Professor at the University of Granada, Spain, Dr Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos, receives the title of doctor honoris causa of the NKUA’s School of Philosophy

The President of the Centre of Byzantine, Modern Greek, and Cypriot Studies, Professor at the University of Granada, Spain, Dr Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos, was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of the Department of Spanish Language and Literature of the NKUA’s School of Philosophy.

The awarding ceremony took place on Wednesday, 16 October 2024, at 18:30, at the Great Hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Addressing the ceremony was the NKUA’s Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, International Relations, and Extroversion, Professor Sophia Papaioannou.

It was the Dean of the NKUA’s School of Philosophy, Professor Dimitrios Drosos, who presented the work and personality of the honouree.

Immediately afterwards, the Chair of the Department of Spanish Language and Literature, Professor Anthi Papageorgiou, read the Department’s Resolution, the Award, and the Honorary Diploma, and the Dean, Professor Dimitrios Drosos, invested the honouree with the gown of the School of Philosophy.

Gracing the ceremony with her presence was, among others, the former President of the Hellenic Parliament, Member of the Academy of Athens, and Professor of NKUA, Ms Anna Benaki-Psarouda.

The ceremony concluded with the honouree, Professor Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos, delivering a lecture entitled ‘Athens of the Spanish-Speaking Travellers (19^th and early 20^th Centuries)’.

In her address to the honouree, the NKUA’s Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, International Relations, and Extroversion, Professor Sophia Papaioannou, said, among other things, the following: ‘Professor Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos has made substantial scholarly contributions, with more than 15 monographs and collective volumes and over 150 articles and book chapters in edited works. He primarily focuses on i) the Catalan presence in Greece, ii) Byzantine and Modern Greek Literature, and iii) Spanish travellers to the Greek-speaking world of the 19^th century. Additionally, he has translated numerous works of Byzantine and Modern Greek Literature into Spanish and Spanish Literature into Modern Greek. I will make a special reference to his edition with commentary of “Greece Vis-À-Vis the First World War”, a treatise by Spanish diplomat Francisco de Agramonte y Cortijo, which explores the rift between Eleftherios Venizelos and King Constantine I over the role Greece should play in the conflict. Agramonte approaches this from the point-of-view of a politically neutral observer on the one hand, though a pro-German politician on the other…

Please allow me to mention in brief Professor Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos’s significant contribution to the growth, promotion, and spread of Greek Studies in Spain both through his teaching and publications and through his capacity as i) President of the Centre of Byzantine, Modern Greek, and Cypriot Studies, ii) Principal Investigator of the Research Group “Studies on Medieval and Modern Greek Civilization” (2000-2012), and iii) Director of the Postgraduate Programme “Medieval and Modern Greece” (2004-2012). It was Dr Morfakidis-Filactos who started all of the above initiatives and organized within their context numerous scientific conferences in Granada.’

Dr Moschos Morfakidis-Filactos is Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Literature at the University of Granada, President of the Centre of Byzantine, Modern Greek, and Cypriot Studies, and Member of the Board of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Granada, founding member of the European Society of Modern Greek Studies, writer and translator.

He is best known for his rich and excellent quality writings and scholarly work and, obviously, for his significant contribution to the spread of Byzantine, Modern Greek, and Cypriot Studies, which earned him a host of honours throughout his career.