. Investigations into the size, shape, and movement of the planet (and other planets) are constant throughout history, giving rise to several theories about the wider world. Some of these theories are made even more remarkable by their incredible accuracy, without all the tools and technologies we have to confirm them today.

The Battle of Greece – Australia’s Textbook Rear-Guard Action

by History Guild | Oct 17, 2021 | Military History | 0

Retreat doesn’t always mean defeat, sometimes it can be a victory to withdraw in good order and deny your enemy a total victory. This is was the outcome for the allied forces in Greece during April 1941, thanks in part to textbook rear-guard actions fought by Australian units, which allowed 50,732 men to escape the grasp of the advancing superior Axis force. But why were Australian units involved in Greece in the first place?

Tag: Greek