The European Cultural Centre of Delphi hosted an event dedicated to literature, translation, and intercultural dialogue, accompanied by the donation of Chinese books to the Centre’s library. The event featured the presentation of Chinese literary works translated into Greek and Greek works translated into Chinese, highlighting the role of translation as a bridge between two of the world’s oldest and most influential cultural traditions.
The event was attended by Mr. Hu Heping, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and former Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, who, together with Greece’s Minister of Culture Dr. Lina Mendoni, inaugurated the 2021 China–Greece Year of Culture and Tourism. Distinguished writers, scholars and translators from both countries also took part, underscoring the growing cultural and intellectual exchange between Greece and China.
In his welcoming remarks, the Director of the Centre, Professor Andreas Gofas, reflected on Delphi’s distinctive character as a place of encounter—not of one tradition prevailing over another, but of meaningful dialogue among different worlds and ways of thinking. He recalled that, since antiquity, Delphi has served as a meeting point for people, cultures, and ideas from across the known world, a role that the European Cultural Centre of Delphi continues to uphold through initiatives that foster mutual understanding and creative exchange.
Particular reference was made to the Centre’s long-standing relationship with Chinese culture. In 1986, the European Cultural Centre of Delphi became the first institution in Greece to host a Chinese production of ancient Greek drama, opening a creative dialogue between the two cultural traditions. More recently, in 2023, the Centre hosted the summer school The Seeds of Virtue in Ancient Greece and China, dedicated to exploring the shared philosophical and ethical concerns of the two ancient civilizations.
As part of the event, China National Publications Import & Export donated a collection of Chinese books to the Centre. These volumes will become part of the Centre’s library and will be available to visitors, researchers, and participants in its educational and cultural programs. The donation constitutes a lasting legacy of cultural cooperation and a further point of connection between Greek and Chinese intellectual life.
For this is precisely what books do when they cross borders: they do not merely carry words; they carry ways of thinking, experiences, and entire worlds.
At a time when mutual understanding between societies and cultures is becoming increasingly important, the event in Delphi served as a reminder that intercultural dialogue is not merely a diplomatic gesture; it is a practice that leaves lasting traces.
The European Cultural Centre of Delphi remains committed to its mission as an international meeting place for cultures and ideas, faithful to a tradition that associates Delphi with dialogue, creative coexistence, and the search for common ground among different civilizations.
