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LEX
23–24
LEXIA 23-24 |LEXIA
Rivista di semiotica
Journal of semiotics
ISSN 1720-5298-20
euro 35,00
ISBN 978-88-548-9931-5
In copertina
Rembrandt (1661-2)
Congiura di Giulio Civile
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dimento dei Batavi), olio su tela, 196 cm × 309 cm,
Stoccolma, Nationalmuseum.
23–24
Complotto / Conspiracy
COMPLOTTO
CONSPIRACY
a cura di / edited by
Massimo Leone
Complotto
Conspiracy
Se il lavoro dei semiotici sulle teorie del complotto ha uno scopo, non è quello d’indi-
care, da un punto di vista supposto come neutrale, chi ha ragione e chi ha torto, chi
sta cospirando e chi no, chi ha creato una falsa teoria del complotto e chi svela un
segreto socialmente pericoloso. Lo scopo della semiotica è, piuttosto, quello d’indi-
care le condizioni discorsive che favoriscono la proliferazione del pensiero complot-
tista o anti-complottista e, allo stesso tempo, quello di suggerire come riformulare il
conitto in un quadro discorsivo diverso, che non si limiti a creare retorica polemica
ma getti le basi per l’azione sociale. Il problema delle teorie del complotto, infatti, da
un punto di vista semiotico non risiede nella loro presunta fallacia logica o scienti-
ca, ma nel fatto che esse sono un mezzo per esprimere una preoccupazione socia-
le che, altrimenti, resterebbe inespressa, vale a dire, l’angoscia verso la crescente de-
costruzione delle conoscenze nelle nuove arene digitali. Semiotici e altri studiosi so-
ciali dovrebbero pertanto operare non per il ridimensionamento di tali teorie pensa-
te come cospirative, ma per la creazione di uno spazio collettivo in cui la confusione
evidente dell’attuale comunicazione digitale possa essere problematizzata, discussa
e possibilmente reindirizzata verso soluzioni più convenienti.
Contributi di / Contributions by Andreas Anton, Eduardo José Marcos Camilo, Ute Caumanns,
Alessandra Chiappori, Amir Dizdarević, Julius Erdmann, Maurizio Ferraris, Rayco González,
Saman Hamdi, Eva Kimminich, Evangelos Kourdis, Vincenzo Idone Cassone, Massimo Leone,
Mari–Liis Madisson, Marta Milia, Peppino Ortoleva, Alessandro Perissinotto, Jenny Ponzo,
Daniele Salerno, Simona Stano, Mattia Thibault, Federica Turco, Andreas Ventsel, Ugo Volli,
Evripides Zantides, Jiang Zhang.
LEXIA. RIVISTA DI SEMIOTICA
LEXIA. JOURNAL OF SEMIOTICS
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Gianfranco M
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Roland P
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Michael S
Darcilia S
Frederik S
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Redazione / Editor
Massimo Leone
Editori associati di questo numero /
Associated editors of this issue
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cia Corrain, Giovanna Cosenza, Cristina Demaria,
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ne, Jean–Marie Iacono, Tarcisio Lancioni, Francesco
Mangiapane, Federico Montanari, Simone Natale,
Paolo Peverini, Isabella Pezzini, Jenny Ponzo, Laura
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ISSN 1720-5298-20
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Lexia
Rivista di semiotica
Lexia. Rivista di semiotica, –
Complotto
Lexia. Journal of Semiotics, –
Conspiracy
a cura di
edited by
Massimo Leone
Contributi di
Andreas Anton
Ute Caumanns
Alessandra Chiappori
Amir Dizdarevi´
c
Julius Erdmann
Maurizio Ferraris
Rayco González
Saman Hamdi
Eva Kimminich
Evangelos Kourdis
Vincenzo Idone Cassone
Massimo Leone
Mari–Liis Madisson
Eduardo José Marcos Camilo
Marta Milia
Peppino Ortoleva
Alessandro Perissinotto
Jenny Ponzo
Daniele Salerno
Simona Stano
Mattia Thibault
Federica Turco
Andrea Ventsel
Ugo Volli
Evripides Zantides
Jiang Zhang
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I edizione: giugno
Indice / Table of Contents
Prefazione / Preface
Massimo Leone
Parte I
La semiotica del complotto
Part I
The semiotics of conspiracy
Anti-Semitism (and Now Anti-Zionism) as Prototype of Con-
spiracy Theory. A Theoretical and Textual Approach
Ugo Volli
About Grounding, Courting and Truthifying. Conspiratorial
Fragments and Patterns of Social Construction of Reality in
Rhetoric, Media and Images
Eva Kimminich
Fondamentalismo, anomia, complotto
Massimo Leone
Imposed Interpretation. Querying Contemporary Literary
Criticism
Jiang Zhang
Il discorso del complotto
Alessandro Perissinotto
Indice / Table of Contents
La inflación de la sospecha. El discurso de las teorías de la
conspiración
Rayco González
Suspicion, Denunciation, Revolt. On Textual Particularities
of Conspiracy Theories
Eduardo José Marcos Camilo
Parte II
Le geografie del complotto
Part I
The geographies of conspiracy
Technological and Semiotic Code Structures of Conspiracist
Thinking Online. PI News from a Media-Related Point of
View
Julius Erdmann
Always the Same Old Conspiracy Story. On Jürgen Elsässer’s
Narrative Voyage from Left to Right
Amir Dizdarevi´c, Saman Hamdi
NWO Conspiracy Theory. A Key Frame in Online Commu-
nication of the Estonian Extreme Right
Mari-Liis Madisson
Conspiracy as Politics of Historical Knowledge. Italian Ter-
