Piraeus & Rebetiko

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Alexandra Mourgou, Haris Tsalparas & Theodora Athanasiou

The lecture examines the relationship between the urban landscape of Piraeus and the emergence of rebetiko, shedding light on how the city’s development and the formation of this musical genre were closely linked and mutually reinforcing. A central focus of the discussion is the arrival of refugees from Asia Minor after 1922, which played a decisive role in creating the social and cultural conditions within which this unique musical blend took shape and became established. The experience of displacement, accelerating urbanization, new forms of daily life, and social marginalization converged in the genesis of a new musical language with a distinct urban and folk imprint.

The event will also focus on the cultural background, practices, and social norms through which rebetiko emerged, as well as on the question of how and why it took root specifically in Piraeus. It will also examine its relationship with earlier or related musical genres, the influences and “borrowings” it absorbed, as well as whether it can be viewed as a continuation of urban folk music or as something more complex and historically distinct. Finally, the discussion will turn to the present day, raising the question of the survival of rebetiko: through which musicological practices and stylistic forms does it continue—if it continues—to exist today.