Sophia Kouidou Author

"Μόλις στα 24 του είχε ήδη φτιάξει το αριστούργημα του, τότε εμφανίστηκαν και τα πρώτα σημάδια της ψυχικής του ασθένειας, πιθανώς κάποια ερωτική απογοήτευση σε συνδυασμό με κληρονομική προδιάθεση.
Η αυταρχική μάνα του θεώρησε ότι αυτή που τον τρελαίνει είναι η γλυπτική, ενώ συνέβαινε ακριβώς το ανάποδο.
Μόνο η γλυπτική θα μπορούσε να τον γλιτώσει, όπως φάνηκε αργότερα.
Του απαγόρευσε αυστηρά να ασκεί την τέχνη του.
Τον πήγανε στο εξωτερικό, αλλά δε είδαν βελτίωση.
Δέκα χρόνια βολόδερνε στην Τήνο, αποπειράθηκε να αυτοκτονήσει κι έπειτα τον κλείσαν για 16 χρόνια στο ψυχιατρείο της Κέρκυρας.
Εκεί, χωρίς φάρμακα, μέσα στη βρόμα, δεμένος με αλυσίδες, αποτρελάθηκε.
Η προσωπικότητα του αποδομήθηκε εντελώς.
Όταν πέθανε ο πατέρας του, η μάνα του τον ξαναπήρε στην Τήνο, ενώ ήταν πια 51 ετών.
Η γριά συνεχίσε να του απαγορεύει κάθε επαφή με το μάρμαρο και τη γλυπτική.
Έιχε πετάξει ανάκατα τα έργα του στο υπόγειο που το έχει κλειδωμένο.
Μερικές φορές τον έπιανε να φτιάχνει κάποια προπλάσματα κρυφά και του τα έσπαγε.
Ο μπάρμπα-Γιάννης, έτσι τον φώναζαν, στα 51 του χρόνια είχε γίνει ο τρελός του χωριού.
Έγινε νεροκουβαλητής, οι χωριανοί του έδιναν τις κατσίκες τους να τις βοσκήσει, τα παιδιά τον κοροϊδευαν κι αυτός τριγύριζε κουρελής, μαζεύοντας από χάμω τις γόπες για να τις καπνίσει.
Τα βράδια γύριζε στο σπίτι του και καθόταν αμίλητος σε μια γωνιά, για να μην τον μαλώσει η γριά μάνα του.
Η Αθήνα τον έχει ξεχάσει, το έργο του έχει τελειώσει πρόωρα.
Και γίνεται το θαύμα!
Το 1916, η μάνα του πεθαίνει.
Και τότε ο 65χρονος Γιαννούλης κάνει το απίστευτο.
Δε χύνει σταγόνα δάκρυ, δεν ακολουθεί την κηδεία της, αλλά ανοίγει το υπόγειο και αρχίζει αμέσως να δουλεύει.
Οι χωριανοί το θεώρησαν ως την αναμενόμενη αντίδραση ενός τρελού, αλλά δεν ήταν έτσι.
Η καταπιεσμένη τέχνη του εκρήγνυται.
Μέσα σε λίγους μήνες είχε θεραπευτεί εντελώς.
Η σμίλη του άρχισε να βγάζει και πάλι αριστουργήματα, και μάλιστα με μια εντελώς νέα τεχνοτροπία.
Το φαινόμενο μοναδικό.
40 χρόνια δε δούλεψε την τέχνη του, δεν ενημερώθηκε για τις εξελίξεις και ξαφνικά αναδύθηκε ένας ολοκαίνουριος καλλιτέχνης, σαν να φοιτούσε σε ένα δικό του εσωτερικό σχολείο.
Από τα 65 του χρόνια, ως τα 84 που πέθανε, έφτιαξε μια ολόκληρη σειρά από αριστουργήματα.
Αυτή ήταν η ιστορία του μπάρμπα Γιάννη, του Γιαννούλη, του τρελού του χωριού .Του Γιαννούλη Χαλεπά.
(Το πρώτο του έργο, που έφτιαξε στην ηλικία των 24, βρίσκεται στο Α' Νεκροταφείο και είναι η γνωστή σε όλους "Κοιμωμένη ")
(Via: Mpampis Tsiridis) - Photo@Loukas Hapsis

Signed print copies, available for your holiday gift giving:
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Medieval combs

Ο μοναδικός, αγαπημένος ποιητής, Κωσταντίνος Καβάφης.

Κωνσταντίνος Καβάφης

Sophia's Return is available this holiday season at a reduced price that includes postage in the USA. Check it out.

Sophias Return - SIGNED EDITION Written with illuminating insights and a mature understanding of what forced her mother’s decision to abandon their home, Sophia’s compassionate, authentic recounting of her journey will encourage those who search for the truth to persist in seeking answers to life’s unanswered questions.

Meet Liv Albert, my gracious podcast hostess with whom I discussed An Unexpected Ally. Thank you Liv!