rorisms and the Case of Romanzo di una strage/Piazza Fontana:
The Italian Conspiracy
Daniele Salerno
Indice / Table of Contents
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon. A Semiotic View
of the Explosion of Greek Conspiracy Theories and Urban
Legends in the Economic Crisis
Evangelos Kourdis
Cyprus and Conspiracy Theories after the Troika Levy in
Evripides Zantides
Parte III
I temi del complotto
Part III
The themes of conspiracy
Vuotare il sacco
Maurizio Ferraris
Performing and Communicating Conspiracy Theories. Stal-
inist Show Trials in Eastern Europe during the Cold War
Ute Caumanns
Storie di complotti e miti a bassa intensità
Peppino Ortoleva
Unreal Realities. An Approach to Conspiracy Theories Based
on Sociology of Knowledge
Andreas Anton
Political Potentiality of Conspiracy Theories
Andreas Ventsel
“Tell Me What You [Do Not] Eat, and I Shall Tell You What
You Are”. Food, Health and Conspiracy Theories
Simona Stano
Indice / Table of Contents
Upsetting National Events and Conspiracy Narratives in Con-
temporary Italian Literature
Jenny Ponzo
Il misterioso Holden. Ipotesi semiotica per un complotto
Alessandra Chiappori
Trolls, Hackers, Anons. Conspiracy Theories in the Periph-
eries of the Web
Mattia Thibault
History as We Know It. Conspiracy and Historical Narrative
through Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Vincenzo Idone Cassone
«It’s all the President’s Fault». Tricks, Conspiracies, and Cor-
ruption in the American TV Series Set at the White House:
Homeland and Scandal
Federica Turco
Il contagio cospirativo sui social media. Ebola e la narrazione
delle teorie del complotto
Marta Milia
Parte IV
Recensioni
Part IV
Reviews
Recensione di José Enrique Finol, La corposfera: Antropo–
semiótica de las cartografías del cuerpo
Massimo Leone
Indice / Table of Contents
Recensione di Sémir Badir, Épistémologie sémiotique — La
théorie du langage de Louis Hjelmslev
Massimo Leone
Note biografiche degli autori / Authors’ Bionotes
Call for papers. Aspettualità / Aspectuality
Lexia. Rivista di semiotica, 23–24
Complotto
ISBN 978-88-548-9931-5
DOI 10.4399/978885489931513
pag. 225–244 (giugno 2016)
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
A Semiotic View of the Explosion of Greek Conspiracy Theories
and Urban Legends in the Economic Crisis
E K*
: Il fenomeno Velopoulos-Liakopoulos: una prospettiva se-
miotica sull’esplosione di teorie del complotto e leggende metropolitane
in Grecia durante la crisi economica.
: The essay examines the explosion of conspiracy theories and urban
legends during the Greek crisis since as a development that has been
prepared at least since the late s, with the introduction of private
TV-channel ownership rights, the reorganization of the populist Right
in Greece, as well as with the combination of imported conspiracy theo-
ries, mostly from the UK and the US, with elements of Hellenic history,
archaeology, mythology, and popular stereotypes. The essay focuses on
the discourses created by two particular proponents of these theories and
provides background information on the political and economic reasons
behind their success and diffusion. The essay proves that, in Greece the
theorists of conspiracies are well–known people and advocate their posi-
tions publicly and strongly. Hellenocentric stances based on Archeolatry
are invoked as rhetorical means to resist the emerging insecurity.
: Conspiracism; Greece; Crisis; Archeolatry; Hellenecentrism;
Semiotics.
∗Evangelos Kourdis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Evangelos Kourdis
. Introduction: the position for the superiority of the Greek Ci-
vilization
In late s, the first private television stations were established in
Greece allowing people to express their opinions, which would not be
expressed otherwise that freely. However, this situation also allowed
people with extreme or absurd opinions to express themselves. In this
framework, some fans of conservatism in Greece, who identified with
the right–wing, extreme–right, even centre–right political parties in
Greece, took advantage of the concept of Greek civilization superiority.
They appeared in private television aiming at justifying that position,
by stressing the risk of the Greek civilization being threatened by
many enemies, each for their own reasons. The position about the
superiority of the Greek civilization was based on a series of opinions,
the most important of which, I believe, are the following:
Contemporary Greeks are the offspring of Ancient Greeks. That
position is the answer to Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer’s ( []: )
claims that after the long co–existence of Greeks with other peoples,
mainly Slavs (ibid:) and Albanians (ibid:–), the genetic authenti-
city of Greeks has been compromised, based on certain passages of
Byzantine historical writers. The advocates of Greek superiority use
scientific facts. For instance, according to a world research conducted
by the University of Stanford, the University of Pavia, and other uni-
versities, the DNA of modern Greeks accounts for .% Caucasian
race without a Mongolian trace, although there were years of
slavery (see Semino et al. ).
