Object ID
2008.37.56
Object Name
Block, Printing
Date Created
March 25, 1952
Material
Lead; Wood
Object Entities
Damianos, John (is related to)
Triantaphillou, C. (is related to)
Gerasimos, Rt. (is related to)
Daniel Gambrilis, Very (is related to)
Manos, Nicholas (is related to)
Nestor, James (is related to)
Stefanakos, Peter (is related to)
Menegas, Gust (is related to)
Pappas, Constantine (is related to)
T. ake, . (is related to)
Tselos, James (is related to)
Mathopoulos, Rev. (is related to)
Kennelly, Martin (is related to)
Object Description
Rectangular wood and cast lead print block. The image on the print block is a representation of a stone wall facade. An image of a nude ancient Greek soldier lying on his back on a slab is surrounded by a rectangular framing. The soldier is wearing a wearing an ancient Greek helmet, with plume, and has a shield on the far side of him. Below the framed image of the soldier is another rectangle facade. Along the top of this facade is a traditional Greek pattern design. Below the design is Greek text that translates to: "For famous men the world is thier memorial." At the bottom is a stone ledge with a laurel branh resting on it in the center. In the bottom left-hand corner is an artist signature that reads: "C. Triantaphillou."
Origin
Donated by John Damianos. The printing block was used in a linotype printing machine. Linotype presses allowed for the casting of entire lines to be printed at a time. Linotype printing was eventually succeeded by lithograph printing and computer typesetting during the 1960's and 1970's. This printing block was used by the Chicago-based, Greek Art Printing Company. The image was used for the printing of programs for the 131st Independence Day of Greece Celebration on March 25, 1952. March 25 is the traditional beginning of the Greek revolution against the Ottoman Empire. It was on that day in 1821 that Metropolis Germanos is said to have raised the revolutionary banner at the monastery of Agia Lavra. The relief depicted on the print block is a representation of the stone relief on the front of the Tomb of the Unknowns that is located below the Greek Parliament building at Syntagma Square in Athens. The tomb contains the remains of the unidentified soldiers from Greece's numerous wars. The relief on the tomb is actually a copy of a relief sculpture on the island of Aegina. The quotation is also found on the facade of the Tomb of the Unknowns, along with other quotations commemorating Greece's soldiers. The quotation is taken from the famous funeral oration given by Pericles, as presented by Thucydides in his "History of the Peloponessian War." The laurel branch that is depicted as lying at the base of the tomb represents victory.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Block, Printing, March 25, 1952, Greek Art Printing Company Artifact Collection, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/9972. Accessed 04/19/24.