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Preservation of American Hellenic History

Long Description of the PAHH Web-site Graphic

The graphic is a composite of various images that represent, at a glance, some of the history of the Greek-Americans.

Viewed from left to right in the graphic, these images begin with a picture of an ocean liner, as if it were one of the sort ships that brought the early immigrants to America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Next is a picture of an extended family. The family members are closely grouped together, facing out, and smiling. Their appearance represents the close-knit relationships in Greek families and an openness. In this picture, the descending generations are shown, elders, middle-age adults, and a child. They are nicely clothed, the men in suits, the women in dresses, the child well groomed. They appear to be at an exciting event. Set alongside the picture of the ocean liner, the family seems to be at embarkation (the departure) or disembarkation (the arrival), and perhaps at a reunion.

Next to the family is the Greek flag. (The flag of the Greek nation was won through the heroic effort of our ancestors, who regained freedom after many centuries of the Ottoman colonization of the Greek lands.) The flag is unfurled, waving.

It merges into a picture of a Greek Orthodox cathedral in the United States (specifically, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension in Oakland, California). This represents the central importance of the Greek Orthodox Christian faith in the consolidation and cohesion of the Greek American communities. It also represents a certain creativity, as the cathedral combines modern architectural styles with traditional Byzantine elements.

The image of the cathedral is flanked on its right-side by the flag of the United States of America. This flag, too, is unfurled and is waving high.

Behind the USA flag is an image of an elderly couple in Greece in the nineteenth century. In the background, dimmer while yet visible, this is an image of ancestors.

The composite graphic finishes with the Statue of Liberty.

The images are closely juxtaposed, closely set next to each, one after the other. Together, they form a pictorial, symbolic time-line. The colors are subdued, pale purplish-blues and pale grays with white and black highlights.

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