The Greek nation is unique because it is linguistically unique. In-
deed, the Greek language, which belongs to the Indo-European family
of languages, is one of the few languages with historic continuity
as linguists confirm that it has been spoken continuously in the sa-
me geographical area since ancient times. Christidis (:–)
typically state that «[. .. ] the wholeness of the Greek language is re–
interpreted as a historical uniqueness that proves the superiority of
the Greek language against the other European languages, which it
fertilized».
Indeed, the influence of the Greek language on the other European,
. All these translations from Greek into English are our own.
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
mainly, languages was important. As a self–evident position, very
often, the conspiracists in Greece — and not only them — use the
two speeches of Professor of Finance and interim non–party Prime
Minister of Greece Xenophon Zolotas at the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development in and respectively. His
English–speaking speeches are considered historic and worthnoting
because they included mainly terms of Greek origin.
The Greek language was perhaps the first Lingua Franca in the
world, it was used to write the Gospel, and for that reason it is con-
sidered together with the Hebrew and Latin languages, according to
the Catholic Doctrine, one of the sacred languages of Christianity. As
Petrounias (:) mentioned, «the religious currents of the era
and especially Christianity used the most common language, Greek,
to expand. Without the previous expansion of the Greek language, it
would not be possible for Christianity to expand, but then the fact
that the new religion used the Greek language, helped the further
expansion of the language». Actually, many Greeks consider that in
the Gospel is recorded one more point in favour of the importance of
the Greek civilization. In particular, it is mentioned that when Jesus
was informed by His students Andrew and Philip that the Greeks
have come to listen to Him, He uttered that «the hour has come for
the Son of Man to be glorified» (Matthew ,–, Mark ,–).
The Greek civilization is the basis of western civilization. It is also a
self–evident position which is adopted by the intellectual tradition of
Europe, a continent and a civilization which owes its name to Greek
Mythology. The influence of the Greek civilization is recorded in diffe-
rent times of world history. So, in relation to Roman times it is recorded
that «[.. .] the general impression that people have about Roman and
Greek is that Roman culture is basically derived from Greek culture»
(McGeough :), and even the clear position which is pretty popu-
lar in Greece that «the Romans conquered Greece with their army, but
the Greeks conquered them with their culture»
. But in Byzantine years,
Cunningham et al. (:) state with great precision the influence of
the Greek language and the Greek civilization.
As has been previously mentioned, conspiracy theories in Greece
. In fact, not few researchers characterize this interaction as “open conspiracy” between
the Roman and the Greek aristocracy (Crawford []: ).
Evangelos Kourdis
have as a common resultant the fact that the superiority of the Greek
civilization is threatened mainly by peoples who contributed less
to the world civilization, are envy of the special position of Greeks,
and/or attempt to vanish them or reduce their contribution to the
world civilization adopting some of their creations or their history.
Actually, it is people whom the Greeks would consider humiliating
to be compared with. In particular, Christidis (:) records the
opinion that «Hellenism and Greekness are at risk by the northern
underdeveloped usurpers and the Europeans — foreigners — who do
not understand our historic rights, although we — that mythical “we”
— were the ones who civilized them».
The attempt of the Slav–speaking inhabitants of FYROM (Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) to claim emblems and the history of
Macedonians as theirs is part of this framework, although it is known
that, first, they are Slavs and Slavs descended to the Greek territory in
the th century AD, and, second, that they speak a Bulgarian dialect, a
fact that led Bulgaria to recognize them as a state but not as a nation,
and Lubcho Georgievski, FYROM former prime–minister, to receive
a Bulgarian passport
. There is a similar attempt by Turkish guides
to present Greek and Roman antiquities of Small Asia as Turkish
monuments, a fact that has caused the sarcastic comments of Greek
tourists and of tourists of other nationalities.
Herzfeld (:–) states that «in the past many Greeks felt indif-
ferent or even loath for any suggestion that compared them with other
(and especially non-European) peoples». Herzfeld (ibid) purports that
«this fact alone however proves how strong has been the influence of
egocentrism that wanted Greeks molded by the norms of western
countries». But why would a people who proclaimed «all in good
measure» and considered non-Greeks as savages (even if this related
to the Other’s language) want to compare oneself with some civiliza-
tions but not with others? Could it be that this conspiracy notion was
imported to the Modern Greek culture? To answer this question we
should first answer what exactly we mean by “conspiracy theories”.
. Sapountzis & Condor (:), in their research concerning Greek conspiracy
theories about the establishment of FYROM, observe that «[i]n the interview context,
respondents often used conspiracy narratives to present Greek concerns over the esta-
blishment of FYROM as a legitimate reaction to realistic (material) threat, rather than as
motivated by “mere” concerns over identity threat».
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
. Theoretical approaches to conspiracy theory and urban legends
In everyday life, the expression conspiracy theories is connected con-
notatively to something concealed that is the result of superior pro-
cesses that common people cannot control and access. The term
conspiracy theory was introduced by Karl Popper (:), who
described it as:
Whatever happens in society—including things which people as a rule
dislike, such as war, poverty, shortages—are the results of direct design by
some powerful individuals or groups. This view is very widespread [.. .] and
in its modern form, it is the typical result of the secularization of religious
superstitions [.. .] the place of the gods on Homer’s Olympus is now taken
by the Learned Elders of Zion, or the monopolists, or the capitalists, or the
imperialists.
