Tholos and Greek Support of USA

(Information gathered by Renee Paul of Public Relations and verified by Dr. Bernie Quinn, who is retired from USA’s department of foreign languages and literatures and a member the local chapter of AHEPA.)

Purpose of April 28 reception and dramatic performance, “Plato’s Apology of Socrates”:

The reception on April 28 is primarily to thank donors who have contributed $1,000 or more to USA’s Endowment in Hellenic Studies. It’s also to encourage more giving by key leaders in the Greek community. A local Greek civic organization, the Mobile chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association or AHEPA, is one of the endowment’s primary supporters. They have promoted appreciation of Greek culture on the USA campus for more than 10 years. AHEPA has given scholarships to students to study in Greece and has numerous plans for the future of Greek studies at USA. The organization recently donated $100,000 to USA’s Endowment in Hellenic Studies. AHEPA is also responsible for completing the tholos project on campus, which was originally started by another Greek civic organization, Hellenic Society Paideia (pronounced Peh-DEE-ah) According to Dr. Bernie Quinn, AHEPA “stepped up to the plate” to finish the campus tholos because Paideia was slow to finish the project it started in 1998.

USA’s Endowment in Hellenic Studies:

This endowment was established in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1998 and has raised more than $560,000 to date. The local chapter of AHEPA recently donated $100,000 to the endowment, which is part of Campaign USA. The University will provide $450,000 in matching funds to help the fundraiser reach its ultimate goal of $1 million by the spring of 2008. Once fully funded, the Hellenic Studies Endowment will provide partial support for a full-time faculty position in philosophy and classical Greek, as well as fund undergraduate study in Greece. The money will also be used to enhance academic resources required for the study of philosophy and classical Greek, including guest lectureships and the purchase of library materials.

Tholos:

The Greek structure located adjacent to the WhiddonAdministrationBuilding is a part of AHEPA’s efforts on campus. The tholos is an exact replica of the rebuilt portion of the tholos in Delphi, Greece. The original was built about 2,350 years ago and served as part of the sanctuary of the Greek Goddess Athena. In Greek, “tholos” means rotunda or round building; it is the symbol of Greek heritage and civilization.

The campus tholos is a generous gift from the Hellenic Society Paideia. Paideia is located at the University of Connecticut. The tholos was built by Philactos Marble Works in Thessaloniki, Greece. The marble was cut and quarried by Greek artisans, who then flew to Mobile to construct the tholos. The structure was shipped by boat in sections, arriving at the port of Charleston, S.C., in April 1998. It was then trucked from Charleston to Mobile, Ala.

It took the Greek artisans only 13 days to rebuild the tholos in its current location. The mayor of Delphi, Greece, along with the City Council and several other politicians, were present at South Alabama for the tholos unveiling and dedication ceremony.

The final bit of construction on the campus tholos was recently completed thanks to AHEPA. One container of the original marble was quarantined due to some invasive snails that are not native to the United States. The university recovered the marble after only a couple of weeks, but not until after the Greek artisans had returned home. The marble had been stored on campus ever since. AHEPA recently hired a local crew to complete work on the structure. Only the outer ring of marble was left unfinished in 1998.

AHEPA:

The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, known as AHEPA, promotes Greek-Americans, Greek culture, U.S. and Canadian relations with Greece, and the rights of minority Americans. It is the largest association of U.S. and Canadian citizens of Greek heritage. The goals of AHEPA, which was founded in 1922, are to promote Hellenism, education, philanthropy and civic responsibility. Some of the group’s philanthropic efforts include $600 million in senior housing projects and extensive local and national scholarship programs.