Mara Meimaridi

Mara Meimaridi is an anthropologist-psychoanalyst and holds a PhD from the Medical School of the University of Athens. She was born in Kastella. She studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Athens and participated in archaeological excavations. At the same time, she graduated from the Greek National Tourism Organization's School of Tour Guides. She moved to Paris for postgraduate studies in Archaeology (Sorbonne University I) and pursued a new direction in Biology and Medical Anthropology at Université Paris - Jussieu and Ecole de Medecine de Saints-Peres, graduating with honors. Upon returning to Greece, she took part in excavations (Thrace and Abdera) studying skeletal material. She worked for many years in child health research (Institute of Child Health - Agia Sofia Children's Hospital - Department of Social Pediatrics) on Physiology and Growth issues. She was the principal investigator of the research "National Growth Standards for Greek Children Aged 6-18," which is currently used in all children's health booklets. Her dissertation at the Radiology Laboratory of the University of Athens focused on "Growth Characteristics of Greek Children - A Radiodiagnostic Study." Many of her works have been published in medical journals. In 2000, she began a new course of study in Astrophysics and Cosmology (USA, University of Maryland). She later studied psychotherapy, completing a six-year program in systemic and Reichian methods. Since 1990, she has been a journalist in daily and periodical press (Theathinai, Eleftheros Typos, Tiletheatis, Espresso, etc.) and has published magazines (Mara's Life). She worked in television, hosting the show "Mystery Stories" (ANT1) and participating in "Proinos Kafes" (ANT1), "Yparchei Logos" (Star), as well as the series "The Witches of Smyrna" (Mega). She owns two shops in Athens: "The Witches of Smyrna Shop," featuring all the Smyrna culture, and "Eftalia's Beauty," offering homemade Smyrna cosmetics from old recipes. She has published the books: "The Witches of Smyrna," her first literary work which became a bestseller, "Deste - Katina's Deck," where she preserved and reproduced an old divination deck, "Book of Magic I," and "Attar's Circle," featuring old Smyrna spells. "Dastar" is her second literary book. Today, she works as a psychotherapist and continues her efforts to establish the Smyrna Museum.