The above definition indicates that religion, politics, and economy
are the three parameters on which a conspiracy theory can be built on.
Over the past few years, the first two parameters seem to have been
superseded by the last one as the idea that religious wars and political
changes have an economic background has been increasingly adopted.
However which person, which group, or even which country has the
power for something like that? If we consider correct the viewpoint
that after the collapse of the Soviet Union the United States remained
the only superpower in the world (to justify the nickname “world’s
leader” for the U.S. president) it is natural to relate first to the U.S.
leadership the conspiracy theories
. As Tuckett (:) states «[m]any
major events, for better or for worse, have occurred as the result of
people behind the scenes who have held the keys to the actions of
the world. Startling discoveries, often stretching far back into history,
can affect the very way our Western thought processes and behavior
patterns are conducted».
That is why Byford (:) states that «[t]hroughout the world
conspiracy theories have also become a popular means of articulating
an opposition to the forces of international capitalism, globalisation,
. Similarly, the phrase “divide and rule” attributed to UK politics suggested its unof-
ficial participation in political, economic, and religious turmoil in various parts of the
planet.
Evangelos Kourdis
America’s military and political supremacy, and the more general rise
of a transnational political order». For Byford (:–):
Conspiracy theories are said to constitute a distinct culture — conspira-
cism — which encompass a specific system of knowledge, beliefs, values,
practices and rituals shared by communities of people around the world
[.. .] the conspiracy culture is defined (but also sustained) by the tendency
among conspiracy writers to regurgitate, revamp and apply to new cir-
cumstances the body of knowledge, the explanatory logic and rhetorical
tropes expounded in texts, books, or pamphlets written and published by
conspiracy theorists in the past.
Very close to the concept of conspiracy theory is the term urban
legend or myth
, which dates back to . Wilton (:) specifies
that «[u]rban legends do not get their name because they necessarily
refer to events that supposedly happened in cities. Rather, they are
called that because they are tales, usually cautionary, told by people
who live in our modern, urbanized society».
As we will see next, the Greek case contains elements of both cases.
We will also find that a source of the Greek theories of conspiracy
and/or urban legends is the failure of a continued impact by a ci-
vilization that flourished in the antiquity, as is commonly believed,
continued to flourish and influence indirectly the world thought in the
Roman and Byzantine years, but did not manage to keep influencing
— at least to the same degree — the world and European reality after
the collapse of the Byzantine Empire during the Ottoman dominance.
. Leading Conspiracy Theories and Urban legends in Greece: a
representative survey
It is worth–noting that although the private television spread various
conspiracy theories in the Greek public, these theories did not become
the scope of broad scientific research in Greece, perhaps because of
their exaggeration, or even of the metaphysical element involved
in their expansion. Zizakou () mentions that Greek conspiracy
theories and urban legends tend to find lies and distortions behind a
. For Barthes, myths are the dominant ideologies of our time, a set of values, and
truth is no guarantee for them (Barthes []: ).
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
lot of significant personalities and stories. Antoniou et al. () found
in their recent survey that urban legends and conspiracy theories have
increased in the last years and are attributed to the low social trust of
Greeks and the lack of education. According to their data:
a)
.% of the people who participated in the survey believe
that the Greek economic crisis was planned by various non–
institutional centers;
b)
.% support the theory that the drug against cancer has
been found but not made available to the public yet;
c)
.% claim that the attack on the twin towers was the result of
a well–organized plan of the U.S. to impose its foreign policy;
d)
% of the survey participants also believing that Neil Arm-
strong’s moon landing in was staged in a remote location;
e)
.% of the survey respondents believe that Costas Simitis
has Jewish origins.
As we observe in the results of the survey by Antoniou et al. (),
the Greeks seem to be intrigued by conspiracy theories and urban
legends that involve mainly the international scene, but also those
that relate to the Greek reality. The graphs of the survey indicate
that conspiracy thinking is very popular to those with primary, high
school, lyceum education, and in the age group – years. The
combination of youth and lower educational level seems to favor the
expansion of conspiracy theories and urban legends, and I believe that
it is a global fact, not only Greek. What happens, however, when the
factor “economic crisis” in Greece is added?
. Conspiracy theories in Greece and crisis
During different types of crisis, political, economic, social, a wide–
spread phenomenon is observed, an outbreak, in terms of conspiracy
theories and urban legends. Especially for Greece, Mylonas (:)
states that:
The financial crisis has multiplied and exacerbated belief in conspiracy
theories. [.. . ] Increasingly the conspiracy theories circulating in Greece
Evangelos Kourdis
have ceased to be plausible, while also multiplying in number. Thus, while
in the past an event would usually have two interpretations, the official and
the conspiratorial, nowadays it has three or four, if not more, competing
explanations. The financial crisis has evolved into a real economic crisis,
expressing itself in job loss and diminished purchasing power for the average
Greek. This has led the population to new levels of uncertainty about the
future, which provides a fertile ground for conspiracy theories to emerge
and spread.
