The Athenian (magazine)

The Athenian Magazine was founded by Helen Panopalis Kotsonis [3] in 1974, during the final months of the Greek military dictatorship. She was the magazine's owner, publisher, and editor until 1979. Kotsonis was a Canadian of Greek and Scottish parentage, educated at McGill and Columbia Universities. Kotsonis's model was the New Yorker magazine, with an emphasis on Greek cultural events and history; reviews of theater, cinema, art, and archeology; practical information on museums, shopping, and showtimes; and satire. Its targeted readership was English-speaking Greeks, expats, and tourists. Kotsonis wrote in the first issue, "In this journal, we would like to reflect the various cultures that converge here -- and in the process make life in Athens more interesting and understandable." Its covers were emblematic of the era, and a few of them touched on political issues, such as the fall of the military dictatorship in July 1974.

In 1979, the title was bought by Sloane Elliott, who had acted under Kotsonis's ownership as editorial director, then advisory editor, and finally contributing editor. Elliott was a Yale-educated novelist, playwright, and essayist. Elliott continued its publication until August 1995. The Athenian continued publication for an additional year and a half, under Elliott's supervision, until it ceased publication in March 1997.

Athenian Magazine Cover. Aug 2, 1974. Nikos Stavroulakis. Printed after the fall of the military Junta

Contributors included scholars, writers, illustrators and painters who worked on the magazine throughout its publication. Some notable contributors were Kimon Friar, Paul Valassakis, Grover Williamson McDiarmid, Robert Brenton Betts, Loui Silivridou-Pasalari, Paul Anastasi, Kevin Andrews, Elizabeth Boleman-Herring, Katerina Agrafioti, Marc Dubin, Alec Kitroeff,[4] Yannis Gaitis, Alekos Fassianos, Antonis Kalamaras, Spyros Vassiliou, Spyros Ornerakis, Nikos Stavroulakis and more.

The magazine’s main editorial titled “Our Town” became essential reading for English speaking readers, analyzing the political and social developments of Greece. The magazine offered a community calendar with all of the city's cultural events [5]