Science and art commingle on new stamps from Greece

New Stamps of the World – By Denise McCarty 

Greece’s Science and Art Through the Microscope — a five-stamp set released March 16 — depicts shapes that have been revealed while studying human cells.

These images were captured by Dr. Maria Lambropoulou, a pathologist and associate professor of histology-embryology at the Democritus University of Thrace Medical School.

The new-issue announcement from Hellenic Post said:

“Pathologists have a very important job to do, as they help diagnose and treat diseases and spend endless hours studying human tissue. Oftentimes, though their labours may seem solitary and unexciting, the images that appear before their eyes are simply amazing, particularly when the cells unintentionally form images and scenes that are as beautiful as any painting hanging in a gallery.”

According to the new-issue announcement, the microscopic art shown on the stamps resemble flowers, 10¢; a butterfly, 20¢; a heart, 72¢; a wreath, 1; and a deer, 2. However, what is being examined under the microscope is not explained.

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The website MedinArt pictured the same or similar flowers and heart images and reported that Lambropoulou was photographing intestinal glands under 200x magnification for the flowers and a kidney section, also under 200x magnification, for the heart.

Marina Lasithiotaki designed the stamps. Veridos Matsoukis SA printed them by offset in sheets of 20.