Ancient Pinecone Magic and Symbolism
Images of pinecones, sacred eyes and not least, the thyrsus, the ancient Greek magic wand, have been associated with the pineal gland (named after the pinecone), since ancient times and pop up in...
Greeker Than The Greeks
The Smyrna Catastrophe 1922 – End of Greco -Turkish War
On September 13th, 1922, Smyrna (now Izmir), one of the wealthiest cities of the Ottoman Empire, on the Aegean coast of Anatolia, inhabited mostly by Greeks, Jews and Armenians, went up in...
The Pharmakos – The Ancient Greek Scapegoat
The expression “scapegoat”, known as the “pharmakos”, in ancient Greece, describes an innocent person, or group, who is blamed and usually punished in some way, for other people’s wrong-doings or problems, without...
Astra Planeta – When the Greek Gods Were Planets
The ancient Greek astronomers knew of five planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, the star-like planets visible to the naked eye. They called these planets “wanderers”, as when seen with the...
Jewellery and Gemstones in Ancient Greece
Lusted for by royalty and sought after by collectors, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and many more gemstones have inspired myths, legends and curses in all cultures. Today, we know of around two hundred...
Greek Gemista – Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers
You know summer’s arrived when Greeks start cooking stuffed vegetables! Gemista (Greek for filled), are summer vegetables, usually tomatoes and bell peppers but courgettes and aubergines are also firm favourites, stuffed with...
Eutopia – Utopia – A Greek Neverland?
The word Utopia; used to describe an imaginary island, a perfect world, was first used by Sir Thomas More, an English lawyer, writer and statesman, in his book “Utopia”, written in 1516....
10 Feared Female Creatures of Greek Mythology
Have you ever thought about why so many leading ladies in ancient Greek mythology are usually in the guise of wicked witches, devious femme fatales, evil goddesses and fearsome monsters? I’m no...
Death – Burial and Afterlife in Ancient Greece
The ancient Greeks believed that existence does not end with death; there is no death, only a transition from one state of being to another; every human died only to live again...
Greek Key – Meander – Origins and Meanings
More than likely we’ve all come across the ‘Greek key’, also known as the ‘meander’ (a repeating geometric motif), at some time or another. During 18th century Europe, along with the rejuvenated...
