The Municipal Center for History possesses today a rich archive that consists of the Volos Municipality archive (1883-1982), 46 private archives concerning directly or indirectly the city and its greater area, archives of old industrial enterprises, as well as important material of building plans, maps, aerial photos, transparencies and photos.

Nikos Tsaknis: Trophies of the Argonauts (2004)

  An enquiry into the origins of this work leads inevitably to one conclusion - the one that sparked the initial motivation, and subsequently, the innovative research of Nikos Tsaknis. The Olympic Games of 2004 will take place in Greece and be hosted in particular locations of the Greek landscape, among which is Volos, a city closely associated, from its inception, with the Argonaut Expedition. The more specific element that conceived this spirit was that the Argonauts, according to a common mythological frame of reference, were connected, apart from other things, with the systematic organization and execution of athletic competitions (Games of Lemnos, Games in honor of King Cyzikus, who was unwittingly slain by the Argonauts, Games dedicated to the memory of King Pelias). After the completion of the expedition and shortly before departing, the Argonauts promise to form a coalition among their city-states, entrusting to Herakles, who participated in the expedition, the organization of the panhellenic games in honor of Zeus. For the realization of the games, the region of Olympia is finally selected (the legendary Games of Olympia). It is also worth noting that many Argonauts are athletes; in fact, three of them are "original founders" and three are Olympic champions.

This enterprise of Nikos Tsaknis was conceived on the shaky ground that is provided for the meeting of myth and history; in other words, for the intersection of the fictive that is incorporated in the spiritual life and the real that is recorded as universal truth. In any event, if one considers that mythology is an element of a people's tradition and that this tradition is a component of their history, then this coupling is a legitimate object of scientific inquiry.

It is clear that the integrity of this unique research presupposes the following conditions: a) consciousness of the historical place in which the mythical activities were enacted; b) systematic investigation, extensive research, and the scientific merit of relevant sources; c) synthesis of both research data and noteworthy observations in a way that illuminates a fresh, and, as much as possible, complete image of the subject from the author's perspective. 

Nikos Tsaknis launched this endeavor with serious intent, and pursued methods of approaching his subject as much in whatever the myth claims, and imprints in literary and imagistic forms, as in the history that records these impressions. He drew his information primarily from: Apollonius Rhodius (Argonautika), Pindar (Epinikiai or Victory Odes for the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian champions), Pausanius (Ileus Book I), Diodorus Siculus (Historical Library, Book IV), Apollodorus (Library, or Bibliotheca, Book III) and Philostratus (Gymnastikos). In addition, the author explores, identifies and portrays the athletic exploits of the world-renowned myth of the Argonaut expedition in scenes depicted on vases that are housed in important museums across Europe and America. Certainly, he offers a novel approach to an extraordinarily fascinating topic.

 His research is grounded in mythological and historical elements, which, for reasons of structure, correlations and conjecture, are not presented in strict narrative sequence but, instead, are dispersed throughout the entire text, without compromising the internal scaffolding which supports the motifs of the book. In this context, the following connections are worth noting:

1.          A brief orientation to the age and to the mythic context of           athletic activity among the Argonauts.

2.          The competitive idea in the Argonaut adventure.
The Argonauts take part in athletic games that are systematically organized with a program, and prizes for the winners (Games of Lemnos, Games in honor of the exalted King Cyzikus, "The Games of Pelias"). Three of them (Jason, Herakles, and Peleas) are the first inventors of the games. Elsewhere, the Argonauts are also associated with occasional competitive exhibitions ("sea games" near Phrygia and, with some manipulation, the match between Amycus and Polydeukes, which gives the impression of boxing contests).

3.          Olympic pre-history (myth).
The Argonauts assign to Herakles the task of organizing the pan-hellenic Games; the region of Olympia was chosen for their realization. Three Argonauts (Herakles, Kastor, and Polydeukes) become the mythic Olympic victors. Tradition links Herakles with the establishment of the Sacred or Holy Truce.

4.          The historical record.
The Argonauts constitute the mythic prototypes for the Olympic contestants of classical ancient times (paintings of Argonauts, representations in Olympia, Pindar's poetic references to Argonaut imagery, as athletic archetypes).

5.          Immediate correlation of elements combining myth and history.

6.          Diagram of the myth of the Argonaut campaign, from a multi-          dimensional perspective.

It is clear that Nikos Tsaknis searched for, evaluated, and elucidated, with scientific resolve, as many components as his sources revealed; and, as a result, created a comprehensive picture of both the symbols and the unique dimensions of the myth. The sequence of these components is accomplished with historical narration and is not developed in a linear manner but interrupted by exploratory sections along the timeline. His expressions, while sustaining intellectual clarity, are occasionally elliptic, not only because they serve the literary values of the text, but also because there must remain, under any circumstance, open spaces for the intellectual and symbolic extensions of the myth. Expressive boundaries would contradict such an ambition.

In the context of the author's correlations and out of the chronological depth of more than three thousand years, a Greek culture of athletics emerges in order to occupy the first revered position in the Olympic Games of 2004. Such a culture would not be able to exist outside the framework of many other cultural values.

The purpose that is presented in every investigation of this kind is not exhausted by a descriptive reference to its specific subject, but expands with enquiry, the diagnosis and the projection of elements that constitute, in a wider dimension, the cultural phenomenon, which itself is subject to the primacy of an ontological examination. Culture is neither an isolated progression in a part of human experience nor a conventional weigh station of human life, but rather a coalescence of progressions and manifestations that ameliorate and validate this life.

Of course, historical knowledge has imparted, in public consciousness, the wider and deeper meaning of the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, which were not naturally an isolated fact, but were also linked with: intellectual contributions, cultural accounts, motivations for peace, the surmounting - even temporarily - of regional obstacles and, above all, the pursuit of man's victory, which was accomplished by surpassing the established somatic and spiritual boundaries.

As it is known, in the Olympic tradition of Ancient Greece, parallel with the athletic games, intellectual and artistic competitions were also performed. Evidence for the existence, for example, of Oratory competitions are provided by typical testimonies in both: "The Olympic Oration" of Gorgia, which was delivered by the sophist in about 392 B. C. - during the 97th Olympic Games - declaring the need for the unity of the Greek people; and, as well, a reference to the sophist Hippias, who boasted that as many times as he participated in this contest, during the Olympic Games, he never encountered a contestant more skilled than himself (in Plato, Lesser Hippias, 363c).

Finally, and in keeping with the Greek Olympic tradition, the performance of the Olympic Games in Greece in the year 2004 would have less value if they were not accompanied by competitions of the intellect. From this perspective, the work of Nikos Tsaknis claims, and finds, its own place.

Demetris Siatras