A brief account, by Keith Rutter (15/5/2023)

The Edinburgh branch of the Scottish Hellenic Society was founded in 1965. It was the first extension of the Glasgow Hellenic Society (founded in 1957); Aberdeen followed in 1972 and St. Andrews ten years later. Its objectives (stated in its Constitution) were and are ‘to encourage and promote mutual interests in Greek and Scottish culture, life and thought both past and present, to stimulate exchange of ideas between Greece and Scotland and to encourage mutual friendship and understanding’. For almost 60 years the Society has aimed to fulfil those objectives in a variety of ways. 

            The ‘prime mover’ in the foundation of the Society was the Professor of Greek in Edinburgh University at the time, Arthur J. Beattie. His command of modern Greek was second to none and he gathered around him a number of philhellenes living in Edinburgh. Several of these ‘founders’ had served in the Second World War and had married Greek brides. Among these were the first Hon. Treasurer, Ian Ross, a mild–mannered Edinburgh lawyer who had been deposited on the coast of Epirus in a secret operation and subsequently married Soula in the town hall of Ioannina. Ray Mills, who was President in the 1980s, was a medical officer attached to the British Middle East Force and served in Palestine, Egypt and the Dodecanese as part of the Friends Ambulance Unit. On Rhodes Ray met Laurence (‘Larry’) Durrell and they formed a lifelong friendship. Ray’s wife Georgina Vrousos was a member of the corps of Greek volunteer nurses in Alexandria; they were married in Nicosia in 1946.  Ray authored a notable contribution to Byron studies: ‘The last illness of Lord Byron’. Sheriff Neil Macvicar served in Tunisia and Italy before a spell in Athens towards the end of the war, where he met his wife Marily, of a distinguished Corfiote family; they were married in Corfu in 1949. Jan Konski, the first president, was a Pole who described how he came to Scotland by a circuitous route that included north Africa and Gibraltar and met his wife, Eileen, a nurse, while recovering from injuries in Scotland. Jan and Eileen’s hospitality was legendary. They always entertained a speaker to a lavish meal at their home before the talk was delivered, an arrangement that required a high degree of restraint on the part of the speaker: experto crede.

Officers of the Society:

Presidents: Jan Konski, Ray Mills, Edward Fraser, Keith Rutter (elected Nov. 11, 1994).

Secretaries: Michael Westcott, Jennifer Scarce, Lilias Barron, Panos Augustithis, Robin Barber, Keith Rutter, Robert Allen, David Lewis.

Treasurers: Ian Ross, Edward Snowden, Robert Allen, Eric Wishart, Lilah Grace Canevaro.

Current committee members: President, Keith Rutter; Hon. Secretary, David Lewis; Hon. Treasurer, Lilah Grace Canevaro; Jennifer Scarce; Carolyne Latham; Stelios Deverakis.

In every year since its foundation the Society has maintained its basic programme of six lectures or other activity during the winter months, even during the pandemic years (2020–2022) when we all discovered the remarkable capacity of ‘Zoom’ to keep members in touch. Throughout, it has tried successfully to fulfil the duty outlined in its Constitution of fostering mutual interests and understanding between Greek and Scottish cultures, and in general to achieve a fair balance between the worlds of historical Greece and the experiences of Greece today. Our own members have contributed, some of them several times. In January 1988, Jennifer Scarce spoke on ‘Imperial purple: or how to dress in Byzantium’ and in January 2011 on Lord Byron (especially in Albanian dress). In October 1986 Keith Rutter spoke on ‘Greek civilisation and coinage’ and in January 1999 on ‘The Greeks in the Indian Subcontinent’. In February 1991 Ian Morrison enchanted us with his Cretan puppets; in January 1992 Robin Barber explained his editor’s view of the Blue Guide to Greece and in March 1999 he discussed the architecture of Athens since 1830. In October 2016 Niels Gaul spoke on ‘Learning and the transmission of Classical texts around the year 800’; in January 2017 Lilah Grace Canevaro spoke on ‘William Morris and Classical Reception’. Our members contribute in various ways: Ian Machaffie’s book on the Greek inscriptions on Edinburgh buildings is a notable example.

Glasgow, Aberdeen and St. Andrews have provided notable speakers. Elizabeth Moignard gave us a guided tour of Greek vases (Nov. 1991); Gert Ronberg shared his passion for opera and Maria Callas on more than one occasion (with meticulous attention to the audio presentation); Ruth Macrides spoke on ‘The Byzantine family’ (March 1990). Speakers from further afield have included Roddie Beaton (many times), Peter Mackridge and Richard Clogg, both of them again several times, Nicoletta Momigliano (Oxford). Topics for talks have included Greek Railways, Greek Island Ferries (many of the ships were built on the Clyde), Olive Oil Production in Greece, Albanians in Greece. One of our most loyal speakers was Sir Steven Runciman, who relished visits to Edinburgh from his home in retirement at Elshieshields, Dumfriesshire. He was a mesmerising speaker who broke most of the rules for a successful lecture – reading strictly from his text, no eye contact. But what a text! I recall a snippet from one occasion: ‘The nightingales sang in the emperor’s orchard and the cannons boomed on Roumeli Hissar as Mehmet ordered his forces to advance on the holy city’. 

           There have been other significant highlights in our programme. Meg Alexiou gave an outstanding ‘performance’ (October 2013), ‘The Sweetness of Tears in Greek and Scottish Music’ in which she compared the content and music of Greek and Scottish laments. It was held in the church of St. Andrew and St. George and was a multi–media presentation – including Lucy Macrae and her group of musicians. Among other innovations Meg had unearthed a piece of piano music composed by an aunt and we arranged to have it played in public.  

