Author: giorago

Try to search for “Greece” in any search engine. More than once, you find a beautiful panorama from Oia, Santorini, and the famous Three Blue Domes Church, the blinding white of the houses overhanging the caldera, the other islands of the archipelago, Thirasia, Aspronisi, and the two active volcanoes of Palea and Nea Khameni: Santorini is beautiful thanks to its unlucky position too, in a volcanic area of East Mediterranean.

Its name comes from Saint Irene, chosen by the Venetians, rulers of the island for four centuries until 1576. Before being Santorini, the ancients called the island Thera, with a caldera born from a previous eruption. In its center, there was the Strogili volcano, which emerged by the sea year by year.

The oldest settlement, Akrotiri, dates back to 4500 b.C. and it was located at the south of the island; it grew becoming a prosperous town with more than 30.000 inhabitants, even double of the population Santorini register today. Until 1800 b.C., it was a fundamental trading port of the Aegean Sea and a clear example of thalassocracy. Today Akrotiri is nicknamed “The Aegean Pompei” because they have shared the same unfortunate destiny.

A first violent earthquake partially destroyed the town, letting the people escaped on the hills. Still, the following shakes broke the magmatic chamber of the Strogili volcano by determining the beginning of the end. Some signals alarmed the population: a smoke column more and more intense appeared, seen from Crete far away more than 140km; the overheated water came to the ground, splitting the surface with geyser; sulfur exhalations killed the fishes in the caldera.

The Akrotiri people asked the priestesses, political rulers of that society, the meaning of those omens. Animal sacrifices first, and human later, seemed not enough to appease the Gods. Worries and desperation spread among everybody. None of this avoided the extremely violent eruption, the most destructive witnessed in modern human history, which happened between 1628 and 1610 b.C. The volcano exploded, expelling the pyroclastic flows in every direction at 300 km/h, like scorching bullets that pulverized everything they smashed. The 10km high smokey column hid the sun for two weeks shocking the Mediterranean weather for two years. The noise was strong enough to shatter the eardrums at a 16 km distance from Santorini; the following tsunami caused 20 meters high waves that hit Crete, determined more than 30.000 casualties. It’s a widespread opinion that these events were some of the causes of the Minoan civility decline. For at least 200 years, no one could reach Santorini, as the waters around the island were mud.

The island got its shape from this event, becoming an archipelago with the two volcanoes coming out in the caldera around the IX century. The last eruption occurred in 1950.

Akrotiri anyway disappeared, covered by ashes, well preserved until the excavations began in 1967. Because the population ran away from the island before the eruption, no crystallized bodies were found until now, not even valuable items, only a golden ibex, today exposed along with some fresco paintings at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fyra, the main town of modern Santorini.

The story of Thera probably inspired the Atlantis myth, first narrated by the philosopher Plato, about a legendary island that disappeared under the sea after a natural catastrophe.

What we recommend visiting?

The Archaeological site of Akrotiri, close to the Red Beach in Santorini;

The museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fyra;

The Archaeological Museum of Athens, with some fresco paintings of Akrotiri.

30 minutes away by ferry boat from Mykonos you can visit the inhabited island of Delos, today an archaeological park under the sun; by a legend, it was Apollo’s and Artemis’ birthplace (hosting one of the most relevant rituals of this god of the ancient times) but most of all home of the famous Delian League, founded right after the Persian wars as an alliance between all the greek poleis.

Δήλος takes its name from Apollo. As the god of the sun and the light, once he was born there, the island was flooded by light, a verb that in greek can be translated with δηλόω (“deloo”), meaning “to show”, since the island was finally revealed to human beings.

The first settlements were established around 3000 b.C., but only around the IX century b.C. and for the next one thousand year Delos got a main role in the Aegean Sea. The religious celebrations became so relevant that Delos’ soil was consecrated. This had two significant consequences: no births and no deaths were allowed there, and the poleis of Athens was demanded to ensure it; second, the urban structure was clearly influenced, and a lot of temples found space in the town. In alternate periods Delos was also a rich trading port (and one of the central regarding the chattel slavery), so more buildings were necessary, like the theatre, built around the II century b.C. The Romans recognized a strategic role to its harbour until Puteoli in south Italy took its place for all the Middle-East tradings, causing its decline. Around the IX century a.D. the island was abandoned, for at least one thousand years before the excavations to begin, and still ongoing, in 1870, to bring to the light all of its stratifications.

