Minas A. Alexiadis

Minas Al. Alexiadis is a professor of folklore at the University of Athens. He was born in 1948 in Menetes, Karpathos, in the Dodecanese region. He studied Medieval and Modern Greek Philology and Folklore at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Ioannina, graduating in 1972 with honors. Throughout his studies, he was a scholarship recipient from the State Scholarships Foundation. After completing his military service (1973-1975), he was appointed as a teacher at the Karpathos High School (1975-1977). In 1976, he obtained the Proficiency Certificate in English, and in 1982, he earned his Ph.D. in Folklore from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Ioannina with honors. He pursued additional studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography, and Folklore at University College and the London School of Economics, University of London (1982-1983 and 1989-1990). He served as an assistant (1977-1982), curator, and lecturer (1982-1986) in Folklore at the University of Ioannina. In 1986, he was elected assistant professor and in 1992 associate professor in the Department of Folklore, Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy at the same university. In 1993, he was elected and appointed (1994) associate professor of Folklore in the Department of Humanities of the Pedagogical Department of Primary Education at the University of Athens, and in 1997, he was unanimously elected full professor. In 1982, he was awarded the Pan-Dodecanese Prize of the Moskovis Foundation for his work in folklore, in 1995 the Golden Cross of the Church of the Dodecanese (by the Metropolitan of Karpathos and Kasos, Ambrosios), and in 2000 the Golden Cross of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (by Archbishop Gregorios). He also received honorary distinctions for his work and contributions from cultural organizations. He served as an Honorary Research Associate at King's College, University of London (1989-1990), and director of the Cultural Foundation of the Dodecanese (Athens: 1992-1995). He is a regular member of the Hellenic Folklore Society (General Secretary of the Board), the English Folklore Society, the American Folklore Society, the Hellenic Humanistic Society, the Society of Greek Philologists, the Panhellenic Union of Philologists, the Philological Association "Parnassos," the Dodecanese Historical and Folklore Society, the Society of Karpathian Studies, and the Union of Dodecanese University Professors. He has authored books and studies on Greek folk culture. He has also published articles, book reviews, columns, etc., in magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, book prefaces, and participated in Greek and international conferences on Folklore and Culture. He has also given lectures and taught in Greece and abroad. He is a contributor to the newspapers "To Vima" and "I Kathimerini."