The two-day ENDORAMA conference, which has been organized for the past four years by faculty members of the Department of Medicine at the University of Patras, in addition to its purely scientific focus on the contemporary literature of endocrinology, is complemented by the CULTURAL ENDORAMA: a parallel cultural initiative with a distinct thematic focus each year, highlighting aspects and characteristics of Western Greece and Patras in particular. This is an effort by the organizing committee to “engage” with society and highlight activities and characteristics of the broader region. In previous years, the Cultural Program was dedicated to: (a) the refugees of Patras, (b) Messolonghi and the lagoons surrounding it, and (c) Kalavryta and its role in the Revolution: art and history exhibitions, music, and gastronomy came together to paint a picture of each year’s theme.

In 2012, the CULTURAL ENDORAMA was dedicated to theater. Actress Eva Kotamanidou read the third rhapsody of the Iliad, translated by D. Maronitis, accompanied on the piano by Giorgos Metaxas. At the same time, in collaboration with the Patras Municipal Regional Theater (DIPETHE) and Yannis Voglis, an an exhibition of theatrical materials featuring period costumes, theatrical masks, photographs, publications, and programs spanning the 24-year history of the Municipal Regional Theater of Patras as well as the history of Patras’s municipal theater, APOLLON—a building designed by Ernst Ziller.

On behalf of “ENDORAMATOS,” we would like to thank all those who volunteered their time to help us:

Actress Eva Kotanamidou, who readily accepted our invitation and is honoring us with her presence.

Actor Yannis Voglis, who, as artistic director of the Patras Municipal and Regional Theater (DIPETHE) until December 2011, willingly offered us every kind of support and assistance.

Sofia Mavridi, Head of the Press and Public Relations Office at DIPETHE, for her overall assistance.

Androniki Chrysafi, a historian and archaeologist, who serves as curator of the “Cultural Endorama” and, with great care, passion, expertise, and fruitful discussions, contributes to its realization every year.

K. Markou, Associate Professor

An iconic building in Patras and a signature work by the German architect Erich Ziller, it stands prominently in King George I Square. This opera house was built in 1872 at the request of the city’s bourgeoisie and with their financial support, after a joint-stock company had been established specifically for this purpose. It is one of the first opera houses in Europe and connected 19th-century Patras with the cultural spirit of the West. It is a miniature version of La Scala in Milan and features all the elements of the Italian Neo-Renaissance stage: it has three tiers of boxes and a gallery, a 156-seat orchestra pit, and richly decorative elements inspired by Pompeian painting (musical motifs, figures of youths singing and playing the lyre, symbolizing the “Apollonian” harmony of lyric theater). Its exterior façade consists of successive arched colonnades, while its aesthetic is complemented by six clay statues of korai on the roof. In the 19th century, it hosted renowned performances of operas, melodramas, and operettas by great composers. Today it serves as the main stage of the Patras Municipal and Regional Theater (DIPETHE), hosting select events, and until recently, during Carnival season, it was the venue for the famous dance parties “Bourboulia.”

The Patras Municipal Regional Theater (DIPETH) has collaborated with major organizations such as the Hellenic Festival, the University of Patras, Patras—European Capital of Culture 2006, the National Theater, and others. It participates in Greece’s major festivals, most notably at Epidaurus and the Herodion, presenting high-quality performances.

DIPETHE enjoys the full support of audiences in Patras, as well as audiences throughout the rest of Greece and the media, which highlight the theater as one of the most important cultural institutions making a substantial contribution to the cultural development of the region and to theater in general. Leading figures in Greek theater have served as artistic directors of the Patras Municipal and Regional Theater (Maya Lyberopoulou, Nikos Armaos, G. Kimoulis, Th. Moumoulidis, Lydia Koniordou), while the most recent artistic director, until December 2011, was Yannis Voglis.

Actress Eva Kotamanidou reads Rhapsody III from the *Iliad*

This is one of the readings that were staged with tremendous success at the National Theater during the 2010–11 season, under the general title “Ancient Heritage, New Perspective.” This series kicked off with a stage presentation of HOMER’S ILIAD, translated by Dimitris Maronitis, in which some of Greece’s most prominent leading actresses performed in an original stage adaptation, the 24 rhapsodies of the epic.

Eustathia Drakontaidi was in charge of the lighting.