The best moment to visit Delos is spring for sure: the flowers, especially crimson poppies, dominate an ancient landscape, surrounded by a colourful nature. The roundtrip ferry costs 20.00€ that does not comprehend the entrance ticket to the archaeological park (12.00€).

The boat then leaves for Mykonos after three hours: what to see? Here are our suggestions:

1) The Lions’ terrace of Apollo and of Naxos’ people. Copies are outside, whereas the original is inside the Delos Museum (one of them was stolen by the Venetians around 1400 and since then in Venice);

2) The three temples dedicated to Apollo and the one of Artemis, in the ancient agorà;

3) The climb of Kynthos mountain, enjoying the panorama on the near islands (Mykonos, Rhenia, Naxos and Paros);

4) The Isis, Serapis and Anubis temple on the Mount Kynthos ascent, of the Roman age;

5) The Dionysus Temple, of which a gigantic phallus remains; all the statues are shown in the Delos Museum;

6) The Delos’ Mosaics, decorations of a lot of houses of the site, like the Dyonisus house, the dolphins’ house, the masks’ house, the Trident’s house, and the lake’s house, all names inspired by the representations found in each place;

7) The II century b.C. theatre, for 5000 people.

The list could go on, but these are our picks. What are yours? Let us know if we have missed something you consider a must to see in Delos. And if you visit Delos during summer, be sure to have water, a hat, a pair of sunglasses and comfy shoes. If there will be no wind, the island will be scorching!

One of the ancients, or at least what remains of it is located in Oia, dedicated to Saint Nicholas (‘Αγιος Νικολάος), built by Venetians once they were the Lords of the island, for more than three centuries. It’s a significant mark of this place’s history because it goes back to the XV century, but mostly it defined how the villages and town developed on Santorini’s caldera. The island would have been easily conquered on its south side, because of the easy access to the coastline; a fortress located on the north, looking towards all the directions, helped manage the surveillance. That’s why the main settlements of Santorini overhang the caldera.

When the Ottomans came, no relevant events changed the appearance of the Castle. Centuries of neglect continued, and the area became a private property and houses were built immediately around that place. In 1956, a violent earthquake shook both Amorgos and Santorini, causing invaluable damages; a relevant section of what remained of the fort fell in the Ammoudi Bay immediately below.

The annexed church was partially saved and carried away from that dangerous area, now part of the Panagia Platsani complex in the village’s central square. Thanks to some archaeological constraints, Oia’s castle ruins are still there, but carelessness and urban stratification drastically changed this area’s appearance in the last 40 years. Unfortunately, there are not many witnesses that remind the castle, but some photos were taken before and after the castle’s collapse. The living of the castle information is neither available, but we sincerely hope that all the area will be soon completely open and protected.

Of the watcher-tower, walkable freely with no restriction, only the base remains, letting a daily flood of tourists come, look at the caldera and Oia itself, and assist at the sunset from a privileged view. Since the area is very crowded in the hour and a half before the sunset, go there with a little early, grabbing something to drink (but please, leave the area cleaned as you will find it).

Pelicans are not endemic of the island, so why? Let’s talk about one of the most iconic characters in our community.

In 1958, when Mykonos was just one of the Aegean Sea islands, a wounded pelican was saved by a local fisherman; he took care of the bird, quite sure that once this would have been healed, he would have gone away.

They became close friends, and Petros remained.

Petros means “stone” in greek, but it’s a common name given to the old, grumpy men; it sounded like it was perfect because of its behaviour.

Thanks to Aristotelis Onassis making Mykonos a famous destination, Petros’ reputation grew too. Two more pelicans were donated to keep company to the first one (and one of them was a gift of Jacqueline Onassis).

Mykonian people were sad when Petros died. Still, its notoriety was so big that it was necessary to replace the pelican. Since the ’80ies, we assisted to a sequence of new pelicans walking around Mykonos town; the last one arrived in 2014. Don’t be astonished seeing him on every kind of gadget.

Some inhabitants of Mykonos Town take care of the current Petros, avoiding tourists to be too bothering. This one is very calm and meek compared to his predecessors; it’s easy to find him having a walk in the alleys of the χώρα, mostly during May and June and again at the end of September.

He likes to be pet, but just a little and for brief moments. He has a long beak, and he’s ready to use it! 

Finally, a widespread tradition wants shopkeepers to believe that a Petros’ visit inside their shops is an excellent omen. Everybody waits for him and respects this pelican since it’s always Pedro who decides where to go during his very long walks!