Conversations: Giving Circe the Agency She Deserves, w/ Sophia Kouidou-Giles - Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! Greek & Roman Mythology Retold Greek-American author Sophia Kouidou-Giles joins Liv to talk Circe, Skylla, Greece, and her new novel An Unexpected Ally. Help keep LTAMB going by subscribing to Liv's Patreon for bonus content! CW/TW: far too many Greek myths involve assault. Given it's fiction, and typically involves gods and/or m...

Mount Baker Park.

November 17 - The 50th Anniversary of the 1973 student uprising against the military dictatorship of Greece (1967–1974).

On April 21, 1967, a group of military officers known as the “Regime of the Colonels” staged a coup d’état in Greece.

This military dictatorship lasted for seven years, putting an end to civil rights, including banning student elections in universities, forcibly drafting students and enforcing non-elected student union leaders in the national student’s union.

On the 14th of November 1973, students barricaded themselves inside the Athens Polytechnic where they set up a radio station and repeatedly broadcast messages such as the following, across Athens:

"Polytechneion here! Polytechneion here! People of Greece, the Polytechneion is the flag bearer of our struggle and your struggle, our common struggle against the dictatorship and for democracy"

Early on the morning of 17 November, the government sent a tank crashing through the gates of the Polytechnic, followed by the police and military, resulting in the deaths of many demonstrators and innocent bystanders

An official investigation after the fall of the dictatorship (the junta), stated no students were killed during the incident.

However, 34 civilians (some say the number is much higher) were killed and hundreds injured outside the campus where thousands had gathered during the uprising.

This uprising was the spark for future events which led to the collapse of the dictatorship.

On November 17th, 1974, the first free elections in over a decade were held in Greece.

The broken remains of the front gate of the polytechnic were left at the site as a reminder of the uprising.

In 1984, Greek sculptor, Agamemnon Markis, created a giant bronze head, as a memorial to all who died in the uprising, which was placed next to the gate.

The head is that of historian Nikos Svoronos, who was part of the Greek resistance during World War II and a friend of Markis.

Image: The Athens Polytechnic Monument: a reminder of Greece's fight for freedom.

A lot of the action of An Unexpected Ally, my new novel, unfolds on the ancient island of Delos.

Delos, even though a small (350.64 ha), rocky island in the centre of the Aegean Sea, was considered as “the most sacred of all islands” (Callimachus, 3rd century BC) in ancient culture. According to the legend, it was there that Apollo-Sun, god of daylight, and his twin sister Artemis-Moon, goddess of night light, were born.

Exciting news: Sophia's Return, and An Unexpected Ally, will soon be easier to access with the world wide distribution services of Simon and Schuster. Thank you to my publisher, She Writes Press https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=806090148188892&id=100063637414963&mibextid=CDWPTG

We are so excited to announce that as of August 1, 2024, the sales and distribution for all SWP & SP titles worldwide will be handled by Simon & Schuster! This marks a significant milestone for our award-winning hybrid publishing! Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/a3temxwh

Roman bird-shaped glass vessels were used as perfume bottles. The liquid was sealed inside the vessels and the tip of the tail had to be broken to remove the perfume. The one pictured (c. 1st century AD) is still intact and filled with the scented content.

Ancient Greece toys. About 2300 years old.

Kids of Ancient Greek times had a number of Ancient Greek toys to play with, in their leisure and free time. Some of them included- dolls, rattles, tops, swings, etc. Along with these, many other items of play have been unearthed by archaeologists. These were a key part of Ancient Greek childhood.

More: https://thetravelbible.com/top-artifacts-from-ancient-greece/

All available through my website: sophiakouidougiles dot com

A recent article on what to pay attention to, in retelling myths. Happy to see it published in fantasy hive in the UK.

A Writer’s Odyssey: Navigating the Myths of An Unexpected Ally – GUEST POST by Sophia Kouidou-Giles (AN UNEXPECTED ALLY) A treat today for fans of Greek myth retellings, Sophia Kouidou-Giles explores the myths that inspired and influenced AN UNEXPECTED ALLY

On this day, October 24 1963, Georgos Seferis, became the first Greek poet to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature.

Georgos Seferis, (1900–1971), whose poetry became known internationally in the 1950’s, was nominated twice (1955 and 1961), before finally winning the prize in 1963.

Born Georgios Seferiadis, in Smyrna (present day Izmir, Turkey), upon the outbreak of WWI, in 1914, he moved, with his family, to Athens.

After Georgos graduated from high school in 1918, the family moved to France where he studied law at the Sorbonne in Paris, graduating with a doctorate in 1924.

He returned to Athens in 1925 and in 1927 was appointed to the diplomatic service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served until his retirement in 1962.

"Turning Point" (Strofi), his debut book of poems, was published in 1931.

A wonderful ancient Greek myth about Phaeton and his grieving sisters. One of its variations is retold in the sequel to my novel, An Unexpected Ally, forthcoming in the spring of 2025.

The Myth of the Poplar Tree: Helios was the sun god, who provided daylight to man, by pulling the sun across the sky, behind his chariot.

