Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-07-09

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Ancient Lyceum of Aristotle to open to public in late July

[02] Athens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Ancient Lyceum of Aristotle to open to public in late July

The Lyceum, named after its 6th century BC sanctuary to Apollo Lyceus (the "wolf-god", from the word "lykos", or wolf), had long been a place of philosophical discussion and debate, and had had been the meeting place of the Athenian assembly before the stablishment of a permanent meeting area on Pnyx hill in the 5th century BC.

But the Lyceum is mostly renowned for the philosophical school founded there by Aristotle upon his return to Athens in 335 BC after being the private tutror of the then young prince Alexander of Macedon, the future Alexander the Great, since 343 BC.

After his return to Athens in 335 BC and up to his death in 322 BC, Aristotle rented some buildings in the Lyceum and established a school there where he lectured, wrote most of his philosophical treatises and dialogues, and systematically collected books that comprised the first library in European history. Since Aristotle liked to walk around the grounds as he lectured, surrounded by his students, the philosophical school he founded was called Peripatetic (from 'peripatos', which means stroll or walkabout in Greek).

Situated just outside the walls of ancient Athens, the Lyceum was brutally sacked and razed to the ground by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 86 BC, but was later rebuilt.

The site's location remained unknown for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1996 during excavations for Athens' new Museum of Modern Art.

Caption: View of the remains of the ancient Lyceum of Aristotle in downtown Athens. (ANA-MPA/O. Panagiotou)

[02] Athens Newspaper Headlines

The police surveillance tapes of the members of the crime ring behind shipowner Pericles Panagopoulos' abduction last January, the arrest of 25 people-traffickers (including four police officers) involved in one of the largest human trafficking rings in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the Siemens bribery and kickbacks case, and Wednesday's meeting of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and defence (KYSEA) focusing on illegal migration were the main front-page items in Athens' newspapers on Thursday.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Ruling New Democracy MPs call for changes in the administrative posts in the wider public sector".

APOGEVMATINI: "1,000 women caught in the net of the people-trafficking ring (whose activities included the financial and sexual exploitation of women) over the last three years - Immense operation involving 150 ELAS (Greek Police) officers broke up the porn-gang".

AVGHI: "Close contacts between state and mafia".

AVRIANI: "EYP (National Information Service) must turn over all the surveillance tapes of Tromboukis' (a public works sub-contractor and one of the two gang leaders of the abduction ring, together with an inmate in Trikala prison, P. Vlastos) conversations with contractors, politicians and other big-time names".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Corruption everywhere - The tangle is unwinding, revealing the collusion between criminals and state functionaries".

ESTIA: "The extraordinary contribution imposed last March is illegal, under the provisions of the Constitution".

ETHNOS: "Vlastos' transfer from Trikala prison to a prison on Crete was being 'facilitated' by the director of the Agias prison in Chania".

KATHIMERINI: "Reduction in flow of migrants from Turkey over the last 10 days, but it is too early to make any conclusions".

LOGOS: "The prosecution begins - Agias prison director placed on suspension".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Laborers, rise up".

TA NEA: "Ministers implicated in the mafia's telephone conversations".

TO VIMA: "Police officers involved in the (Vlastos) gang's network".

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