Greece

Ancient Healing
Inside the temple
Inside the Abaton
The ancient stadium
At the museum in at Epidavros
Aesclipius Greek God of medicine
Artemis Goddess of the hunt

The site of Aesculapius at Epidaurus in Peloponnese was the most important healing center in the ancient Greek and Roman world. The site’s beautiful nature and the therapeutic springs attracted many people from afar and were thought be helpful in healing the patients of their ailments.  There were many temples that were considered  masterpieces and where medicine was practiced. One of the temples was dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and another was dedicated to Aesclipius, the Greek god of medicine. The temples since that time have been devastated by many earthquakes and invaders so like Ancient Olympia there are only a few columns still standing. However, the ancient Epidaurus theatre just a few feet away and is in great condition, so it is still a great place to visit.  I would have love to have seen how it was originally it must have been an incredible place to visit.

Endless Blue/ΑΠΕΡΑΝΤΟ ΓΑΛΑΖΙΟ

A beautiful and unforgettable view of the sea from Cape Sounio located southeast of Athens. According to myth, King Aegeus of Athens leapt off the cliffs and to his death in the sea below after wrongfully assumimg that his son was killed by the minotaur on the island of Crete. The Aegean sea was thereafter named in his honour.

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The Temple of Poseidon/Ο Ναος του Ποσειδωνα

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There is a lot of graffiti from over a century ago. If you zoom in you at the top you can see Lord Byron’s’ name.

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touriststextThe temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio is a beautiful spot at the southern tip of Attica. It has one the greatest views of the sea I have seen in Greece. It is no wonder then that it was such a significant strategic point for the ancient Athenians who, from this point, could control the sea passage to the Aegean sea and Piraeus and Lavrion Peninsula.  Poseidon, the God of the sea, protected the ships in the Mediterranean. Seafarers would come to the temple and make animal sacrifices or give gifts in exchange for a safe sea voyage.

Waiting For The Sun To Shine

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The sun isn’t really shining on Athens and the rest of Greece today.

Like most of my Greek compatriots I feel a lot of anger and frustration over this terrible situation that we are in. However, at the same time it warms my heart to see the worldwide solidarity for Greece. After years of blame and humiliation thrown at us, it’s nice to see that people have woken up to what’s really happening here in Europe. It’s not all black and white you see.. We all know that there are a lot of injustices in this world. It is a dark world and it has   become even more greedy and materialistic. There is still so much hate and inequality in the world today. Most people are struggling to get by, and most people have to constantly fight the dark powers around. It’s a daily battle for justice and for goodness.

We can only hope that one day the sun will truly shine on Greece and the rest of the world, and that the truth will finally prevail.

Ο ήλιος δεν λάμπει πραγματικά για την Αθήνα και την υπόλοιπη Ελλάδα σήμερα.
Όπως και οι περισσότεροι Έλληνες συμπατριώτες μου, νιώθω πολύ θυμό και απογοήτευση για αυτή τη φοβερή κατάσταση που βρισκόμαστε, αλλά ταυτόχρονα aισθάνομαι υπερήφανη που βλέπω την αλληλεγγύη για την Ελλάδα απ όλο τον κόσμο.  Μετά από τόσα χρόνια που μας εχουν ρίξει το φταίξιμο και που μας εχουν ταπεινώσει  είναι  σπουδαίο να βλέπεις ότι οι άνθρωποι έχουν ξυπνήσει και βλέπουν τι πραγματικά συμβαίνει στην Ευρώπη. Δεν είναι όλα ασπρόμαυρα.. Υπάρχουν πολλές αδικίες σε αυτόν τον κόσμο, όπως όλοι γνωρίζουμε. Είναι ένα σκοτεινό κόσμο, και οι περισσότεροι άνθρωποι αγωνίζονται να τα βγάλουν πέρα, και εμεις οι απλοί άνθρωποι πρέπει να πολεμάμε συνεχώς αυτές τις σκοτεινές δυνάμεις. Είναι μια καθημερινή μάχη για να υπερισχύουν το δίκιο και το καλό.

Μπορούμε μόνο να ελπίζουμε ότι μια μέρα ο ήλιος θα λάμψει πραγματικά για την Ελλάδα και τον υπόλοιπο κόσμο, και ότι η αλήθεια θα επικρατήσει τελικά.

Just wanted to post some of the genius artwork I’ve come across on the internet. Some of these are hilarious!

Απλά ήθελα να δημοσιεύσω κάποια ιδιοφυΐα έργα τέχνης που είδα στο διαδίκτυο. Μερικά από αυτά είναι ξεκαρδιστικά!

 

Yup, this is definetly a coup d’etat. These illustrations tell it like it really is. No further words are really needed.

