Sociology professor George Kourvetaris presented “The Influence of Ancient Greece on the American Founding Fathers,” the third part of his Paideia Project, to about 150 people Sunday.

The dinner and reception of the Paideia Project, held at the Fountain Blue Banquets and Conference Center, in Des Plaines, was open to all and included the presentation of a 40-minute video, an open bar and dinner. During dinner, The Macedonia Dance Troupe, a Greek dance group from Chicago, performed six Macedonian dances.

The film, produced by Kourvetaris with about $14,000 in donations, concentrates on a period of ancient Greece that Kourvetaris said is known as the Golden Age of Pericles. The educational video focuses on how various Greek authors shaped the minds and thoughts of the American founders, Kourvetaris said.

The video was written by Carl Richard, intellectual and cultural historian of ancient Greece and Rome and professor at the University of Louisiana at Layfayette. It was based on Richard’s book, “The Founders and the Classics.”

The Paideia Project is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002 by Kourvetaris that produces videos and DVDs on the “assimilation of various aspects of Greek culture.”

“Paideia is a Greek word meaning ‘learning and education,’” Kourvetaris said.

Kourvetaris’ son, Nicholas Kourvetaris, also spoke at the event.

The Paideia Project has been a “lifetime of pursuit and hard work,” in which his father has put much passion and dedication into the program, Nicholas said.

Vassiliki-Maria Grivitsopoulou, Vice Counsul General of Greece, also spoke at the event and said the project is “expanding the knowledge” of many.

Among the 20 students in attendance was Mary Beth Satvedi, a senior general studies major, who said she liked the first video and said the third video was “really exciting and informative” as well.

Satvedi’s husband, Allwyn Satvedi, agreed.

“We learned the influence of Greek culture and Greek literature on our founding fathers,” Satvedi said. “I thought it was very informative and I look forward to hopefully seeing the other videos.”

Kourvetaris hosted the video and interviewed Richard about the Greeks’ influence on the American founders.

“The original ideas and principles in various subjects such as mathematics, literature, philosophy and more came from the Greeks,” Kourvetaris said. “These ideas later were adapted by the Romans and disseminated all over the world and then to America. The British and other Europeans that came here, including the fathers, adapted many of these ideas, and that’s the idea of the video.”

In the video, Richard said he feels the Classics will continue to be important.

“I don’t think the Classics will ever die because they address universal human problems,” Richard said.

To purchase the third video of the Paideia Project, call Kourvetaris at 758-4088. Prices are $20 for the third video or $35 for both the second and third videos.