Instructors
Menelaos Christopoulos
Menelaos Christopoulos is Professor of Ancient Greek Literature at the University of Patras and Professor and co-ordinator of Ancient Greek Literature at the Greek Open University. He holds a BA in Classics from the University of Thessaloniki, an MA in Philosophy from the University of Nanterre-Paris X and a PhD in Classics from the University of Sorbonne – Paris IV. He acts as director of the Center for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity, editor of Electra, the UPatras e-journal on myth and religion and president of the Center for Odyssean Studies at Ithaca. He is author of Views of Helen in Epic and Drama (Athens 2007), Ομηρικά Επιγράμματα. Εισαγωγή, Μτφ, Σχόλια (Homeric Epigrams. Introduction, Translation, Commentary) Athens 2007, Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion (ed., with E.Karakantza, O. Levaniouk) Lanham 2010 , Crime and Punishment in Homeric and Archaic Epic (ed. with MachiPaizi-Apostopolooulou), Ithaca 2014.
Efimia D. Karakantza is a Tenured Assistant Professor of Ancient Greek Literature at the University of Patras, Greece, where she has taught since 2007. Her degrees are from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (BA in Classics 1986) and Reading University (PhD in Classics 1993). She is a Fellow in Ancient Greek Literature of the Center for Hellenic Studies, University of Harvard, for which she directs the Kyklos Project, while she acts as Convenor and Director of Jocasta| Classical Reception Greece. Most of her publications have been on Homer, Attic drama and approaches to Greek myths. Prof. Karakantza’s interest in Reception started with her book Ancient Greek Myths: The 20th-Century Discourse on Their Nature and Interpretation (Athens 2004, in Greek), where she studied five major approaches to traditional narratives (among which psychoanalysis, the French School, and Semiotics). In 2014 she introduced a new course on the Reception of Ancient Greek Drama at the Department of Philology (Classics Division) of the University of Patras. Efimia is interested in contemporary Greek cinema and theatrical performances that explore (directly or indirectly) aspects of the Classical tradition aiming at reconstructing a discourse that renegotiates issues of ethnic and political identity, gender, and ultimately the (new) notion of humanity.
Athina Papachrysostomou
Athina Papachrysostomou is Assistant Professor of Ancient Greek Literature at University of Patras (Department of Philology). She holds a BA in Classics from University of Cyprus (2000), a Master’s Degree in Classics from Royal Holloway University of London (2001), and a PhD from University College London (2006). Her research focuses on ancient Greek drama (especially comedy and Euripidean tragedy) and ancient Greek political history / thought (especially Athenian Democracy). Apart from articles and chapters in collective volumes, she has also published three monographs: (i) Six Comic Poets. A Commentary on Selected Fragments of Middle Comedy (Tübingen 2008); (ii) Πορεία προς την Αθηναϊκή Δημοκρατία. Η μαρτυρία των αρχαίων πηγών (Athens 2014); and (iii) Amphis: Introduction, Translation, Commentary (Heidelberg 2016; Verlag Antike, Fragmenta Comica 20). Since 2012 she participates in the KomFrag Project, which is funded by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. So far she has received scholarships from the Onassis Foundation (2001-2005), the Loeb Classical Library Foundation (2013-2014), and the Fulbright Foundation (Visitor Scholar at Harvard and Boston Universities 2014-2015).
Efstathia Maria Athanasopoulou
Efstathia Athanasopoulou is the Ohio & Patras| Greek program co-ordinator and website developer for the UPatras side. She is currently a PhD Student at the Department of Philology, University of Patras. She holds a BA in Classics (2010) from the University of Patras, a BA in English Literature and Culture from the University of Athens (2016), an MA in Classics (2010-2012) from the University of Patras and an MA in the Reception of the Classical World from UCL (2012-2013/2014). She conceptualised the creation of a research center for the study of Classical Reception in Greece and acts as convenor of Jocasta| Classical Reception Greece. She has been awarded a full scholarship to participate in Harvard Summer School in Comparative Cultures (2011). She has compiled syllabuses and taught Classical Reception on BA and MA levels at the Department of Philology, University of Patras (from 2014 onwards). Her research interests focus on Ancient Greek Drama, especially tragedy and satyr drama, and theatrical discourse. She has also been researching the reception of Ancient Greek tragedy in Anglophone Literature and Culture (especially postcolonial and world literature). Her current research work is focusing on new theoretical approaches to Classical Reception with an emphasis on posthumanism and distributed cognition.
Administrative Staff
Evridiki Kottaridi
Evridiki is from 2000 onwards administrator of the Department of Philology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Patras and she is responsible for the reception and the provision of services to Erasmus and International Students. She holds a BA in accounting and certificates in management-marketing and computer knowledge. She speaks English, Italian and Spanish.
Marietta Kotsafti
Marietta is the GIG program’s administrative assistant and the secretarial assistant for the Department of Philology, University of Patras Departmental Practical Training Programme, which is part of the University’s Student Internship scheme. She holds a BA in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies from the Department of Philology, University of Patras. She acts as E- Communication administrator for Jocasta| Classical Reception Greece. She has participated in the International Symposium on Sport, Society and Culture, co-organized by the International Olympic Academy (IOA) and Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies (2013). She is also responsible for the documentation, digitization and video editing of the Reception of Ancient Greek Drama Course as part of the Program ” Open Academic Courses University of Patras”. From 2009 onwards, she works as a Graphic designer.
Logo Designer
Maria-Viktoria (Mania) Papoutsidaki
Mania Papoutsidaki is the designer of the logo for the Ohio & Patras| Greek program for the UPatras side. She is currently doing her BA in the Department of Architecture and Engineering at the University of Patras. She has been a scholarship recipient under the UPatras scheme “Scholarships of Andreas Mentzelopoulos” since 2014. She speaks English and German fluently. She has excelled, by receiving the first prize, in the competition “The need for support of Greek products and local businesses for the enchancement of local and national economy. Consequences and Proposals” (2008) of the Chamber of Achaia and in the 29th Nationwide (56th pan-European) Competition of the European Schools’ Day (EaS) with the general topic “Research and Innovation” (2009). Mania was a member of scouts and has a keen interest in the sector of art and architecture.