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1981
Volume 11, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2052-3971
  • E-ISSN: 2052-398X

Abstract

Hercule Joannidès (1897–1950), a Greek expatriate residing in Paris, played a pivotal role in organizing cultural cruises between France and Greece during the inter-war period. As a travel agent, a publisher, an author and a connoisseur of the arts, Joannidès was deeply invested in the conviction that fostering Franco-Greek cultural exchanges would yield mutual intellectual and artistic enrichment, thereby contributing to the cultural edification of Greece. This article examines the ways in which Joannidès employed tourism as a vehicle for cultural mediation, capitalizing on his dual national affiliation and his extensive networks within the artistic and touristic milieus of both countries. Drawing upon previously unexamined archival material – most notably Joannidès’s personal diaries – and employing an interdisciplinary methodological framework, the article investigates his conceptualization of tourism as a dynamic platform for intercultural exchange facilitated by the transnational mobility of individuals. It further analyses the implementation of this vision through the organization of thematic cultural cruises, with particular focus on voyages that coincided with significant cultural events involving both French and Greek intellectuals and artists, and which garnered broader international interest. Finally, the article explores how Joannidès’s illustrated magazine and promotional brochures for the cruises mediated perceptions of Greece and its cultural affinities with modern France through a distinctly western lens.

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2025-06-30
2026-04-15

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Hercule Joannidès, a cultural mediator between France and Greece, 1926–39
Journal of Greek Media & Culture 11, 9 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1386/jgmc_00106_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): CIAM IV; cultural cruises; cultural tourism; cultural transfer; Cyclades film; Delphic festivals; modern art; Voyage en Grèce

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