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46-397: Acharne may refer to: Acharne, Greece , a suburb of Athens Acharrae , an ancient town of Thessaly [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

92-588: A state funeral with Prime Minister 's honors. She was buried at the First Cemetery of Athens four days later. The Melina Mercouri Foundation was founded by her widower. After her death, UNESCO established the Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece) which rewards outstanding examples of action to safeguard and enhance

138-726: A Leading Role . After this, she starred in Phaedra (1962), for which she was nominated again for Best Actress in the BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. Her role in Topkapi (1964) garnered her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy . The directors with whom Mercouri worked included Joseph Losey , Vittorio De Sica , Ronald Neame , Carl Foreman , and Norman Jewison . She starred in

184-563: A cultural park in the Aegean Sea in order to protect and enhance the environment and civilization of the Aegean Islands , and to link culture with education at all education levels , introducing a system of post-training of teachers. Mercouri died on 6 March 1994 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center , New York City , from lung cancer . Her sole immediate survivor was her husband, Jules Dassin. The couple had no children. She received

230-400: A political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960). Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award , three Golden Globes and two BAFTA Awards in her acting career. In 1987 she was awarded a special prize in the first edition of

276-835: A series of exhibitions of Greek cultural heritage and modern Greek art worldwide, supported the restoration of buildings of special architectural interest and the completion of the Athens Concert Hall , and backed the establishment of the Museum of Byzantine culture in Thessaloniki . In June 1986, Melina Mercouri spoke at the Oxford Union , the debating society, on the matter of the Parthenon Marbles and whether they should remain in London or be returned to Greece. She argued passionately for

322-520: A televised debate with the then director of the British Museum, David M. Wilson , which was interpreted by many as a public relations disaster for the British Museum. In anticipation of the return of the marbles, she held an international competition for the construction of the New Acropolis Museum , designated to display them and finally established in 2009. One of her greatest achievements

368-462: Is also a small population of marginalized people such as Romani living in ghettos in Acharnes (approximately 4.800 people, about 4.5% of the population), that tend to be delinquents and offenders from an early age. The Folk Art Museum of Acharnes is a museum in Acharnes, a northern suburb of Athens , Greece . It was founded in 1977 by the local Greek Mountaineering Society, which also formed

414-462: Is home to the Folk Art Museum of Acharnes . Acharnes has historically been an Arvanite settlement. Acharnes was named after the deme Acharnae ( Ancient Greek : Ἁχαρναί ), a subdivision of Athens in classical antiquity . The Athenian playwright Aristophanes characterised the inhabitants of Acharnae as peasants in his play The Acharnians . Acharnes suffered significant damage from

460-401: Is in the plain of Athens, and is densely populated. The built-up area of Acharnes, in this southern part of the municipality, is continuous with that of the adjacent suburbs to the west, east and south. The centre of Acharnes is 11 kilometres (7 miles) due north of Athens city centre. The two other settlements in the municipality, Thrakomakedones and Varympompi , are situated further north, in

506-479: The 1999 Athens earthquake , being very close to the epicenter . The municipality Acharnes was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units: The municipality has an area of 149.956 km , the municipal unit 146.406 km . Acharnes is considered by some to be an unsafe place to live since it has an alleged high crime rate, usually involving drugs, theft and gang activity. There

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552-556: The Europe Theatre Prize . Mercouri was a member of the Hellenic Parliament , elected as a representative of PASOK . In October 1981, she became the first female Minister of Culture and Sports . She has the longest tenure of any of Greece's Ministers of Culture, having served from 1981 to 1989, and then from 1993 until her death in 1994, during PASOK governments. Mercouri's political activism included her long campaign for

598-857: The Marika Kotopouli Prize. Mercouri returned to Greece in 1955. At the Kotopouli-Rex Theatre, Mercouri starred in Macbeth by William Shakespeare and L'Alouette by Jean Anouilh . Mercouri's first film was the Greek language film Stella (1955), directed by Michael Cacoyannis , later known for Zorba the Greek (1964). The motion picture received special praise at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival , where she met expatriate American film director Jules Dassin , with whom she would share not only her career but also her life. Their first professional pairing

