To mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Voice of Greece’s “Historical Walks” explores the history of psychiatry in Greece through one of its most emblematic institutions: Dromokaiteio.
On 1 October 1887, 139 years ago, the “Zorzis and Tarsi Dromokaitis Asylum” opened its doors in Haidari. Its founding came at a time when mental illness was increasingly viewed through the lens of medical science and large psychiatric asylums were emerging across Europe.
Who was admitted to the asylum in the late 19th century? Who decided on their confinement? What was everyday life like inside its walls, and what treatments did doctors administer? What can Dromokaiteio’s history tell us about Greek society’s attitudes toward mental illness?
Our guest is historian Vangelis Karamanolakis, Professor of the Theory and History of Historiography at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, whose research examines the hospital’s early years, from 1887 to 1903.
Music becomes part of the historical narrative, too. From the celebrated “mad scenes” of 19th-century opera, brought to life by the incomparable voice of Maria Callas, to the music of Robert Schumann, who spent his final years in a psychiatric institution, the program’s selections explore the relationship between art and mental illness.
Produced and presented by Marilena Katsimi
Broadcast: Saturday, 10 October 2026, at 13:00 Athens time
