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History of Parnassos |
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THE HISTORY OF PARNASSOS
The Parnassos Hellenic Cultural Society of Ottawa, Inc. was established in 1974. The original name of
the organization was The Parnassos Society, Inc., renamed to The Parnassos Cultural Society, Inc. in
1990 and to its present name in 1994. In 2018, Parnassos acquired a charitable organization status.
The name Parnassos originates from the mountain range around the oracle of Delphi that was sacred to
the ancient Greeks. Mount Parnassos was the sanctuary of Apollo, god of light and music. The nine
Muses, goddesses of the arts and sciences, also made their home on Mount Parnassos. In time, Mount
Parnassos thus came to symbolize man's striving to cultivate thought and to achieve excellence in the arts
and letters.
Inspired by this legacy, several organizations, societies and literary magazines have chosen, over the
years, Parnassos as their eponym. “Parnasianism” was even a literary movement developed in France in
1850. In modern Greece, the Parnassos Literary Society (Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος Παρνασσός) was
established in 1865, in Athens. Today, the centre hosts music, literature, poetry, and other educational
activities.
The old logo of the Parnassos Hellenic Cultural Society of Ottawa, Inc was designed after the capital
letter Π (pi) of its Greek name (Παρνασσός). The new logo, designed in February 2022, kept the initial
idea of the letter Π but in the shape of a doric temple to represent Apollo’s temple at Delphi with mount
Parnassos at the background. |