A new treasury of personal stories offers a richer history of Greece

There’s no better way to learn about history than through stories. We all grow up with stories from grandparents, parents, relatives, or others—stories that open our eyes, touch us, teach us, show us a different perspective

Now, many of these kinds of stories from across Greece have been collected in an archive to be preserved for all to hear. The Istorima oral history archive will soon contain more than 11,000 oral histories.

Meet the boxer who beat death with one hand and the first Greek acrobat with a fear of heights to join Cirque de Soleil and learn about a Jewish family’s escape from Thessaloniki. Discover these and thousands of other stories that touch on a wide range of topics, from war and sports to crime and diaspora, at www.archive.istorima.org.

As an integral part of its mission, Istorima offers short-term employment to young people who sign on to record stories in their home regions for six months.

Istorima and the archive were created through a founding grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).