Technology development contributed highly to the spread of these
theories since through the electronic press and the social media there
is a chance to widely spread these theories and especially through
the anonymity of a nickname. For Keely (:), «[a] conspiracy
theory is a proposed explanation of some historical event (or events)
in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of
persons — the conspirators — acting in secret». However, as we will
see next, although the description of Greek conspiracy theories has
secrecy as its main characteristic, those who spread them not only
they are anonymous but also they strive for large publicity. How is
this explained?
As we will see next, this choice is based on the fact that these theo-
ries glorify indirectly the glorious past of the Greeks, by empowering
national conscience, operating in a unified way for the nation, and
infusing a vision to younger generations. As in the Old Testament,
the prophets who prophesied the fate of Israel were accepted by the
people as carriers of the Holy grace, and their words were the lodestar
for the Hebrew nation, I would dare claim that similarly the represen-
tatives of archeolatry and the Byzantine Empire are faced positively
by a large part of the Greek people.
The economic crisis in Greece is a favorable condition for their
expansion as the common denominator is the supremacy of the values
and the way of thinking of our ancestors. So it is not accidental that
the slogans of public demonstrations studied during the financial crisis
(Kourdis ) indicate the emergence of a new national integration
paradigm, based on a revival of the classicist values. This is why
slogans are condensed historical memory (the struggle of Greeks in
against the Ottomans, in against the Italians, and in –
against the colonels’ junta).
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
It is interesting, as we will see next, that the economic crisis fueled
the Greek readership with new theories about new enemies of Helle-
nism — as, for instance, the Germans who are accused on a European
level of orchestrating the economic crisis — although negative stereo-
types were revived about them, in place of the positive stereotypes
that existed.
Especially for the Germans, the fact that in Germany there is a
numerous Greek community that transfers to Greece the positive
image that it receives from a people who is disciplined, hardworking,
with social welfare, a very good education system, and a very good
healthcare system, resulted in the negative stereotypes structured for
the only time this people came in contact with the Greek people, du-
ring World War II, mainly through the press, mainly TV and printed,
to revive stereotypes long forgotten and discarded.
. Hellenocentrism and archeolatry
The conspiracy theory I will present is Hellenocentrism/Archeolatry.
It should be mentioned that apart from Hellenocentrism as conspiracy
theory there was also Historical Hellenocentrism, a cultural–literary
movement in early th century Greece and had nothing to do with
the conspiracy theories
. Vayenas (:) defines Hellenocentrism
as «[... ] a conviction of the uniqueness of the Greek element and
its superiority over everything foreign — a conviction that usually
leads elevating Greekness to the level of an absolute value». Metsos &
Mossialos (:) speak for «[.. . ] a country used to seeing itself as
the centre of the whole world suffering from what has been termed
as the syndrome of Hellenocentrism». The term Hellenocentrism
refers to the movement or wave of people and literature that express
views compatible with the syndrome of Hellenocentrism. This trend
seems to be represented by Kyriakos Velopoulos.
The term Archeolatry refers to followers of the ancient Greek reli-
gion and/or admirers of the ancient Greek civilization. Mouzelis (:
. For Vayenas (:), Hellenecontrism is a kind of traditionalism that excludes
some of the most well–known writers of the time and overemphasizes the discovery of a
‘silenced’ Greek tradition (such as the writings of the general of the Greek Revolution for
Independency Ioannis Markiyannis, the popular art of Theofilos, etc.).
Evangelos Kourdis
) defines Archeolatry as «obsessive preoccupation with and blind
admiration of everything ancient». Currently, the term is often used
for generic movements about the superiority of ancient Greeks, in
various TV shows. As in mainstream conspiracy theories, Archeola-
trists are classified into religious and anti–religious enthusiasts. Some
conspiracy theorists of Archeolatry, such as Dimosthenis Liakopoulos,
are devout Christians believing that true Orthodoxy can protect and
guide the people against the anti–religious New World Order. On the
other hand, there are factions who oppose Christianity, which they
consider a part of the Zionist plot to exterminate the original Ancient
Greek religion.
..The Kyriakos Velopoulos’ case
Kyriakos Velopoulos is a -year old Greek politician and former
parliament member, and television personality. Born in Germany,
his parents were immigrant peasants. He studied journalism. He is
a member of the Academy of the Greek language in Germany and
a member of the Union of Writers of Northern Greece. He was
a member of ONNED, the youth organization of the Right Party
New Democracy (ND) until , and ideologically defines himself
as belonging to the ‘patriotic ND’. He was a member of the Popular
Orthodox Rally, the nationalist populist party of Georgios Karatzaferis,
and in the parliamentary elections he got elected as deputy of
Thessaloniki with the political party LAOS. In , a number of
former deputies of the populist and fairly Eurosceptic radical right–
wing LAOS, among them Kyriakos Velopoulos, deserted their party
in order to join the New Democracy party.
As a journalist he has worked in a number of radio and television
stations, such as TV Thessaloniki, Ermis, Best, Top, Orion, TeleAsty,
where he presented his two major shows The parliament and Greek
Vision, in which he promotes his books (see fig. ). He is a cofounder
. See http://www.thenile.co.nz/books/Books-LLC/Epsilonism-Epsilon-Team-
Kyriakos-Velopoulos//.
