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The Chilean Hellenist and Onassis Foundation scholar Miguel Castillo Didier was recently awarded an exceptionally high distinction by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Carolos Papoulias. More specifically, Professor Didier was awarded the Brigade of the Order of the Phoenix at a formal ceremony which was held last January with the purpose of honouring several Greek and international personalities in recognition of their outstanding achievements.
Moreover, in December 2006, the Chilean scholar was honoured by the Association for the Greek Linguistic Heritage during a scholarly conference held at the ‘Parnassos’ Literary Society, and a one-day event devoted to the timelessness of the Greek language. Professor Didier is the Director of the ‘Fotios Malleros’ Center for Greek, Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies at the University of Chile.
He studied Classics, Spanish, and Modern Greek Literature in the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities of the University of Chile. In the past, he was assistant to Professor Fotios Malleros in Ancient Greek, as well as Professor of Ancient Greek and Modern Greek Literature at the universities of Chile and Venezuela.
He has received several important distinctions, and his works include over a hundred publications on Greek topics. He has written extensively on the works of Cavafy, Kazantzakis, Seferis, Elytis, Ritsos, and Kalvos, amongst others.
In the spring of 2000, Professor Didier, invited by the Onassis Foundation Scholars’ Association, gave a lecture on the subject of ‘Greek Studies in Latin America, and the Love for Greece and Liberty: The Precursors Rigas Velestinlis and Francisco de Miranda’ at the Foundation’s Alexander S. Onassis Hall in Athens.