On Saturday February 1st. 1986 the Society celebrated the 21st. year of its foundation with a dinner in the Mural Lounge of the University of Edinburgh Staff Club in Chambers Street. The guest list gives us a snapshot of the membership at the time:

Lord and Lady Cameron                                             Mr. & Mrs. Jan Konski

The Hon. Sir Steven Runciman                                  Sheriff & Mrs. Neil Macvicar

Mr. & Mrs. George Tombazis                                     Mrs. P. L. Maloney

Ms Mary Arnold                                                         Ms Helen Marshall

Mr. & Mrs. J. Cunningham Baird                               Ms Ann Miller

Ms Lilias Barron                                                         Ms Catrina Miller

Mrs. Sheila Boyd                                                        Dr. & Mrs. Ray Mills

Mrs. E.M. Butt                                                            Dr. Eva Mitchell

Dr. & Mrs. T.J. Cadoux                                              Mrs. Katherine Munro

Ms Janet Campbell                                                     Mr. & Mrs. William Nimmo

Mr. & Mrs. V. J. Capernaros                                       Mr. & Mrs. David Reid

Mrs. Marjorie Clark                                                    Ms Sybil Ross

Prof. & Mrs. John M. Cook                                        Dr. & Mrs. Keith Rutter

Mr. & Mrs. B. Duffy                                                   Mr. & Mrs. James Shanks

Mrs. E. N. Ewing                                                        Mr. & Mrs. Alan Snowden

Mr. & Mrs. Edward Fraser                                         Mr. & Mrs. Alistair Swan

Ms Audrey Henshall                                                   Mrs. J.B. Taylor

Mr. & Mrs. D. R. Keir                                                Mrs. Elizabeth Uldall

Another notable event was the first ‘Greek Day’ in Scotland initiated by Robin Barber in association with the Friends of the British School at Athens. It took place in Edinburgh on Saturday March 29, 2014, and was the first of a planned series of such days, to be held every two years by the Hellenic Societies in Scotland in turn. It had done the rounds of the Scottish centres in a position to organise it (Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow) before Covid prevented meetings in person. But thanks to the technical skills of our current Hon. Secretary David Lewis, Edinburgh arranged a successful Greek Day via ‘Zoom’ in 2022. It included lectures by Prof. Edith Hall (‘Some surprising episodes in Scottish Classics’) and Dr. Foteini Dimirouli (Oxford) on ‘C.P. Cavafy, the greatest Greek poet’. Foteini’s lecture inspired a sequel, for which see further below. 

The Society has hosted prestigious meetings in a number of venues. In November 2017 it co–hosted (with the Dept. of Classics in Edinburgh University and the A.G. Leventis Foundation) a special lecture given in the Playfair Library Hall of Edinburgh University by Professor Paschalis Kitromilides of the University of Athens. His topic was ‘The Enlightenment and the Orthodox World’. In the same month Professor Kitromilides’ wife Maria Konstantoudaki–Kitromilides spoke to us on ‘Early El Greco from Candia to Venice and Rome: Byzantine Tradition, New Challenges’. Both these lectures exemplify our ability to attract speakers from Greece while they are visiting Edinburgh, though from time to time we have been able to invite a speaker to travel from Greece: one such was Anna Stavrakopoulou who spoke to us on ‘The Greek and Turkish Shadow Theatres’; another was Nikolaos Vrizidis who spoke on ‘Greek Orthodox Vestments’. Another meeting that took place outside the usual format was a visit to the National Library of Scotland, where David McClay, curator at the time of the John Murray Archive, showed us some of its treasures, in particular the papers associated with the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and the travel–writer Patrick Leigh–Fermor, two very different authors, each fascinating in their own ways. I recall the fabulous artwork prepared for publication in Schliemann’s volumes – drawings, plans, water–colours, photographs – or seeing for myself on the pages of PL–F’s manuscript his multi–revisions and corrections before he finally found just the right word or phrase.  

Over the years since its foundation the demography of the Society has changed as the ‘war generation’ passed away. We currently attract a range of interested persons, from specialists, academics and students (‘gown’) to people with a more general interest in and knowledge of the Greek world (‘town’) derived typically from reading, television, documentaries and travel. The membership of the Society is always one of our concerns and we are currently grateful for the commitment and contributions to its organisation and running exemplified by the current committee. We have in recent years paid close attention both to the venues for our meetings and the timing of them. We continue to attract good speakers and audiences and are exploring and introducing ways of enhancing the social elements in our meetings. In the session 2022–2023 we enjoyed a more participatory, seminar–style format for a talk by Foteini Dimirouli, building on the success of her contribution to the 2022 Greek Day. We hope too to follow up the well–attended and appreciated talk on and tasting of Greek wines held in March 2023 with an evening of Greek music making in a local cafe. Another recent initiative is our association with the activities of the Hellenic Alliance of Scotland, which we hope will help to deepen and strengthen our relationship with our Greek community, both locally and in Scotland as a whole. To assist our future endeavours we will be able to draw on a generous legacy from the late Dr. Eva Mitchell, a long–standing member (she was a guest at the 1986 dinner). It is our intention to devote part of this gift to the organisation of one special event each year for the foreseeable future. 

In sum, the Edinburgh branch of the Scottish Hellenic Society is planning for its future with a confidence based on its experience of nearly sixty years of varied activity, with a reach that embraces not only Edinburgh but places and people much further afield, including our many friends in Greece itself.