644-570: The Resistance during the Occupation. Lycurgos Kallergis, a member of EAM and the Left during the Occupation, said: "Although I was and am a left-winger, the issue of the opulence in which she lived did not bother me. After all, Melina was hosting people, feeding people, helping friends.[...] " The great Greek writer Alkis Zei also agrees with this view, stating that during the period of occupation, Melina

690-557: The Spanish language film The Uninhibited (1965) by Juan Antonio Bardem . On June 11, 1967, Mercouri appeared on one of the final episodes of What's My Line (the venerable panel show would leave the air that fall, after eighteen years). After the panel were blindfolded, a strange man appeared onstage and proclaimed himself "the second mystery guest". Host John Daly quickly called for "the relieving unit" and said "schedule two" (a code word used on live broadcasts in case of an emergency:

736-457: The British, she visited her friends and colleagues who had been arrested for their political beliefs. Years later, Aleka Paizi gratefully recounted Melina's visit to the prison where she was being held, to support her. In the late 1940s, Melina met Pyrros Spyromilios , whom she was with for seven years. He was alleged to be the great love of her life before she met Jules Dassin . Pyrros Spyromilios

782-598: The Historical and Folklore Association in 1981, to which it bequeathed the museum in 1982. The archaeological part of the collection was then separated from the historical and folklore material and was given to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Former Minister Melina Mercouri founded for it the Archaeological Museum of Acharnes in a neoclassical building in the central square of Acharnes, which had formerly housed

828-489: The Marbles' reunification. She said the Marbles are more to Greece than just works of art: they are an essential element of Greek heritage, which ties directly into cultural identity. She said: "You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are

874-558: The Ministers for Culture of the other nine member states of the European Union at Zappeion , in order to increase the people's cultural awareness, since there was not any reference to cultural questions in the Treaty of Rome , which led to the establishment of formal sessions between the Ministers of Culture of the European Union. During the second presidency of Greece in 1988, she supported

920-428: The cameras are turned to a neutral position and the sound is cut off). The man talked a bit about a dating service he apparently owned before being hustled off the stage by announcer Johnny Olson and executive producer Gil Fates . Daly merely apologized to the panel, and the program continued. Mercouri continued her stage career in the Greek production of Tennessee Williams 's Sweet Bird of Youth (1960), under

966-659: The colonels. After the fall of the Junta and during the metapolitefsi in 1974, Mercouri settled in Greece and was one of the founding members of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), a centre-left political party . She was a member of the party's Central Committee and a rapporteur for the Culture Section, while being involved in the women's movement as well. In the Greek legislative elections of 1974 , she

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1012-539: The cooperation between Eastern Europe and the European Union, which was finally implemented one year later with the celebration of the Month of Culture in Eastern countries. Mercouri commissioned a study for the integration of all the archaeological sites of Athens to create a traffic-free archaeological park to promote the Greek culture . She introduced free access to museums and archaeological sites for Greek citizens, organized

1058-557: The direction of Karolos Koun . In 1967, she played the leading role in Illya Darling (from 11 April 1967 to 13 January 1968) on Broadway , for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical . Mercouri's performance in Promise at Dawn (1970) earned her another Golden Globe Award nomination. Mercouri concentrated on her stage career in

1104-669: The elections and New Democracy formed a cabinet. As Minister for Culture, Mercouri took advantage of her earlier career to promote Greece to other European leaders. She strongly advocated the return to Athens of the Parthenon Marbles that were removed from Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin , and are now part of the British Museum collection in London . In 1983, she engaged in

