Tabula Gratulatoria

Θερμά συγχαρητήρια για την ολοκλήρωση μιας αξιοθαύμαστης πορείας και καλή αρχή στη νέα δημιουργική φάση! Γιατί, όπως λέει ο ποιητής, «ό,τι αγαπώ βρίσκεται στην αρχή του πάντα»…

“I will always remember Menelaos, the kind colleague, the insightful scholar, the witty academic teacher.”

It is a great pleasure and honor to join in celebrating Professor Menelaos Christopoulos on the occasion of his retirement. Menelaos and I first met fifteen years ago, when he stopped at our university in southeastern Ohio on his way home from a scholarly presentation he had given in Chicago. But unlike the stop Telemachus made in Pherae when returning home from Pylos and Sparta, this was no mere διανυκτέρευση, for Menelaos lingered a while to meet our students and discuss with them their study of Oedipus and Greek mythology. We thus had the honor of initiating the hospitality, and many times in the intervening years I and my family have joyfully received the same from Menelaos, his family, his colleagues, and his university. And so, to our students, who for five weeks in 2017 were the guests of our kind friend and his colleagues in Patras. We all thank Professor Christopoulos and warmly congratulate him on his retirement.

I first met Menelaos Christopoulos at the Hellenic Open University back in 2003. The whole experience of working with him was extremely enjoyable and rewarding mainly because he exhibited certain qualities as a person and a scholar such as an increased ability to listen and communicate, humility, kindness, approachability, a great sense of humor and a genuine interest in the essence of research and education.

We met again in 2019 in Patras in the context of the International Conference on “Mythical History and Historical Myth.” It was a great pleasure to reconnect with Menelaos and reconfirm that all those qualities distinguishing him were still present.

Menelaos Christopoulos is nothing less than a fine example of a distinguished scholar and a down to earth person of exceptional quality and ethos. All who had the chance of working with him I am certain that are truly fortunate.

I wish Menelaos Christopoulos all the best in his retirement. I have known him for many years; he is kind and distinguished by his great respectability; he is a sensitive and romantic man by nature. His classical studies were perfectly attuned to musical culture and he produced an outstanding PhD dissertation: “Les divinités de la musique dans la poésie homérique et archaïque” (Sorbonne–Paris IV, 1983). Since then, he has been working in the scientific field as a modest healer, not out of vanity and arrogance or sterile competition of distinctions, but only for his love of ancient literature, deepening his scientific interests and approaching Greek literature with erudition, from Homeric studies until the emergence of the style of the Second Sophistic. He is firmly focused on the narrative enjoyment of ancient drama, both as theory and as public performance. In addition, as the founder of the Center for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity, he contributed to the organization of international conferences, in order to illuminate various parts of ancient cults through new studies. I express my admiration for this tireless scholar of ancient heritage. Ι am confident his retirement will be another springboard for further study, research and writing.

Among the many and multifaceted scholarly contributions, Professor Christopoulos’ work has helped us completely reconsider how myth shaped Greek literature, but also historical thinking. He has created new intersections as his work spanned from archaic epic to the second sophistic and beyond, with his analysis of time, space, the Underworld, ancient music, ancient mystery religions, philosophy and more, and has opened new vistas for us to follow. As one small example, I consider his work on the spell of Orpheus and orphism a cornerstone of 20th and 21st century classical philology. In his piece on Nyx and Eros in Aristophanes in the 2010 volume he co-edited, among others, he shows how Aristophanes does not selectively only use orphic materials, but how his references are integral part of the socio-cultural milieu of his time. Thank you for your ever inquisitive and innovative approaches to the ancient world!

It is my honor to congratulate Professor Menelaos Christopoulos for a lifetime of contribution to Classics, celebrated in this volume. Menelaos Christopoulos has been a dear colleague of mine for 16 years at the Department of Philology (University of Patras). He effectively fulfilled the role of the presidency of the Department twice and resolved issues with his characteristic composure, sharpness and humor. The Department of Philology is our ‘second home’ and it is very encouraging to be surrounded by such inspiring colleagues. May he continue living a healthy and fulfilling life in his retirement!

Menelaos Christopoulos has been a dear colleague of mine for more than 15 years at the Department of Philology (University of Patras). I remember him calling often our Department as “our home,” which was very nice to hear, especially as a young colleague. May he continue to live a healthy and fulfilling life in his retirement!

His stamp on the Department of Philology of the University of Patras is indelible. He is a constant source of inspiration.

Dear Menelaos, many congratulations on your long and productive career! We thank you for your long service as a Classics scholar in our country, and for teaching and promoting Ancient Greek Studies at our Department with exceptional dedication and enthusiasm. You have been a wonderful and wise leader to us, always supportive and encouraging. Thank you personally for all the advice, guidance and assistance that you generously provided to me at many difficult moments. I will always be grateful. Happy retirement!

Dear Menelaos,

I wish you the best on your retirement. May our paths cross often again in continuing scholarship and friendship.

Bill

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Professor Christopoulos on his retirement. His extensive learning and intellectual prowess, which are evident in his remarkable career and scholarly pursuits, have been accompanied by his kindness, generosity and uncanny ability to provide practical solutions to complex problems—his brilliant humor enlivening every encounter. Working with him has been an honor, a privilege, and a pleasure.