The world today is going through a political, technological and spiritual crisis; a crisis in its dual sense; the negative and also that which is positive; the sense of arriving at decisions after passing through trial. To a great extent this crisis is a result of a special relationship that the Western world has with that of the East, particularly through Greece, their main crossing point. In the center of the peculiar causes of this crisis one may find Greece; there one may find, too, the start of the thread of Ariadne. There is a balance; in the center of the two worlds, of the two hemispheres; of east and west, of spirit and science, of past and future. Our aim is to create a Hellenic and World place for exploring ideas; an international space of study and practice; peaceful, without prejudice, liberal and open, where a person, whether a native Hellene or born of another land, can live and study and work in a cooperating community.
Isidoros Kioleoglou, Founder of The Ionic Center
from the Chios Commencement Address, July 27, 1980
Brief History
The Ionic Centre for Scientific, Cultural and Spiritual Study was founded in 1977 on the Aegean island of Chios. After many years of activity on the island, the Centre established a second home in Athens, in the historic area of Plaka, at the foot of the Acropolis. A developing important for learning and research in the area, The Ionic Centre provides a setting for the study of culture while it places a focus on the philosophical and scientific questions facing presently mankind.
In Chios and Athens
In Athens – The Ionic Centre is located in a neo-classical style building in Plaka, minutes’ walk from the walls of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Next to the Aerides, the Tower of the Winds, Hadrian’s Library and the Roman period Agora, The Ionic Centre is surrounded by monuments and public buildings of the city. Nearby it, too, are the center of modern Athens, Syntagma Square, the Greek Parliament and a host of fine museums, such as the New Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki, the Greek Folk Art, Traditional Folk Instruments, the Ceramics and many others. There, a few minutes walk is the Center of the modern City, Syntagma Square and the greek Parliament.
Located in an ideal setting for academic conferences and, generally, cultural and scientific gatherings, in the center of the contrasting ancient and modern city, The Ionic Center is easily accessible by Metro trains, by bus and private transport.
In Chios – The Ionic Centre has been housed in a large old mansion by the city’s port. Currently though, the facility has not been in operation. In its place, the Centre is preparing to build another facility by “Homer’s Rock”, a Bronze Age period cult site where later probably thrived there the “School” of the Homerides poet-priests. There, The Ionic Centre has acquired land and plans to build a modern facility to house its educational and cultural activities on the island.