Athenis Finlandiae is a yearly event arranged in the city of

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

and it is an excellent example of a different kind of a cultural event that combines history, art and entertainment. The goals of the event are to cherish the Latin language and cultural heritage as well as to inspire youth to continue working with Latin. "Athenis Finlandiae" translates to "in the Athens of Finland". The city of Jyväskylä received this epithet in the 1850s when the Finnish national poet,

Elias Lönnrot Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'', (1835, enlarged 1849), from short ...

, once wrote a letter to another Finland-minded writer, Wolmar Styrbjörn Schildt, saying: "You Schildt, over there in Jyväskylä, the Athens of Finland, the cradle of the arts and sciences..." Schildt, living in Jyväskylä at that time, had just developed the Finnish terms for the words "science" and "arts". Later, this humorous reference to Athens started to become reality, as the first schools and pedagogical institutions where Finnish was the language of teaching, were established in Jyväskylä. Today, Jyväskylä is particularly well known for its university and other educational institutions, as well as its lively and fresh cultural scene. Since 2008, the city has hosted the annual Athenis Finlandiae event, the concept of which lies in the classical culture and languages. The event is arranged by the MuKuTa association.

History

Athenis Finlandiae 2008

Offered trips to central Finland nature and gave the audience an opportunity to learn the Latin language. The Patron of the event was Minister Mauri Pekkarinen.

Athenis Finlandiae 2009

Focused on the Latin language and culture as well as went deep into Latin literature. The Patron of the event was Minister

Henna Virkkunen Henna Maria Virkkunen (born 4 June 1972) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2014. She is a member of the National Coalition Party, part of the European People's Party. She was Minister ...

Athenis Finlandiae 2010

The event theme was philosophy. The Patron of the event was

Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisa ...

, the President of the Republic.

Athenis Finlandiae 2011

The main themes were poetry, rhetoric and antique Rome as well as the travelers' Rome. The Patron of the event was Petri Tuomi-Nikula, the Finnish Ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Athenis Finlandiae 2012

Russia, ancient wars, astronomy and astrology.

Athenis Finlandiae 2013

Germany, Middle Ages, Hanseatic League.

Future events

*Year 2014 some of themes will be

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Middle Ages, and

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

External links

* http://www.athenisfinlandiae.com/ * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtnxiuCRD34&list=UURlDJbrY95xPORZMC7SleXA&index=2&feature=plcpe

* https://web.archive.org/web/20130729181527/http://athenisfinlandiae.com/latina.htm {{Coord missing, Finland Jyväskylä Tourist attractions in Central Finland Region