1150-710: The end of her life. After her graduation, Mercouri joined the National Theatre of Greece and played the role of Electra in Eugene O'Neill 's play Mourning Becomes Electra in 1945. In 1949, she had her first major success in the theatre playing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , staged by Karolos Koun 's Art Theatre. After 1950 she moved to Paris , where she appeared in boulevard plays by Jacques Deval and Marcel Achard , and met French playwrights and novelists such as Jean Cocteau , Jean-Paul Sartre , Colette and Françoise Sagan . In 1953, Mercouri received

1196-578: The essence of Greekness." In the legislative elections of November 1989 , PASOK lost and Mercouri was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament and remained a member of the party's Executive Bureau. In 1990, she was a candidate for Mayor of Athens but she was defeated by Antonis Tritsis . After PASOK's win in the election of 1993 , she was reappointed to the Ministry for Culture. Her major goals in this brief second term in office were: to create

1242-412: The following years, playing in the Greek productions of The Threepenny Opera and, for a second time, Sweet Bird of Youth , in addition to the ancient Greek tragedies Medea and Oresteia . She retired from film acting after making her last film, A Dream of Passion (1978), directed by her husband, Jules Dassin . In 1987 the jury of the Europe Theatre Prize awarded her a special prize of

1288-625: The foothills of Parnitha. Acharnes is crossed by several important roads and railways, including the A6 motorway , the Piraeus–Platy railway and the Athens Airport–Patras railway . The Acharnes Railway Center is the main railway junction of Attica; two other stations in the municipality are Acharnes railway station and Kato Acharnes railway station , both on the Piraeus–Platy railway. Acharnes

1334-448: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acharne&oldid=932671611 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Acharne, Greece The northern part of the municipality is covered by the forested Parnitha mountain. The southern part

1380-406: The isolation and fall of the colonels. As a result, the dictatorial regime revoked her Greek citizenship and confiscated her property. When her Greek citizenship was revoked, she said: "I was born a Greek and I will die a Greek. Those bastards were born fascists and they will die fascists". In London, she worked with Amalia Fleming and Helen Vlachos of Kathimerini against the junta of

1426-412: The local Town Hall. The same building houses the Historical and Folklore Society and its Folk Art Museum to the present time. [REDACTED] Media related to Acharnes at Wikimedia Commons Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia " Melina " Mercouri ( Greek : Μαρία Αμαλία "Μελίνα" Μερκούρη , 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from

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1472-564: The occupation became close friends of hers, including writer Iakovos Kambanellis (who wrote ' Stella with the Red Gloves' especially for her), actress Olympia Papadouka, actor Manos Katrakis , actor and secretary of the EAM theatre Dimitris Myrat, writer Alkis Zei, director Nikos Koundouros , and Manolis Glezos . During the civil war, although Melina Mercouri lived in Kolonaki , which was controlled by

1518-495: The occupation, despite her then husband's objections, Melina's house, on her own instruction, was always open and welcoming to many people in need, providing them with food and shelter. Despite occasional criticisms, her dislike of the Nazi occupiers is demonstrated by an incident during the occupation where she disobeyed SS men while at a bar, despite the threat of being shot. A number of people with strong resistance activities during

1564-446: The presidency with the motivation: "For the devotion and the commitment of an artist who joins her own theatrical experience with the political belief and the ideal of European culture." Mercouri's last performance on stage was in the opera Pylades at the Athens Concert Hall in 1992, portraying Clytemnestra . One of her first songs was by Manos Hadjidakis and Nikos Gatsos . It was titled "Hartino to Fengaraki" ("Papermoon") and

1610-573: The return of the Parthenon Marbles . One of her greatest achievements was the establishment of the European Capitals of Culture , with Athens chosen as the first capital in 1985. The Mercouri family were an Arvanite family from Argolida who settled in Athens . Its members had fought in the Greek war of independence of 1821. Melina's grandfather, Spyridon Mercouris , had served for many years as mayor of Athens . Her father, Stamatis Mercouris ,

