Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Presenter: Dean Kalimniou
Entry: Free

Synopsis

Ioannis Metaxas first came to prominence as a royalist politician during the turbulent 2nd Hellenic Republic (1924-1935). After monarchy was re-established in Greece, Metaxas became premier in April, 1936. Arguing that law and order needed to be restored, he dissolved the Parliament with the support of King George II and established an authoritarian regime with fascist leanings on August 4th, 1936.

Metaxas had a grandiose vision to lay down the foundations for a so-called ‘Third Hellenic Civilization’, which was to be heir of two glorious passages of Greek history: classical Greece and Byzantium.

A hyperactive man, during his 6 years he implemented numerous reforms, but did not hesitate to employ brute force and harsh, undemocratic measures.

Paradoxically he is best remembered for his ‘ohi’ reply to Mussolini even though his ideological sympathies were aligned with the Axis Powers. This lecture will look at the personality and character traits of this complex man.

Biography

Dean Kalimniou is the director of Toorak Law, a law firm specializing in corporate insolvency. He is also a well known poet and short story writer within the Greek community. He has published four poetry collections Kipos Esokleistos ("Garden Enclosed" (2003), Alexipyrina ("Flameproof" (2004), Apteros Niki ("Wingless Victory" (2008), Anisixasmos (2010) and Plektani (2013). His weekly column Diatribe in Neos Kosmos is also widely read.

Dean Kalimniou has free-lanced for various Australian and Greek journals such as Etchings and Ardin and has also translated various works of prominent Greek-Australian authors from Greek into English, as well as working on the scripts of Greek-Australian short film director Peter Stephanides.

Sponsors

We would like to thank Bill Papastergiadis for sponsoring tonight’s lecture. Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public. If you would like to participate as a sponsor from as little as $100 please send us an email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We would also like to thank our corporate sponsor: