A professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) will on Monday receive the title of the Commander of the Order of Honour, an honour bestowed on intellectuals by the state of Greece, the university said.

"The president of the Hellenic Republic (Greece), Mr Karolos Papoulias will bestow an extremely prestigious honour on Professor Benjamin Hendrickx for his contribution to research on Greek culture and history," university spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said.

The honour will not be the first for UJ's professor in the department of Greek and Latin studies.

n 2006, Hendrickx received a commendable high B-rating from the National Research Foundation of SA for his outstanding research and achievements in his field of expertise.

His research, according to Esterhuizen, has extended the boundaries of knowledge that opened up new areas of research for post-graduate students internationally.

A director of the Institute for Afro-Hellenic studies in Africa, Hendrickx was awarded the Gold Cross of St Mark by the Patriarchate of Alexandria in 1983.

A year later, he received the Belgian Christoffel Plantin Prize for research.

"The number of publications to his credit reflects the significant contribution he has made to education in particular.

"He has authored numerous research-related articles on the conquest of Constantinople (Byzandium) in 1204 by the Western Crusaders and the ensuing consequences for the East European/Asia minor history... as well as the Byzantium and Medieval North Eastern African history and culture," said Esterhuizen.

Hendrickx is also vice president of the SA Association of the Patristic and Byzantine studies, chairman of the SA branch of the Société Internationale des Amis de Kazantzaki, an honorary member of the Society of Parnassos Literary Society in Athens and corresponding member of the Society of Macedonian Studies in Thessaloniki.

He is also involved in the post-graduate research programmes of modern Greek at UJ, Esterhuizen said.

Sapa

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