Oizys – Greek Word for the Concept of Misery and Suffering
In ancient Greek, “oizys” (όιζυς) means all that is wretched and is synonymous with distress and misery. In Greek mythology it was the name of the little-known Oizys, a minor goddess or...
Greeker Than The Greeks
Mastic – Natural Gum Resin From Chios – The Flavour of Greece
Mastic is natural gum resin, with a pine or cedar-like taste, used to flavour many traditional Greek sweets and is collected from the Schinias trees which grow profusely on the Greek Aegean...
History of Theatre in Ancient Greece
Greek theatre first emerged around the fifth century B.C. in Athens when plays were performed at religious festivals. The first performances were tragedies, concentrating on serious themes and moral dilemmas. Next to...
Female Philosophers of Ancient Greece
When the topic of ancient Greece and philosophy pops up you may have noticed the words of wisdom discussed more often than not came from the mouths of men. We’ve probably all...
Saint Stephen – The Life and Death of the First Christian Martyr
Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is celebrated on the 26th of December in the Catholic Church and the 27th of December in the Greek Orthodox Church. Saint Stephen, born in AD...
Greek Spirit in a Bottle
You can’t mention Greece and wine in the same sentence without Dionysus (Bacchus), Greek god of wine-making, festivity, insanity and ritual madness, rearing his decadent head. “The Dionysia” festivals, dating back to...
Kerameikos Archaeological Site – Athens – Largest Necropolis of Ancient Greece
The largest burial site in ancient Greece, which was in continual use from the 9th century BC until the Roman invasion, is to be found in Kerameikos, one of the oldest parts...
Hypnos and Morpheus – Mythical Gods of Sleep and Dreams
Hypnos and Morpheus were a father and son team; Hypnos, god of sleep, sent people off to dreamland where his son, Morpheus, god of dreams, awaited ready to “Morph” himself into their...
Greek Mythology – How It All Began
Greek myths have fascinated us for hundreds of years. They’ve made our imaginations run wild with bewitching stories of feuding gods, heroic heroes, breathtaking beasts and mind-blowing monsters. As with myths from...
All the Greek Gods – The Primordials – The Titans and the Olympians
In Greek mythology, so said Hesiod, a Greek poet writing between 750-650 BC, in his poem “Theogony” (birth of the gods), Chaos was the origin of everything. Hesiod goes on to tell...
Lakki – The Strange Italian Utopian Town on the Greek Island of Leros
When visiting a Greek island you probably expect to find white-washed walls, curving narrow streets, blue domed churches and maybe the occasional ancient ruin, right? Well, yes, all that can be found on...
