HELBI

It is no coincidence that last week two major exhibitions were announced to open this coming week. The Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy is to hold an exhibition to commemorate the arrival and settlement in Attica in 1922 of Greek refugees from Asia Minor. The exhibits - comprising photographs, paintings, objets d’art, maps and official documents - all reflect the political and social framework of the period between the wars and the personal stories of these refugees. The exhibition is to be opened by President Karolos Papoulias on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Parliament Foundation’s exhibition hall, 1 Mitropoleos and Filellinon streets. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will also attend. The other exhibition that is attracting much international interest focuses on that famous Greek from Smyrna, the late Aristotle Onassis, and is titled “Aristotle Onassis: Beyond the Myth,” organized by the Alexandros S. Onassis Benefit Foundation to mark its 30th anniversary, in cooperation with the Benaki Museum. The exhibition, which includes objects that have been selected as a reflection of Onassis’ personality, is to be opened by Karamanlis at the New Benaki Museum on Pireos Street at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.