. This political movement was covered by the conspiracy facet that «[t]he leader
of LAOS, Giorgos Karatzaferis, reacted to this development by suggesting that the US
and Israeli embassies in Greece were seeking to destroy his party» (Vasilopoulou &
Halikiopoulou :).
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
Figure .Kyriakos Velopoulos promoting his books
of the Hellenocentric association “
Δίαυλος Ελλήνων
” (Channel of
the Greeks).
The titles of his books are typical of his ideology. Below there are
Velopoulos’ most important books from , when the economic
crisis burst out, until now when the world economic crisis has been
transformed since into a purely Greek crisis. It is also worth
mentioning that during the last decade Velopoulos promoted greatly
the book, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, published in Greece by
several extreme–right–wing publishers such as Ouranos and Mpimpis.
In , he republished the book
Μακεδονία και ΄Υβρεις
(Macedo-
nia and offenses)
by Kadmos editions in Thessaloniki. In this book,
Velopoulos “reveals” all the statements by Greek politicians from the
past till now about the fight against provocative FYROM inhabitants
and foreign anti-Greek centers. Velopoulos attempts to shed light on
the dark sides of this national problem in relation to people who pull
anti-Greek strings and act within Greece against the Greek nation. In
my point of view, a historic linguistic perspective proves that FYROM
inhabitants are of Greek origin but unfortunately of the so–called
Janissaries, whereas certain documents reveal the obscure role of peo-
ple beyond suspicion who voluntarily or not betray Macedonia behind
the scenes while on stage they speak differently.
In , he publishes the book
Ελλήνων μυστικά
(Greeks’ secrets)
with Kadmos editions in Thessaloniki. In this book, the achievements
of the ancient Greek spirit are described, which the whole world prai-
. See http://www.biblionet.gr/main.asp?page=results&Titlesid=
Evangelos Kourdis
ses and celebrates as these have unique features, and are portrayed in
the Arts, Sciences, History, Literature, Philosophy, with a strong hu-
man element. According to the writer, the ancient Greek civilization
is by definition an advocate of the highest good — spiritual freedom,
and the cogitation and insightfulness of ancient Greeks penetrated
successfully all the fields of knowledge, and had fruitful outcomes
which the humanity has been enjoying ever since .
In , the book
Η Ελλάδα του 21ου αιώνα. Γεωστρατηγική
—
Γεωπολιτική Αλήθειες και ψέματα
(Greece in st century. Geostrategy
— Geopolitics. Truths and Lies) was published by Kadmos editions.
In a time of directed information, the writer aims for the book to
become a treasure of knowledge for the pure Greek citizen and the
historian of the future, who would like to study unknown sources for
the Greek — and beyond — issues of the st century. Some of the
topics addressed are: the clash of civilizations, global government, the
dirty war of pharmaceuticals, the shocking data about “green growth”
and GMO products, the confidential Kissinger report, the Treaty of
Lausanne, Russia, Putin and the neoByzantine Sendersky circle, and
the geostrategical place of new Russia.
In , the book
Η Ελλάδα στην παγκόσμια σκακιέρα της γεωπο-
λιτικής
(Greece in a world chess game of geopolitics) was published
by Kadmos editions. The book states that countries, small or large (in
power or territory), run a race of empowering their role irrespective
of the price their peoples have to pay, and focuses on how the Big
Powers act in a framework of instability and insecurity worldwide .
In , Velopoulos’ book Epsilonism: Epsilon Team was published
by Books LLC in the USA in English. Epsilonism describes an escha-
tologist conspiracy theory trend, usually (but not always) revolving
around the so–called Epsilon Team, called that way by its emblem
that is a Delphic Epsilon “
Ε
” [“epsilon” is the fifth letter of the Greek
alphabet] connected back to back (see fig. ). The term was introduced
and propagated approximately around through Greek magazines
. See http://www.politeianet.gr/books/-belopoulos-kuriakos-
kadmos-ellinon-mustika-.
. See http://www.zougla.gr/books/article/i-elada-tou-ou-eona-geostratigiki-
geopolitiki-aliies-ke-psemata.
. See https://www.ianos.gr/i-ellada-stin-pagkosmia-skakiera-tis-geopolitikis-
.html.
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
Figure .Epsilon Team’ symbol
and books whose subject is conspiracy theories and the paranormal
(for instance, the Delphic Epsilon appears on ancient Greek monu-
ments, on Inca monuments, but also on UFOs)
. Usually, Greeks refer
to this conspiracy theory as “epsilonism” in a disapproving manner
.
The Epsilon Team is viewed as a secret retaliation weapon meant to
attack and destroy anyone “threatening” Hellenism.
In the book
Χρεωκοπία και κερδοσκόποι
(Bankruptcy and profi-
teers) published by Kadmos editions in , the author accuses the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central
Bank and the credit rating agencies of their leading and also obscure
and misleading role in the structure of world economic reality, calling
the readers to help Greece to free itself from the bankruptcy of the
spirit in the present and in the future of the country.
In , the book
Η επόμενη μέρα. Προτάσεις για την οικονομία.
