The latest addition to the series "The Museums Cycle", funded and overseen by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and the Eurobank Group, is dedicated to the island of Samos and presents the treasures housed in the 2 archaeological museums, at Vathy and Pythagorio. The publication "Samos – The Archaeological Museums" was presented today, Tuesday 11 December, at the Pallas Athena, the headquarters of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation. In the pages of the volume, the unique findings from all the archaeological sites of Samos are brought to life, and the reader can find information about the island’s ancient history and grasp the greatness of the civilisation that developed there.

The event was greeted by Mr Konstantinos Tzavaras, Deputy Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports, while speeches were given by Ms Marianna I. Latsis, Mr Nikolaos Nanopoulos, CEO of Eurobank and the two authors of the book, Mr Konstantinos Tsakos, Honorary Curator of Antiquities and Ms Maria Viglaki-Sofianou, Archaeologist, Deputy Director of the 21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.

In her speech, Ms Marianna I. Latsis made special reference to the efforts made by Greek society to face the severe crisis as well as to the role of Greek entrepreneurship and, in particular, of the Latsis Group, and she concluded by describing the role played by Eurobank employees and the importance of the merger with the National Bank of Greece. Specifically, Ms Marianna I. Latsis said:

About overcoming the crisis:

“Today, at a time when the resilience of Greek society is put to the test, it is important that we rebuild and unite our strengths. We have an obligation to take clearly defined actions in order to overcome the crisis and put the country back on the path of growth, ensuring that Greek society remains on its feet and that Democracy remains strong; indeed, we are the ones who invented Democracy and we, as Greeks, more than anyone else, have an obligation to respect it.”

About Greek entrepreneurship:

“More than ever before, the country needs innovative entrepreneurship that respects the laws of democracy, the workforce, competition and the productive power called knowledge. Greek entrepreneurship can also play a crucial role in achieving an important objective, i.e. rebuilding our national self-confidence. And if all of us, Greeks, believe in our strengths, then it is sure that we will gain the trust of everyone else as well. Then, others will also believe in us.”

About the Latsis Group:

“The Group has made a conscious choice: to be loyal to our country. This is why the Group has always been and will continue to be here and have a dynamic presence. It is a large Greek group that grows by expanding its cooperation and mutually advantageous business alliances, with both Greek and foreign partners who have power, knowledge and experience. It takes initiatives, explores every opportunity to develop activities in new business areas and is ready to make brave and big investments in the future of Greece, a strong, democratic, European country that stands on its feet.”

About the employees of the Eurobank Group:

“The dynamic development of the Bank is due to its 19,000 employees, who have gained the trust of thousands of customers of the Group, thus creating its most valuable and lasting Core Tier 1: the capital of trust. My family and I personally will always be by their side, as they are the ones who created the Eurobank Group. In an environment where meritocracy and trust prevail, with an understanding of the needs that arise and a high sense of responsibility, all these valuable people will have a new opportunity to capitalise on their knowledge and achievements, by actively participating and wholeheartedly offering their strengths, in order to build of a new, much stronger banking group in the country. This banking group will have an important role today and an even more important one tomorrow, thus leading the way towards the restart of the Greek economy and towards sustainable development.”

Mr Nikos Nanopoulos noted:

“At Eurobank, we believe –today even more than when the bank began to operate– that it is necessary to carry out human-centred, innovative social contribution and responsibility actions that reflect our value system and framework of operation.

In many areas, our Bank became a reference point for the banking sector, which I believe will be a useful legacy in the days to come. However, it is people, their creative ideas and their hard work that are behind any successful models and effective systems. In the case of Eurobank, it is clear that its people turned modern ideas into innovative practices, giving it the strength and ability to lead developments. As a result, the public came to view the bank as the most dynamic and modern financial institution our system has to offer.

Under the current crisis situation, such an organisation and its people do not choose to become introverted and to retreat; instead, they continue, with a positive and dynamic mindset, to play a vital role in the efforts made by the country to exit the crisis. Despite the serious adversities faced by the banking system as a whole, every single day we send this positive message to society and to our customers, as we believe that challenges come with opportunities for those that are ready to exploit them.”

The volume "Samos – The Archaeological Museums" has 380 pages in total and is illustrated with 564 photographs by Sokratis Mavromatis. Ms Irini Louvrou was the general supervisor of the publication, Mr Dimitris Kalokyris carried out the design and preparation of the artwork, and the printing was undertaken by the company Fotolio & Typicon SA. Indigo Graphics SA implemented the colour separation, Mr Nikos Lagos and Ms Eliza Kokkini carried out the editing of the images and Mr G. Iliopoulos the binding. Proofreading was undertaken by Mr Pantelis Boukalas and the translation into English by Ms Judy Giannakopoulou. The volume is also available in e-book format in Greek and in English and can be found here.

The speech given by Ms Marianna Latsis is available here.

The speech given by Mr Nikos Nanopoulos is available here.

The speech given by Mr Konstantinos Tsakos is available here.

The speech given by Ms Maria Viglaki-Sofianou is available here.