Ναι! Αυτό είναι σίγουρα πραξικόπημα. Αυτές οι εικόνες περιγράφουν την κατάσταση πλήρως. Δεν απαιτούνται περαιτέρω λόγια.

Between Two Evils/Αναμεσα σε δυο δεινα
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‘Scylla and Charybdis’ Collage art on canvas by Angela Zafiris

I decided to republish my collage as I feel that it reminds me of the difficult situation in Greece right now. I feel that we had to choose between Scylla and Charybdis in the referendum , two terrible things.  Scylla and Charybdis were the names of the sea monsters in greek mythology, They sank ships and drowned sailors travelling through the narrow strait. These ships had to choose, when travelling through the strait, whether to get sucked into a whirl pool or get hit by a rock. There would be fatalities either way. The idioms ‘a rock and a hard place’,  ‘the devil and the deep blue sea’ and ‘between two evils’ all stem form this myth. This is what I feel about the vote whether it is a ‘yes’ Nai or a ‘no’ Oxi,  it will still be a very difficult road ahead for us…

Αποφάσισα να ξανά δημοσιεύσω το κολάζ μου. καθώς νιώθω ότι μου θυμίζει τη δύσκολη κατάσταση στην Ελλάδα αυτή τη στιγμή. Πιστεύω ότι είχαμε να επιλέξουμε μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης στο δημοψήφισμα, δύο φοβερά πράγματα. Σκύλλα και η Χάρυβδη ήταν τα ονόματα που ειχαν τα θαλάσσια τέρατα στην ελληνική μυθολογία. Βυθίστηκαν πλοία και πνίγηκαν ναυτικούς που ταξιδεύαν μέσα από το στενό πορθμό. Αυτά τα πλοία έπρεπε να επιλέξουν, όταν ταξιδεύουν μέσω αυτού του πορθμό, αν θα παρασύρονται σε μια ρουφήχτρα ή να πληγούν από ένα βράχο. Θα υπάρχει θάνατοι είτε έτσι είτε αλλιώς. Ta ιδιώματα, ‘ο διάβολος και η καταγάλανη θάλασσα’ και ‘ανάμεσα σε δύο κακά’ όλα  προέρχονται από αυτός ο μύθος. Αυτό είναι αυτό που αισθάνομαι για την ψηφοφορία αν πρόκειται για ένα «ναι» ή ένα «όχι», θα συνεχίσoυμε να εχουμε ένα πολύ δύσκολο δρόμο μπροστά μας ..

Arcadian Mountains/Battle of Drabala

A few weeks ago I paid a long overdue visit to my fathers’ village called Akovos in Arcadia. The village has a very beautiful and rugged mountainous landscape where many battles were fought in ancient and modern times. I arrived on the day of a memorial service that takes place every year at Aghia Paraskevi church (near Akovos village) which over looks the landscape called ‘Drabala’  A very important battle  took place at the site called the ‘Battle of Drabala’ ( June 5-7 1825) This is where the fierce battle for Greek  independence against the Ottoman Turks unfolded.  To commemorate the death of the soldiers wreaths were layed at the statue of Greek independence war hero Theodoros Kolokotronis.  Then there was a moment of silence  followed by Greek soldiers singing the national anthem.

Memorial For the ‘Battle of Drabala’ (June 5-7 1825) Wreaths at the statue of Greek leader of Independence Theodoros Kolokotronis

Greek Soldiers’ Instruments

Greek Soldiers’ Instruments

‘OHI’ DAY PARADE

Every year on the 28th of October kids from Greek schools all over the world from elementary school to high school gear up for the ‘Ohi’ parade. The day commemorates Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas rejection of  the Italian Dictator Mussolini’s ultimatum on October 28th 1940.  This event  is very similar to the  Persian ultimatum to the Ancient Greek city states. The Persians asked for ‘earth  and air’ in exchange for submission to the Persian empire in the 5th Century B.C.. Modern Greece was once again faced with the same dilema.  Freedom was to be taken once again.  A proud Metaxas  rejected Mussolini’s ultimatum that if they are not allowed to occupy Greece then there would be war.  The rejection marked the beginning of Greece’s involvement in World War II. Greek troops-that included my grandfather and his brothers marched into Albania to fight the Italians who were with the Axis powers. The Greek army were to return from Albania victorious. Even though the Germans would later invade Greece no one forgot the heroism of  the Greek army and many believe that the victory helped to end the second world war.

After the war, my grandfather came back to Greece safely with his brothers with plenty of stories to tell..

‘ Watch this great video about ‘Ohi’ day:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkeiT8Gbysk

For a more informative read on this significant day read this very interesting article:

http://onemansblog.com/2009/10/28/oxi-day-how-the-greeks-helped-end-world-war-ii/