Μαζί μπορούμε
(The next day. Proposals for the economy. Together
we can make it) published by Kadmos editions involves the state of
big fear for the exit of Greece from the eurozone and the euro by
addressing the question if there is a solution for the suffering country
or the absolute destruction is the only way
. In , Velopoulos
. See https://sites.google.com/site/programmeepsilonproject/greek-epsilon-team.
. See http://www.thenile.co.nz/books/Books-LLC/Epsilonism-Epsilon-Team-
Kyriakos-Velopoulos//.
. One of the main researchers of Group E, Gialourakis (:) mentions that
«the members of the Group are members of secret Greek brotherhoods that hold in their
hands all the secrets of the Secrets, such as mind reading, beaming, the philosopher’s
stone, prediction of the future, the secrets of the soul (psychogenesis and immortality),
knowledge of the secret scripts, lost civilizations, but also mystical languages».
. http://www.biblionet.gr/book//
Βελόπουλος
,_
Κυριάκος
/
Χρεοκοπία
_
και
_κερδοσκόποι.
. See http://www.kadmos.org/contents/el/d_politiki_epikairotita_.html.
Evangelos Kourdis
publishes the book
Η κερκόπορτα της προδοσίας
(The back door of
treason) where he develops that in Greece there are Greeks with a
glorious past, who love their country more than their own life, but also
people who live literally at its expense
. In , the book
Η Ελλάδα
στη δίνη της παγκόσμιας σκακιέρας
(Greece in the swirling world
chess game) was published by Kadmos editions. Velopoulos addresses
the inhuman reality the Greek people has experienced over the past
few years, which is due to the geopolitical place of Greece, according
to him, and its energy resources. In relation to its energy resources, a
clandestine war has been set in the world economic–political chess
games, unparalleled with any other in world history.
In , the book
Η Ελλάδα της κρίσης
(Greece in crisis) is publi-
shed by Kadmos editions. The author stresses that all the develop-
ments in the wider area of the Mediterranean are totally connected
with the issues of the Greek EEZ, energy and the large volume of
deposits in the basin of the Mediterranean. A number of scientific
findings prove that Greece has made huge mistakes in relation to the
mapping and delineation of its EEZ, and in the search for and extrac-
tion of hydrogen. Also, the writer mentions the fuel of the future, gas
hydrates, which is in abundance in Greece. There is extensive men-
tion to Papandreou family and the crimes committed during their
governance and how, based on them, Greece reached the bankruptcy
stage. Data are provided to show that the Greek political leadership is
driven by the German leadership. There is also mention to the death
of the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, Christodoulos,
whose role in internal affairs was crucial, and data are revealed about
the fall of the former prime–minister Konstantinos Karamanlis, the
role of the secret services and the issue of wiretappings related to the
government of that period.
In , the writer publishes the book
Πριν το τσουνάμι της Ελ-
λάδας
(Before Greece’s tsunami) where he explains why Greece is
led to a definite bankruptcy, what exactly the country’s lenders want,
. See http://www.malliaris.gr/
Η-ΚΕΡΚΟΠΟΡΤΑ-ΤΗΣ-ΠΡΟΔΟΣΙΑΣ-978-
960-6851-55-1.
. See http://www.malliaris.gr/
Η-ΕΛΛΑΔΑ-ΣΤΗ-ΔΙΝΗ-ΤΗΣ-
ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΑΣ-ΣΚΑΚΙΕΡΑΣ-978-960-6851-63-6.
. See http://www.malliaris.gr/
Η-ΕΛΛΑΔΑ-ΤΗΣ-ΚΡΙΣΗΣ-978-960-6851-73-
5.
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
which the geostrategical role of Greece is, and which the claims of
the international capital from our country are in terms of fossils and
ports. In the book, there is also mention of the political party Golden
Dawn, Islam, and Turkey. Going through international agreements
and treaties, it is proved that the memorandums signed and the way
they were imposed on Greece are illegal. The innovation of the book
is that it includes sample documents which the readers can use to
defend oneself legally against bank forfeiture and debts to the National
Insurance Organization (IKA in Greek) and the revenue tax office.
In , Velopoulos’ book
Το 4ο Ράιχ είναι εδώ Η διάλυση της
Ευρωπαικής ιδέας
(The th Reich is here. The dissolution of the Eu-
ropean ideal) was published by Kadmos editions, where the writer
addresses the powerful narrative of the European values on which the
structure of a unified Europe was based. Unified Europe is a unique
undertaking in the political history of humanity, whose strengths are
tested and seems to have reached its limits. Germany plays an impor-
tant role in this course of Europe and, as indicated by the facts, it does
not seem interested in returning to the noble ideas once strived for
by Europe.
..Dimosthenis Liakopoulos’ case
Dimosthenis Liakopoulos lives in Thessaloniki. He set up his own
publishing company and bookshops in Athens and Thessaloniki for
the promotion of his own books. These bookshops are now closed.
He keeps a website with online book sales.
In his TV shows (see fig. ) and internet publications, he presents a
conspiracy theory that is quite unusual. Being a high–school teacher
of physics, his work relates to mechanical engineering, electricity,
thermodynamics, mathematics, nuclear science, the philosophy of
natural science as well as optical fibres, microelectronics and astrophy-
sics. His work consists of apocalyptic texts and novels which combine
commonly acceptable data with mythical and legendary texts, and data
from unverified and unknown sources. Specifically, he uses: Ancient
Greek literature, references to people he allegedly met while doing
. See http://www.protoporia.gr/prin-to-tsoynami-tis-elladas-p-.html.
