CULTURE OF THE SPIRIT
Lectures, Library, Auction and School Home
At the same time, some other topics of the lectures that took place at that time were “Career selection, a problem for young people” by Professor Tassos G. Nikolaidis, “What problems does the child present and why is the cooperation between home and school necessary” by the high school principal Panos D. Mesi, “The three Hierarchs and the man” by Professor Stavros Olympios, “The influence of adult behavior on the character of children”, by Professor Andreas Barnabas, “Today’s culture and mental health of man” , by the members of the Pancyprian Society of Mental Hygiene, Kl. Vaki, A. Georgiadis and G. Koutsakos, “From our treasures in Cyprus”, with the projection of bright images by Professor S.N. Syrimi and “The ideal type of woman as presented in Sophocles’ Antigone” by the educator and Director of the Education Office Kleanthi Georgiadi.
In addition to the above, in the monthly lectures that were held from time to time, many others had attended the building of our association and had spoken to the members of Apollon such as the professor of Theology at the University of Athens, Panagiotis Trembelas, Dr. Pan. Michailidis, the dentist Ourania Lympouridou, the words of Teresa Hatzipavlou, as well as the philologist Vassos Eleftheriadis.
However, apart from these lectures with educational content, Apollon also presented several theatrical works and Cypriot ethnographies of our fellow citizen Professor Th. Makrygiannis, while many times it hold musical events, such as the baritone Kostis N. Mitsakis. Also, many evenings were dedicated to listening to music under the supervision of Professor Marinos Mitella.
In the house where Apollon was housed, it maintained a library for the entertainment and spiritual development of its members, while from time to time there was an auction of small items, which were given as gifts by members and friends of the group. At the same time, over the years, more and more young people “embraced” our team, with the result that the house presented the image of a school, where, however, gambling was not allowed, but games such as backgammon, shuttle and billiards were.
Folk dances, theatrical section, choir and more
Nor, however, did Apollon compromise with kind words, since the goal was to extend its action to other areas. In fact, in September 1966 and in collaboration with the Cyprus Tourism Organization, it announced the formation of a folk dance group (Cypriot dances), participating two to three times a year in various performances, in order to attract the interest of foreigners.
At the same time, about a month later and specifically on October 27, the BoD of Apollon, in its effort to extend its activity to all areas of spiritual and cultural events, but also to contribute with all its powers to the intellectual development of Limassol, established a theatrical department, assigning its direction to the writer Michalakis Pitsillidis, who just after two days, on Saturday, October 29, would proceed to the reading and distribution of roles for his work under the name “THEANO”.
However, the expansion of Apollon’s action to all levels continued. In addition to creating a group of folk dances and a theatrical department, the “blue and whites” had also set up a choir. In addition, other sports departments were created, such as a basketball team, while our volleyball team would soon be formed.
At the same time, however, in Apollon they did not forget all those who contributed to the National Liberation Fight of EOKA and in general in the homeland, since they established the annual memorial service in favor of the fallen fighters, while every year they organized in-house celebrations , March 25, April 1 and October 28.
The gold medal of Apollon
It was now clear that as the years went by, the action of Apollon Limassol became more intense and its range was enriched more and more, as a result of which its offer was multidimensional and reached all kind of people. Of particular note is the fact that the Apollon Gold Medal was established in memory of those who died in favor of the Cypriot Freedom, with five excellent graduates of the Limassol High School being awarded at the end of the year. It is also worth mentioning that Apollon had given up its house on August 2, 1960 in order to establish a new hunting association in Limassol, while in the same month it had received and honored with bouquets members of EOKA, since, as the press of the time reported , pioneered “in bravery and energy”.
A year later, Apollon showed its solidarity with Olympiakos in practice, after it offered money for the construction of a new building of the Nicosia club, since on June 7, 1958, Turkish Cypriot extremists had set fire to and destroyed with the tolerance of the British , in which it was housed since 1932. In parallel with their altruistic actions, with which they proved in practice that they had nothing against to any other club, in Apollon they proceeded to hold some other events, with the ultimate goal of entertainment and fun of their members, establishing the annual dance of the association.
