On Wednesday, 23 September, at 22:00 Athens time, Voice of Greece and the program “Remarkable Personalities,” hosted by Stavroula Karali, welcome Dr. Eleni Rapti, archaeologist, historian and author of the book «Σμύρνη, το καύχημα της Ιωνίας. Η εκπαίδευση των Ελλήνων», published by Herodotos Publications.
We travel back to Smyrna during its years of prosperity, before the Catastrophe, the fire and the uprooting. The discussion focuses on a multicultural city and major commercial and intellectual center, where education held a special place in the life of the Greek Orthodox community.
Rapti discusses Smyrna’s extensive network of Greek schools, its students and teachers, and everyday life in the classroom. She focuses on the Evangelical School, the Philological Gymnasium and private institutions such as the Aroni School, which Giorgos Seferis attended.
Special attention is also given to girls’ education and Smyrna’s girls’ schools, the social attitudes that restricted their access to education, and the changes that gradually opened new paths for women toward knowledge and professional life.
The historian and author also discusses the Ionian University, an ambitious educational project associated with Konstantinos Karatheodori. The university was ready to open its doors but never had the opportunity to welcome its first students, as the Asia Minor Catastrophe brought its development to a violent end.
Produced and presented by Stavroula Karali
Sound editing: Maria Fotakopoulou
Broadcast: Wednesday, 23 September 2026, at 22:00 Athens time