Clymene, an ocean nymph, bore him a son named Phaethon, whom, whilst still young, was told that his parentage was debatable.

In order to learn the truth, Phaethon travelled to see his father, Helios, who assured him that yes, he was his father and to prove it would give him whatever his heart desired.

The ambitious youth instantly asked permission to ride the sun chariot for a day.

Reluctantly the father gave the reins to his son, warning him of the dangers ahead and how to avoid them.

Within seconds the chariot was out of Phaethon's control, first he shot upwards, scorching across the sky a great scar; the Milky Way, then he shot downwards, where men were burnt and rivers dried up.

Before he could destroy the Earth, Zeus hurled his thunderbolt, knocking Phaethon from the chariot and into the River Eridanus, where he drowned.

His sisters, the Heliades; Phaethusa, Lampetia and Aegle, so legend has it, stood crying for their brother on the river bank for four months before the gods took pity on them and turned them into poplar trees, whose leaves forever trembled with grief.

Phaethon's lover, Cycnus, was turned into a swan.

Image: The Heliades by Bernard Picart -1733

In the foreground the bull-headed river god, Achelous, reclining on a vase; Cygnus standing next to the body of Phaethon and turning into a swan and in the background, the three sisters of Phaethon, the Heliades, turning into poplar trees.

Read more ancient Greek myths about trees by clicking on the link below:

https://greekerthanthegreeks.com/20-ancient-greeks-myths-about-20-ancient-greek-trees/

An enormous mosaic with the abduction of Helen of Troy by Theseus. From House 1.5 of Block 5 in Pella, the ancient capital of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia, known as "house of the abduction of Helen",
325-300 BC.
~Archaeological Museum of Pella/Greece

All figures have their names written in Greek so we know exactly and accurately the subject of the mosaic.

Thank you, Friends of the Library, for your invitation to come to Langley. A good group of writers, journalists and friends made the event wonderful with their sharing. A lovely afternoon!

Interesting stage set up for the production of Handel's Alcina, at Seattle opera, a story filled with magic and witchcraft, just in time for Halloween.

Maria Callas

Coming up next, on Tuesday, join me in Langley, Whidbey island, WA to hear more about An Unexpected Ally and Greek mythology.

An Unexpected Ally: A Greek Tale of Love, Revenge, and Redemption Please join us as author Sophia Kouidou-Giles reads from her debut novel An Unexpected Ally: A Greek Tale of Love, Revenge, and Redemption. Sophia will be reading passages from her newest book, a retelling of classic tales, and presenting on several Greek myths that provided inspiration for her nove...

Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead is a must read, especially for child welfare workers and teachers. The author won a Pulitzer prize for this novel. Highly recommended.

The author of 'the great Appalachian novel' is coming to Seattle. Here's what inspired her Kingsolver won a Pulitzer Prize for this modern retelling of a Charles Dickens classic. She chatted with The Seattle Times before an event on Oct. 16 at Benaroya Hall.

Look what I found at the post office...about time!

Excited, to be in conversation with Meg Nocero, author, host and generous SWP sister on IG live! Tune in on Wednesday, October 11th at 9 PT.

There is a Goodreads give away in progress, celebrating the birth month of An Unexpected Ally! Check it out.

📌 The 41st LIBER International Book Fair in Madrid opens its gates from 4 to 6 October, 2023!

Being one of the most significant events of the Spanish-speaking publishing world, it is expected to attract approximately eleven thousand , literary agents, , distributors and other professionals of the publishing sector from fifty-one countries.

📚 Brimming with vigour, Greece’s national participation features 23 publishers, various cultural foundations and institutes, 8 , literary critics and # translators, more than 350 publications in Greek and in other languages and a multifarious program of events.

The Program of Events is configured in collaboration with the Hellenic Embassy in Madrid, the Centre for Byzantine, Modern Greek and Cypriot Studies of the University of Granada, the Instituto Quevedo de las Artes del Humor of the Alcalá de Henares University, the Cervantes Institute in Athens, the Festival Poetas, the LEA Festival-Literature in Athens and the Thraka-Panthessalic Poetry Festival.

Greece - International Book Fairs

This year's Nobel price winner in literature.

Jon Fosse, Norwegian Author, Receives the Nobel Prize in Literature Long a favorite to receive the award, Fosse has found acclaim for work that explores mortality and religion, and radiates serenity.

Happy to answer Deborah Kalb's questions about AN UNEXPECTED ALLY.

Q&A with Sophia Kouidou-Giles Sophia Kouidou-Giles is the author of the new novella An Unexpected Ally: A Greek Tale of Love, Revenge, and Redemp...

HARVESTING MEMORIES WITH THE MUSE By Sophia Kouidou-Giles The other day, my neighbor spotted me out in the backyard watering and asked me, “I see you sitting in your kitchen by the hour and writing. Where do you get your ideas?” I…

Opening event tonight at King's Books in Tacoma. Join me and Ann Marie Jackson at 7:00 pm.