Message from the President of the Hellenic Republic

Today we are at a threshold, leading from one era of human development to another. Everything, from politics and economy to environmental protection, technology, and human relations is under scrutiny and revision.

We know, however, that the reality we are experiencing today holds many contradictions. At the time when, due to technological developments and scientific progress, we are taking huge steps forward, disease, poverty, hunger, and ignorance prevail in many corners of our planet.

The conclusion for every thinking citizen is that there can be no science without moral foundations. This is what our ancient ancestors taught. Science to them represented the tool to interpret nature and assist human vulnerability.

Today, more than ever, the need is imperative to reunite science with the deeper values of humankind. I believe that the revived initiative of The Seven Wise Men contributes greatly toward this direction.

Dr. Karolos Papoulias

Message from the Organizing Committee

In our quest for meaning in today's world, information has become a defining component of progress. What we often need, however, is a proper prism through which to filter the vast amounts of data and facts that surround us, leading to greater understanding and knowledge.

The sages of ancient Greece played a pivotal role in building a more enlightened and advanced society. As a bridge that linked communities, tribes, and settlements dispersed throughout their homeland, the Seven Wise Men of the Ancient World created the ethical and intellectual underpinnings of a society that grew and prospered based on values of the highest order.

In a similar way, in today's era of globalization, we believe that the revival of this venerable institution assumes a catalytic role in building a more connected society of all humankind.

It is our hope that the 1^st Symposium of Seven Wise Men will act as this special prism and enable all of us to gain a deeper understanding of issues that affect us daily, as well as an insight into specialized fields of professional inquiry, such as cardiovascular surgery.

Christos Lolas
President of the Organizing Committee

Message from the Presenter - Navarino Resorts

Navarino is honored to present the 1^st Symposium of Seven Wise Men of the modern world, an idea proposed by professor Chistos Lolas and his colleagues. The revival of this ancient Greek Institution creates a new global setting for the most illustrious minds of the modern world to share their thoughts.

Greece, the birthplace of Western civilization, is uniquely positioned to host such an event. Our historical legacy and contemporary position in the world present a unique opportunity to engage today's thinkers in addressing social, scientific, and cultural issues that affect us all.

Today, as in ancient times, Greece has become a catalyst for intellectual and philosophical debate and we believe Greece is once again a beacon of reason and rational thought. The Symposium provides men and women from around the world with a remarkable forum for the expression of innovative ideas.

Supporting the Symposium of Seven Wise Men, and advancing Greece as a spiritual and creative force, go hand in hand with our commitment to position Greece as a “preferred global destination.” Toward this end, we are investing in Messinia, in Greece's historic Peloponnese, by creating Navarino, one of the largest leisure developments in the Mediterranean.

Captain Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos
Founder

Message from the President of the Hellenic Cardiological Society

The Symposium of the Seven Wise Men of Cardiovascular Surgery, taking place in Athens and Delphi under the initiative of our distinguished colleagues, will give us the opportunity to meet with and listen to seven most prominent scientists from all over the world, speaking about their specialization on human life.

These seven distinguished colleagues will be among other renowned Greek scientists from abroad, including the neighboring Balkan and Middle East countries.

The Symposium, promotes Greece as a pivotal hub, and is a unique opportunity to revive the institution of the Symposia of the Seven Wise Men of Antiquity and become a connecting spiritual link in today’s age of globalization

It is with great pleasure and joy that we place this event under the auspices of the Hellenic Cardiological Society and we wish full success in accomplishing its goals.

Dimitrios Kremastinos MD, PhD
Professor of Cardiology
President

Message from the President of the Hellenic Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Cardiovascular surgery is a relatively new medical specialty that in a period of almost half a century has created solutions to almost all its challenges. Cardiovascular surgery has—during the course of its progression—dealt successfully with difficulties and problems through the persistent efforts and contribution of exceptionally capable colleagues with remarkable personalities. A great number of these enlightened surgeons have taken their rightful place in history. In addition, a number of inspired and skillful teachers and colleagues continue to practice and struggle to find solutions to the latest challenges of our specialty.

The Greek Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery greets with joy the initiative taken by the former President of our Society Dr. Christos Lolas to recognize and honor seven of today’s most distinguished cardiovascular surgeons, and invites its members to embrace the Symposium of Seven Wise Men, and honor these wise pioneers, researchers, and inventors who, by combining spirit and skill, have cured, and continue to cure, problems of the heart, one of the most vital organs of the human body.

Dr. Panayiotis Spanos, MD
Prof. of C-V Surgery
University of Thessaloniki
President

Message from the President of the Hellenic College of Cardiology

Our College welcomes the initiative of our distinguished colleagues to organize the Symposium of the Seven Wise Men in Cardiovascular Surgery.

The seven wise men invited to participate in the Symposium are not only renowned within the medical community but are well known to the public internationally.

Their scientific and teaching achievements have earned them professional recognition and their work has impacted communities of many countries around the world.

During the Symposium we will have the opportunity to meet with them and hear them speak on their areas of expertise as well as about broad human challenges. They will share with us the wisdom they have gathered during their remarkable and long careers.

It is with great joy that our College places this event under its auspices, supporting the aim to revive the Symposium of the Seven Wise Men of Antiquity, so that wise people from all disciplines can share their thoughts for greater social and scientific gain.

Prof. George Parharidis
President

Message from the Mayor of Athens

The quintessense of the wisdom of the seven men of antiquity can be encapsulated in the contestation of obsolete beliefs, in the search for answers to universal questions and in the consolidation of the notion that man can achieve blissfulness both individually and socially. That is, to realise its concurrent double nature: that of the individual and the citizen.

This very triumph of intellect does not constitute the sole right of Greek culture but it is becoming part of an international heritage with universal features.

Nowadays, the legacy of the ancient Hellenic culture paves the way for today’s civilsation. The heart –the very symbol of life and of the love for life- is becoming the cause for the revival of the symposium of the seven wise men of antiquity. In this manner, the seven distinguished doctors of cardiovascular surgery, all of whom have obtain their wisdom through their benevolent will to serve humanity, are becoming the first inheritors of the responsibility to carry forward this dialectic between the ancient and contemporary times. A dialogue that should, and we all wish to, gain in dynamism and expand to other scientific fields.

This is because the answer to all social dilemmas, the very position of human beings in society and the confrontation of all challenges of the modern world should emanate from the wondrous co-operation between science and society.

The transition of wisdom into effective giving is the act that would make us all proud of our spiritual and intellectual achievements, while its spreading to the entire society is the act to guarantee its eternal existence.

Nikitas Kaklamanis
Mayor of Athens

Message from the Mayor of Delphi

More than any other time humanity has a need to turn to Delphi and receive the “Holy Bread of Self Knowledge.”

The Seven Wise Men of antiquity dedicated the Delphic admonitions to Apollo as “Beneficial to People for their Lives.” The mission of the sciences is to serve man and it is necessary to have their moral foundation based on the Principals of the Apollonian Delphic Humanistic Ideal.

The revival of the Symposium of the Seven Wise Men sends a message of hope and illuminates the Path of Laurel (Dafneforia), to bring humanity back to adamantine cultural, the everlasting values of Delphi, the values of good measure and proper rhythm, for a world of peace and cooperation in a human environment.

Panayiotis I. Kaltsis
Mayor of Delphi