. See https://www.ianos.gr/to-o-raix-einai-edo-.html#tab-description.
Evangelos Kourdis
Figure .Dimosthenis Liakopoulos promoting his books
his military service in the NATO forces, undefined sources on today’s
Brotherhood of Darkness.
Liakopoulos is considered to be the most famous member of the
Epsilon Team. He combines data from various sources, passes them
through the filter of a Christian Orthodox teaching, and concludes
that the Hellenic race has played and will play a significant role in
History. Liakopoulos seems to take advantage of the pride of the
Greek people in its origin and the fact that Greece has maritime
borders with Catholic Italy, the headquarters of Papism, on one side
and on the other with Muslim Turkey, which occupies the capital of
the modern Greek state, Constantinople.
One of his most important publishing works which continued in
the period of crisis is the multi–volume edition (– volumes) of the
work
Γιατί και πως ζουν ανάμεσά μας
(Why and how they live among
us). One of the basic theories Liakopoulos develops is that of the supre-
macy of the Russian technology which will bring the ‘blonde nation’
of the Russians to world power again, under President Vladimir Putin.
According to this theory, Russian will need five months to dominate
in the upcoming World War III thanks to its hyper–weapons. Ortho-
dox Christianity will spread throughout the world and the Russian
Empire, under the guidance of the Greek nation, will bring peace to
the world.
Another popular theory of Liakopoulos is that of Elohims and
The Velopoulos-Liakopoulos Phenomenon
Nephelims. According to Liakopoulos, past–life regressions to Atlantis
show a struggle between two groups of people: the ones who were
exclusively attached to the satisfaction of their senses and to material
goods, the so–called “Sons of Belial”, and the “Sons of the Law of
One”, who were spiritual beings and were trying to save the world
from annihilation through meditation and teaching. Belial is one of
the kings of the Nephelim, the half–human half–animal creatures
who posed as gods to many ancient civilizations. Belial has a human
body and the head of a wolf and belongs to the race of the Malcheh,
the giant wolf people. The Nephelim were born out of the union of
fallen Elohims (angel–like shapeshifters) with terrestrial women
.
Elohims and Nephelims theory does not seem useful any more,
while it was successful in the past decades. The new economic situa-
tion needs answers and theories concerning the new role of Greece
next to a new super power, such as Russia, outside the E.U and NATO.
But why would such a fantasy make sense? Within the new power
blocs being formed in the world (Russia, China and Brasil), such
ideas seem to many people to answer many questions about what is
happening today.
. Conclusions
For Keely (:), «[.. . ] a conspiracy theory need not propose
that the conspirators are all powerful, only that they have played
some pivotal role in bringing about the event. They can be seen as
merely setting events in motion». We observe that in Greek conspiracy
theories and urban legends nations are usually involved, which are
powerful in terms of politics and military (USA, Russia, Israel), and
finances (Germany), and pull the strings by involving less powerful
states (Turkey, FYROM, Albania).
Also, in general, conspiracy theories and urban legends do not
have well–known theorists to spread them for fear of becoming a
public laughing stock by those who will not believe them and who
are considered by conspiracists that they usually control the media.
. See http://www.spiritualinsight.gr/en/the-council-of-the-light-and-dark-forces/-
to-simvulio-tu-fotos-ke-i-dinamis-tu-skotus.
Evangelos Kourdis
However, we also observe that in the case of Greece, this is not true.
The theorists of conspiracies are well–known people and advocate
their positions publicly and strongly. They are Hellenocentric issues
based on Archeolatry and on a semiotic level we can claim that the
past is recalled as a force of resistance to the emerging insecurity.
These two conspiracy theorists, Velopoulos and Liakopoulos, com-
bine history with contemporary issues. Their ideas hardly follow
official scholarly premises or religious positions. A dominant aspect of
their communication skills, which also explains their success, is their
eloquence, passion, simplicity, and friendliness that support a style of
defense against ‘evil’. This is the best mechanism of communication
with a nation ‘in crisis’ feeling the injustice of sudden and unexplained
poverty. These theories have existed since at least early nineties and
now they are almost mainstream acceptable views. On a social level,
the results of these theories create networks of power in the media
which then goes to the parliament.
It is true that in a country of the European North, as Greece is,
suffering from the economic crisis, the reader of conspiracy theories
and urban legends would expect the demonization of Germany as the
country which, as widely believed, manages informally the European
Union and imposes the rules of financial policy to it, as happens to
all other EU member states facing similar problems. But Archaeolatry
and Hellenocentrism underplay in Greece this reaction to stereotypes
which the media revive and spread, and continue to characterize the
theories and legends that already existed before the crisis. It would
be too hard to flourish a conspiracy theory against Germany with
solid ground in Greece since the German people only came in contact
with the Greek people once, during World War II. I believe that if in
the end a conspiracy theory or an urban legend about Germany in
Greece emerges, then the harm done to the European ideal will be
immense but, hopefully, reversible.
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