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Charities for Greek Fire Victims August 31, 2007

Odyssey Magazine, an English-language magazine covering Greece, Greeks, and Greek-Americans, has assembled a list of charities assisting with the aftermath of the fires in Greece.

• International Orthodox Christian Charities
• The Plant Your Roots Foundation – this group has been working for reforestation of Greece for a long time; obviously, their task just increased substantially.
• AHEPA – The American Hellenic Progressive Education society is providing funds for on-site support and help to fire victims.

More Charities:
The Greek Orthodox Diocese of America has also established a fire fund.The Greek Red Cross is also taking donations of money and goods for fire victims. This site is in Greek only.

The Bank of Greece has seeded a special fund with 5 million Euros; others can contribute directly to this account.

Munich pledges aid for ancient Olympia August 31, 2007

Munich Mayor Christian Ude on Friday sent a letter to Greek President Karolos Papoulias announcing that his historic Municipality wishes to undertake an initiative to contribute to the restoration of the Kronion Hill above Ancient Olympia, which was ravaged in recent wildfires.

Ude said Munich’s initiative would begin with a donation of 100,000 euros for restoration of the renowned wooded hill once dedicated to the mythical god Cronus, while local residents and companies would also be contributing to the effort.

Munich is home to one of the largest ethnic Greek communities in Europe, outside Greece, while the city has important historical ties with modern Greece.

The initiative will be presented to Papoulias by Sigrid Skarapelis-Sperk, President of the Association of Greek German Companies, during an Association event scheduled for September 5 at the Presidential mansion.

Finally, the Athens city council on Friday accepted Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis’ proposal to “adopt” the Municipality of Ancient Olympia. Cooperation between the two Municipalities has already begun with the delivery of food and basic necessities.

Are ancient ruins flammable? August 31, 2007

What happens when there’s a wildfire in Greece

Firefighters in Greece narrowly saved the ruins of Olympia from the wildfires that spread across the nation over last weekend. The blaze torched the edges of the stadium, but officials say the archaeological treasure survived. Can ancient ruins catch on fire?

No, but they can crumble from the heat. Greek ruins made of limestone or marble aren’t going to burst into flames, but they can undergo physical and chemical changes when subjected to the heat of burning vegetation nearby. The outside layers of an ancient building heat up faster than the inside, causing the surface to crack and fall off in dinner plate-sized chunks. At about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the rocks begin to release carbon dioxide. (Trees ignite at about 660 degrees, and wildfires can reach 1,800 degrees.) Since CO₂ helps hold limestone and marble together, sustained heat can weaken the material until it’s reduced to powder.

  Olympia sits in the middle of a dense pine forest, which provides plenty of kindling for a fire. (Some ruins have wooden scaffolding to support ancient walls; these can also be set ablaze.) To protect the site from fire during the dry Greek summers, engineers had installed 50-foot metal fire towers in the hills to the north.

Earlier buildings from the archaic period, those constructed in the 7^th and 6^th century B.C., were made with wooden columns and roofs. These frequently burned down and had to be rebuilt; none survive today. For instance, an arsonist destroyed the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which was called one of the seven ancient wonders of the world and took more than 100 years to erect.

Greece isn’t the only place where flames threaten ancient structures. Peru’s Machu Picchu regularly endures fires set by small farmers clearing land; in 1997, a fire reached the lowest terraces of the site. And in 2000, a 12,000-acre fire endangered the archaeological sites of the Pueblo Indians at Colorado’s Mesa Verde. But that fire turned out to be a blessing; the blaze stripped away enough vegetation to reveal 1,400 new structures.

Correction: The original version of this article described Greece as an “island nation.” Though it does contain a large number of islands, the country is part of the mainland of southeastern Europe.

Source and Copyright > Slate

Ancient Olympia saved at last moment August 31, 2007

The winged statue of victory stands in front of smoke from fires in the village of ancient Olympia near the birthplace of the Olympic Games, in southwestern Greece on last Sunday.

A massive effort by firefighters, assisted by water-dropping aircraft and firetrucks, succeeded in keeping a raging blaze away from the 2,800-year-old site, the holiest sanctuary in ancient Greece.

Olympia ready for lighting of 2008 Olympic flame

The holy ceremony for lighting the flame for 2008 Olympic Games will definitely be held in Olympia next year, Georgios Koumoutsakos, spokesman for Greece’s Foreign Ministry, said. He said a fire that ravaged southern Greece had licked Ancient Olympia in the western province of Peloponnese. However, with help from fire brigade and locals, the Olympia archaeological site and museum were saved from any damage. The museum and site have reopened to public since Tuesday.

Revered as the holiest sanctuary in ancient Greece, Olympia in Peloponnese hosted the ancient Olympic Games fore more than a thousand years after they started in 776 B.C. Olympia first witnessed the holy ceremony for lighting the flame for the modern Olympics for the 1936 Berlin Games. Since then the ceremony for each subsequent quadrennial games and torch relay is held there.

Australia offers Greece assistance August 31, 2007

Australia has offered to send specialist fire and aviation experts to Greece to help deal with the forest fire emergency there, Prime Minister John Howard said.

More than 60 people have been killed since devastating fires broke out in Greece 6 days ago. Mr Howard said four Australian experts could be sent to Greece.

“The Australian expertise being offered includes two bushfire management officers (a high-level incident controller and a senior operations officer), a bushfire investigation officer, a forest fire behaviour expert and an aviation management expert,” he said in a statement.

“Australian officials will work closely with Greek authorities to ensure Australia provides the most appropriate and useful support possible. The thoughts of the Australian Government and all Australians remain with the people of Greece at this difficult time.”

The Australian government had previously announced it would donate $3 million to assist the firefighting and recovery operation in Greece.