Pepi Nikolopoulou
An annual journey into an authentic Greece, shaped by the voices of the diaspora and all who consider the country their muse. “Portes” Magazine stands out as a bold counter-proposal: a handcrafted, limited-edition cultural journal that connects readers across continents.
Greek heritage lives far beyond the country’s borders, carried by communities who continue to shape, reinterpret, and celebrate it worldwide. Among the most thoughtful voices capturing this cross-continental dialogue is Portes Magazine, an annual cultural journal created by Greek American storyteller Anthe Mitrakos. Through carefully curated stories, images, and personal perspectives, Portes opens a door into an authentic, contemporary Greece one shaped not only by those who live there, but by all who consider it their muse.
Anthe Mitrakos was born in Chicago, but Greece was always the country living at the center of her inner landscape. “Our parents made sure we kept our roots alive,” she says. “We visited Greece often, villages in the mountains, relatives of every age. Those stories became my first real education.”
The eldest of four sisters, Anthe grew up between two worlds: the vibrant Greek American community of the Midwest, and the Greece she experienced through travel, family ties, and her own instinct to document every detail through images and words.
“I was always holding a camera,” she remembers. “Photographing people, houses, moments—and especially doors. The doors of Greece had a certain magic.”
Her relationship with storytelling began earlier than most. At thirteen, she was already illustrating Aesop’s Fables for a local Greek American newspaper. “I was born with a pencil in my hand,” she laughs. “I wrote and illustrated the fables in English, Greek, even Ancient Greek. I did everything by hand there was no Photoshop then.”
Her love for drawing and writing soon evolved into journalism. During university she interned at the Chicago Sun-Times, CBS News, and other major American outlets. Journalism, art, and Greece these three forces shaped her path.
“I was always talking about Greece,” she says. “The food, the music, the culture… It was a point of pride. At university, if there wasn’t a Greek club, my sisters and I would create one.”
A Magazine Born from a Need: Bringing Authentic Greece to the Diaspora
The idea for Portes Magazine emerged naturally, through long conversations between Anthe and her sister. They sensed a gap between the Greece that Greek Americans spoke about and the Greece that actually existed.
“There was a disconnect,” she says. “Greek Americans love Greece deeply, but sometimes through nostalgic stereotypes. Because we traveled there every year and met people in their daily lives, we wanted to share that reality.”
Thus, Portes Magazine was born with a bold mission: to bring an authentic piece of Greece back to the diaspora, through storytelling, photography, art, and culture.
When they began, searching online for Greek design, fashion, or contemporary creators yielded almost nothing. They had to dig, ask, and research deeply, often remotely from the U.S.
A Collectible Annual Volume and a Living Community
Portes started as a quarterly publication, became biannual, and today is released once a year as a limited-edition collector’s book. It is published by the nonprofit Ariston Foundation for Hellenic Culture and Arts and created with voluntary contributions. The magazine has evolved into a kind of annual cultural journal: a curated collection of stories and images created by people for whom Greece is a source of inspiration.
“There is a central theme each year,” Anthe explains. “We bring together museum curators, scholars, artists, creators, each offering their own perspective on that theme.”
This year’s edition is the magazine’s largest yet, with 42 contributors.
Why Portes? The Symbolism of the Door
The name Portes is more than a metaphor. “We wanted to open a door,” she says. “A door to Greece, to culture, to inspiration.”
Early editions of the magazine featured photography of Greek doors, images taken by Anthe herself. Over time, the publication evolved: today, each issue is released with four different covers, each created by a different artist, and readers choose which one they want to receive.
“People are incredibly passionate about specific covers,” she notes. “Every year we’re surprised by how attached they become to a particular one.”
Perhaps the most compelling element of Portes is not only the content itself, but the community it gathers. Contributors come from all over the world-some Greek, some not-but all united by a deep connection to Greece.
“We want to give space to anyone inspired by Greece,” Anthe says. “It doesn’t matter if they’re Greek or not. What matters is their relationship with the country.”
Portes Magazine has become a way for the diaspora and anyone who loves Greece, to stay connected to a culture that is living, evolving, and endlessly inspiring.
You can explore the magazine and its latest editions online at https://www.portesmagazine.com/