1656-645: Was He Who Must Die (1957). Other films by Dassin and featuring Mercouri followed, such as The Law (1959). She garnered international acclaim when she starred in Never on Sunday (1960), of which Dassin was the director and co-star. For this film, she earned the Best Actress Award at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in

1702-523: Was a PASOK candidate in the Piraeus B constituency , but the 7,500 votes were not enough to secure a seat for her in the Hellenic Parliament (she needed 33 more votes), but she was successful in the elections of 1977 , after conducting a grass-roots campaign. When PASOK won the elections of 1981, Mercouri was appointed Minister for Culture of Greece , being the first woman in the post. She would serve in that position for two terms until 1989, when PASOK lost

1748-568: Was a naval officer and a hero of the Albanian front. He died in March 1961 due to heart hypertrophy , which devastated Melina, even though five years had passed since their separation. In 1955 she starred in her first feature film, Stella . The film competed at the Cannes Film Festival and during its screening, she met and fell in love with Julius "Jules" Dassin . She was married to him until

1794-546: Was a part of the Greek production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949, in which she starred as Blanche DuBois . The first official recording of this song was made by Nana Mouskouri in 1960, although the company Sirius, created by Hadjidakis, issued a recording Mercouri made for French television during the 1960s in 2004. Her recordings of "Athenes, ma Ville", a collaboration with Vangelis , and "Melinaki", were popular in France. Her recording of "Feggari mou, Agapi mou" (Phaedra)

1840-538: Was accepted at the Drama School of the National Theatre with fellow students including Despo Diamantidou and Alexis Damianos . In the winter of 1939 she married the much older wealthy landowner Panagis Harokopos. She travelled as Melina Harokopou or Melina Charocopou. During the occupation, Melina became romantically involved with businessman Phidias Yadikiaroglou while still married to Harokopos although their marital relationship had effectively ended. Mercouri

1886-553: Was an officer of the cavalry and served as a member of parliament and minister (People's Party, National Radical Party ), and for many years he participated in the administration of the Panathinaikos team. During the Axis occupation of Greece , Stamatis Mercouris founded the resistance organisation Rizospastiki Organosis ("Radical Organisation") in January 1942. Melina's mother, Irene Lappa,

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1932-506: Was hiding left-wingers and giving them money. At the same time, her brother, Spyros Mercouris, had joined the Resistance as a member of the EPON . Many times, according to testimonies, Melina would secretly take Yadikiaroglou's money and give it to her brother for the Resistance, hiding both him and his comrades in the organization while helping her impoverished colleagues. It was known that during

1978-509: Was later covered by Marinella in 1965. At the time of the coup d'état in Greece by a group of colonels of the Greek military on 21 April 1967, she was in the United States , playing in Illya Darling on Broadway. She immediately joined the struggle against the Greek military junta and started an international campaign, travelling all over the world to inform the public and contribute to

2024-485: Was later criticized for living in comfort in a 400 sq. m. apartment at avenue Akademias 4, much of which had been commandeered by the Germans at a time when the Greek people were starving, and of not contributing to the national resistance. Melina had commented on this period of her life, both in her autobiography, "I was born a Greek," and on television as Minister of Culture , taking responsibility for her non-participation in

2070-666: Was the establishment of the institution of the European Capital of Culture within the framework of cultural policy of the European Union . She had conceived and proposed the idea in 1983, with Athens being the first title-holder in 1985. She was also a devoted supporter of the Athens bid to host the Centennial Olympic Games . In 1983, during the first Greek presidency of the Council of the European Union , Mercouri invited

2116-842: Was the sister of Admiral Pyrros Lappas , who served as Chief of the Naval Staff, Secretary General of the Olympic Games Committee and Chief of the Military House of King Paul . Melina's uncle, George S. Mercouris , held extreme right-wing political views. He was a founder of the Greek National Socialist Party and a governor of the National Bank during the occupation. This so angered the Mercouri family that they refused to attend his funeral in 1943. In September 1938, she

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