About Istros Society

The Society of Friends of Cyprus and Greece in Slovakia is a non-profit organization.

Objective

Our objective is to promote cultural and social relations between Slovakia, Cyprus, and Greece through educational programs, cultural events, and exchange activities.

• Developing friendly contacts between Slovakia on one side and Greece and Cyprus on the other, particularly in the areas of culture, education, science, technology, trade, business, sports, and tourism.
• Organizing educational trips to Slovakia, Cyprus, and Greece in cooperation with travel agencies and tour operators, focused on history, culture, economy, and more.
• Promoting Greece and Cyprus in Slovakia through cultural and social events, exhibitions, lectures, etc., and participation in events of other organizations and institutions.
• Cooperation with the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Bratislava and the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Bratislava in disseminating information about Greece and Cyprus using promotional materials such as books, magazines, videos, etc.
• Cooperation with societies, clubs, and other organizations operating in Slovakia.
• Promoting Slovakia in Greece and Cyprus in the same areas through cooperation with related organizations in Greece, Cyprus, and Slovakia.
• Supporting the popularization and teaching of the Greek language in Slovakia.

The working languages of the Society are Slovak, Greek, and English.

Why the Name Istros

The name Istros connects Slovak realities (the Danube) with the ancient world.

The name Istros (Ancient Greek: Ἴστρος) is the oldest known name for the lower course of the Danube. It is assumed that the word has an Indo-European root meaning “strong” or “fast”.

In ancient times, the Greeks knew the river as Istros (the lower course up to the Iron Gates). The Romans later used the name Danubius for the upper course. Gradually, the two names were unified.

For the ancient Greeks, Istros was not just a body of water, but a deity. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Istros was the son of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. He was thus the brother of other great rivers such as the Nile and Alpheus. He was often depicted as a horned river god (the horns symbolized strength and the tributaries of the river) or as a strong man with wet hair emerging from the waves.

According to some legends, he had a daughter named Istros, who gave her name to a city on the Black Sea coast (today’s Histria in Romania).

The name Istros is inextricably linked to the expansion of Greek influence: Around 630 BC, Milesian Greeks founded a colony called Istros at the mouth of the river into the Black Sea. It was a key trading center where Greek culture met the hinterland.

In some versions of the myth of the Argonauts, it is mentioned that Jason and his crew returned with the Golden Fleece via the route upstream of Istros to reach the Adriatic Sea (although the geographical ideas of the time were slightly confused).