Host Country Studies Trip to the Imperial Palatial Complex of Galerius in Thesaloniki

Around 300 AD Galerius, Ceasar of the Eastern Roman Empire, decided to establish his official residence in the city of Thessaloniki. He was an ambitious and powerful man, who decided to erect for his family and administration a magnificent Palatial Complex on the eastern part of Egnatia Street in Thessaloniki. The buildings that were part of his complex include the Rotunda, the Triumphant Arch, and the Royal Palace. Thessaloniki, thanks to Galerius’ building program, became a splendid city, one of the most impressive in the Roman Empire. Although, only the Rotunda and the Triumphant Arch are very well preserved, our Pinewood students visited all of them.

We first visited the Rotonda, the impressive circular building, intended to be Galerius’ mausoleum or a temple dedicated to all Gods, something like the Pantheon in Rome. During the reign of Emperor Theodosius, the Rotonda, a Christian church by then, was beautifully decorated with breathtaking mosaics. The Turks transformed it into a mosque and much restoration was needed in order to convert it back into a Christian church and one of the most important monuments of Thessaloniki.

The Triumphal Arch was erected around 300 AD to remind the people of the Roman Empire, Galerius' military successes in  Armenia and Persia. The Arch was beautifully decorated with relief sculptures depicting the victorious campaigns in the East. One of the best scenes depicts Emperors Diocletian and Galerius sacrificing to the Gods, thanking them for the victory of 297. The Arch is unique in regards to its wealth of representations in relief decoration.

Our last stop was Navarinou Square where the impressive Palace of Galerious once stood. The Palace included an Atrium surrounded by Arcades with floor Mosaics, a Basilica, a Bath, an Octagon and a Nymfaio.  Attached to the Palace was the Hippodrome of Thessaloniki. Excavations in the 1950s and 1960s brought to light only its south-eastern section. The most impressive part of the Palace was the Octagon. A large room decorated with seven semicircular conches and brilliant marble decorations. This opulent palatial room was intended, archaeologist believe, as the official Throne or Audience Room.

01/13 

   

Amalia Spiliakou

Host Country Studies Coordinator

The conference season of Model United Nations (MUN) has come to an end after a whirlwind finally.  Students participated in three MUN conferences this year, TMUN, MUNNY, and ACMUN.  The results this year have lifted the team's status to new levels as it was awarded four best delegate honors, a best delegation honor, served in two chairing positions, and, for the first time, a team member held a seat in the secretariat of a major conference. Special recognition should go out to Marco Bustamante, Tony Pilato, Juan Nieves, Maria Ndini, Argyrios Doumas, Konstantinos Kehriotis, and the entire Iranian Delegation at MUNNY.

As an added bonus to the year, a numerous and strong Freshman Class has joined the ranks and promises to provide a solid foundation for the team in years to come.

The team will take the month of March off, and then return in April to begin planning, studying, and discussing for next year.  Plus stay tuned to the website for more articles and pictures about our MUN season.

Mr. Ian Harrington

MUN Advisor

Last Friday, we had the honor of inducting our newest members into Pinewood’s Chapter of the National Honor Society. Joining us for this important occasion was Ms. Marsha Lance, Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Thessaloniki. Ms. Lance’s keynote speech outlined the shared qualities of well-known millionaires, focusing on qualities that translate into success in life. In other words, these well-known people are highly focused, generous, risk-takers who are not afraid of failure and always think big. A big thank you to Ms. Lance for her inspiring words and congratulations to the following students for their achievements in academics, leadership, service and character:

Elissavet Chartampila, ‘14

Aikaterini Eleftheriadou, ‘14

Tiziana Lunigiani, ‘14

Maria Ndini, ‘14

Angelique Tziatas, ‘14

Sara Zhang, ‘14

Andrea Fernandez-Martinez, ‘15

Savvas Sfairopoulos, ‘15