Alexander Billinis
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Greek-American writer, university lecturer, lawywer, husband and father.
Vienna’s “Little Greece” and the First Greek Newspaper
The Greeks’ large-scale migration to the seat of Hapsburg power followed the wars between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires
Fireships: How Greece’s Daring Sailors Fought the Turkish Fleet
The fireships were a weapon of necessity used by the skilled sailors of the Greek navy to a devastating, asymmetric effect during the Greek War of Independence.
The Greek Sailor from Hydra Who Became War Hero in Argentina
As a Hydriot, I had been raised on a pantheon of grizzled war heroes — Miaoulis, Koudouriotis, et al—with a focus on their virtues...
On the Trail of Rigas Feraios, Protomartyr of Greek Independence
Like so many Greek kids in the Diaspora, I attended Greek School for a while. The March 25th Celebration always entailed a few kids...
Hydra and the World’s Oldest Merchant Marine Academy
Rising, almost vertically from Hydra’s pier, there is a stately mansion housing the world’s oldest continuously operating merchant marine academy. Sailing and shipping, after...
Hydra’s Wooden Ships on Their Journey Through History
By Alexander Billinis
The use for wood in navigation is older than civilization itself, as it is present in nature. A ride hitched on a...
Hydra’s Secret History and the Riddle of Its Name
I remember growing up on Hydra every summer in the 1980s, leaving my Salt Lake City, Utah home, to go to our home on my father’s native island.