In 1794, where the steppe meets the vast Pontus, Odessa was founded from scratch by order of Catherine the Great of Russia. The last look at the “Hellenic plan” for the revival of Byzantium in memory of the Greek colony of the Milesians. Eisenstein’s legendary “Potemkin Stairs” connect the city center with the port, while neoclassical buildings and boulevards assemble the “Pearl of the Black Sea”, one of the most important Ukrainian cities, tall and elegant even under recent threats to the Russian Navy.

Paradoxically, the Mediterranean Marseille, although a city intertwined with modern French history – the national anthem bears his name “Massaliotis” – carries with it ancient Greek traditions that date back to its founding in 600 BC. from the Phocians. This fact is reflected in a number of monuments: from the bust of Homer on Rue Aubagne and a bronze plaque commemorating the founding of the city in the old port to the marble monument on the quai of Marseille Pagnol, dedicated to the myth of Proteus and Giptis – and the statues of Euthymenes and Pytheas on the face of the Bourse – Greek navigators that reached distant Iceland and the shores of northwestern Africa.

On the occasion of Futura’s newly published book Constructs of the Homeland, which focuses on the study of architecture, identity and memory in the Greek communities of Odessa and Marseille in the 19th and 20th centuries, we spoke with Kalliopi Amygdalu (Architect – Chief Research Fellow at ELIAMEP), who edited the volume, and Academic Supervisor Costas Ciabao (Professor, NTUA School of Architectural Engineering). For the strong imprint left by the Greeks in the two most important port cities of the Greek diaspora through mainly public works – temples, schools, museums, parks, monuments, sculptures, infrastructure works, street names.

The result of the NTUA Laboratory of History and Theory of Architecture’s eponymous ODEMARS research program (2020-2022), the book was based on archival and field research in Odessa and Marseille and was funded by the Hellenic Research and Innovation Foundation (ELIDEK). . Why were these two cities chosen? “Odessa and Marseille are important nodes in the network of port cities, which includes several cities with Greek communities, such as Smyrna and Alexandria. We were interested in analyzing their common characteristics (multiculturalism, intensive population mobility, rapid economic growth) in comparison with the various political and geographical contexts in which they developed,” notes Kalliopi Amygdalu in K. Kostas Tsiabaos adds: “In both cities after 1800 we find important Greek communities actively participating in political and cultural life (for example, Maraslis as mayor of Odessa). And the reference to Greece is conscious and obvious to this day.”

The book consists of four main chapters, reconstructing the trace of “Greekness”, condensing into a verbal form the spatial trace of the “motherland” in two cities connected by a water trade route.

What role do the sea and trade play in the “building” of Greek identity? “The Greeks have always been connected with the sea in trade, military terms. Greek trade in the 19th century. and their communities in the Mediterranean and Black Seas inevitably resembled the trade of the ancient Greeks and the colonies they established in the same geographical areas,” Mr. Tsiabaos tells us. “The sea allows the transport of people, goods, ideas and information. This leads to extraversion and interconnectedness. It allows people to create and catalyze bonds with freedom. At the same time, the economic power associated with trade enhances the community’s ability to change,” emphasizes Ms. Amygdalu.

In the first part of the book, she masterfully traces the architecture and Greek identity of 19th century Odessa through the complex and enduring relationships of the community and the city. “In Odessa, the buildings of the Greek community are morphologically indistinguishable from the buildings of other communities – their number is impressive, the presence of a critical mass that allows them to preserve the memory.” In the second part, Mr. Tsiabaos methodically searches for the few spatial evidence of 20th-century architecture in Marseille that arises mainly from ancient Greek memory and the actions of official authorities, and not through the Greek community. “What is interesting about Marseille is that the non-Greek community leaves behind “Greek” buildings, it assimilates rather than stands out. But these are the city authorities themselves, the municipality, local architects, artists, etc. who are looking for Greek “memory” in most important works of the 19th and 20th centuries.”

In 2001, Marseille strengthened its “Greek identity” by opening the 26th Century Park. “In addition to the relief signs at the entrance to the park, which speak of the Greek origin of Marseille, a characteristic feature is the seated belvedere on the top of the hill in the Ionic style with the inscription “FOCAEIS OI EN IONIA EMPORIA CHROMENI EKTISAN”. MASSALIAN” says Costas Tsiabaos.

The imprint left in the two cities by the Greeks of the Diaspora through temples, schools, museums, parks, monuments, sculptures, infrastructure projects, street names.

Two very interesting stories are being unfolded by Yiannis Karras (historian and associate professor at the Department of Balkan Studies, Slavic and Oriental Studies at the University of Macedonia) and PhD architects Christos Kritikos and Iona Maleas.

The first refers in some way to the network of Greek activities in the Russian Empire and especially to the Friendly Society founded in Odessa (inextricably linked with the Greek Revolution) by three city merchants Skoufas, Xanthos and Tsakalov. “It is believed that the Marasli house on Greek Square hosted secret meetings of the Filikites – and because of this connection, it, along with two neighboring buildings, was transferred to the Hellenic Cultural Foundation (with which we collaborated in our study) to locate its branch in the city. Today the house of Marasli houses the Museum of Filiki Etairia. In addition, the historian G. Karras mentions in his research the Kouri mansion, where secret meetings also took place,” notes Kalliopi Amygdalu.

The second story relates in part to the civil defense group Collectif du 5 Novembre, which, thanks to a tragic event (on November 5, 2018, two buildings in the city center collapsed, killing eight people), managed to give the space a different meaning, turning the ancient Greek symbol – the bust of Homer, which has been standing since 1802 years on a column with an Ionic capital in the middle of a small square in the Noailles district in Marseille – a monument of public self-affirmation and memory.

From a well-structured chronology to a rich bibliography and remarkable documentary material from old plans, documents and maps to photographs, newspaper clippings and new visualizations of important buildings (many of them exemplary designed by the architect Evita Fanou), the book, delving into sufficient scientific depth, illuminates events and illuminates the forgotten “buildings of the motherland”, reacquainting us with two cities – the cradle of Hellenism.

Is it possible to build a Motherland in another place? “The homeland is not (re)constructed as such, but it is she who plays the main role in the construction of new versions of belonging. The prerequisite is the creation of a new community (by origin, language or religious affiliation) around the respective institutions (schools, churches) and their buildings. Architecture plays a dominant role here, providing a physical living space for the community, as well as allowing its symbolic expression in a new location,” notes Kalliopi Amygdalu.

“Every movement brings with it a piece(s) of origin. What someone brings with them from where they come from is not specific and unambiguous, but is determined by many factors. It’s interesting what happens in the end,” adds Costas Tsiabaos.

The book is available digitally for free from the Futura Publishing website (futurabooks.wordpress.com).