Back To Greece With Love

Every once in a while, I find myself drawn to go back to a particular place, and this time it is Greece!  It’s probably a longing for the sun and smell of the sea, though that can be had a mere two hours away from me at Deauville, minus perhaps a strong sun like in Greece!

No, its more than just that, because Greece is different! Besides the sun and sea, there is something  very captivating to me.

It’s hard to describe in words why certain geographical areas touch me more than others.  I think in Greece it is the rich and very deep wells of antiquity  that the whole country is built upon.

Maybe for an old soul like myself,  there is a silent awe that fills me when walking upon her ancient paths.  The first time I approached the Acropolis and touched the stones of the Parthenon, I felt overwhelmed with such  emotion to the degree, tears fell from my eyes.

Where would we be without the Greeks?  The cradle of democracy!  The tremendous wisdom of Plato and Socrates!

The father of medicine, Hippocrates!  His oath is still repeated by graduates of medicine and others in healing professions.

We also owe so much to them for being the first to translate the bible and  the new testament.  Don’t forget that we get many of our words, especially in medicine and science from the Greek language!

Besides all the ancient history of one of the world’s oldest civilizations,  there is an energy of generosity here, even in difficult times such as these.  Their smiles and laughter is genuine, despite all the hardships.

Their hospitality comes from the heart.   Its natural and you feel it. The Greeks call it philoxenia.  Phileo means giving affection and xenia means stranger or foreigner.

The Greeks have perfected philoxenia to such an extent that is interwoven into the Greek mentality. My Greek friend Katerina, who is the epitome of this immense generosity was the first to reflect this tremendous givingness.

Apparently it dates back to ancient times, as prescribed by the gods of Greek mythology. Later, this cultural phenomenon was interwoven with the spiritual teachings and inspirations of Christianity.

It became a cultural law that all Greeks were to offer strangers hospitality, or else suffer the wrath of the gods. Likewise, strangers that would take advantage of their hosts would also encounter wrath.

After three days in Athens, I hopped on the fast ferry,   heading south to a part of Greece, the Peloponnese, that seemingly dangles from mainland Greece separated by the Gulf of Corinth.

I am writing this from the terrace of a studio overlooking the exquisite  harbour of Ermioni , a beautiful fishing village, located on the Sardonic Gulf, where the Peloponnese coastline is very indented and juts zigzagging it’s way south.

The proprietors of the studio, Helen and George, literally exude this immense generosity of philoxenia, to the degree that we are treated as honoured friends of their family, rather than mere guests.

Upon arrival,  the refrigerator was stuffed with cheese, lunch meat, farm eggs and yogurt, milk and orange juice. Plum cake awaited us and an overflowing bowl of citrus and apples as seen in the photo.  A bottle of the  family’s olive oil and home cured olives were in the cupboard along with a full jar of the most perfumed honey,  gathered locally!

Later that day, Helen blessed us with her homemade bread and the next morning ,arrived with warm sunflower feta buns she had just baked.  Everyday she would bring treats such as rice custard, and a bag of blood oranges for the most delicious juice ever!

The day after we arrived, we were invited to their Sunday family feast. As this is the Lenten season, Helen had prepared the  majority of dishes to be in accordance with Greek Orthodox fasting rules, but in looking a the table spread, you would have never known!

George had set out early in the morning to the harbour, where the fishing boats had just returned from their wee hours of  morning catch.  There were small slender fish I would guess as being small sea bass and blue-gray dorade  or sea bream, that I often see in France.

To my grand delight, there  was also octopus swimming in lemon and olive oil.   George worked passionately grilling these little sea treasures on his balcony overlooking the sea, while adorable Helen put the finishing touches on a traditional Greek black eye pea salad and another of cabbage, carrots and raisins.

There were bowls of lemon vinaigrette and the traditional skordalia redolent with garlic that is a wonderful garnish for all, especially with Helen’s homemade whole wheat bread.  The family has their own olive orchard ,lemon trees,  and all types of oranges, both of which could be seen in profusion everywhere here.

Helen is the first on the left and George, the third in blue. Several cousins joined the gathering with their children, bringing apple raisin pastries and  chocolate cakes made without eggs or diary in compliance with Lenten rules.

Helen and George have three lovely daughters and a son Yiannis. Their beautiful daughter Kalomoira was in from Athens and helps serve as translator for their studios.  George has a wonderful philosophy of life and can speak English and French.

Helen welcomed us with her delicious homemade Kir, made from blackberry currents.  The rosé wine came from the  93 year old father of one of the cousins, whose vineyard was located nearby.

The whole area is highly perfumed with wild herbs and the flowering citrus trees that were seen everywhere, reminding me of the Cote d’Azur in France.   Olive trees and grape vines grow everywhere here in abundance and the Peloponnese has some of the most wonderful wines of Greece.

Heavens, if you had all of these glories and knew how to fish, you could be practically self sustained! I love the brisk and exceedingly pure sea breezes that blew constantly and the sun, even in winter, certainly felt stronger and more penetrating than in Paris.

Though Philoxenia is essentially an essential Greek cultural mentality, it can certainly be adopted by all of us.  Love and care of strangers can be expanded to love, care and acceptance of those who are different, misunderstood, and alienated unjustly because of prejudice and intolerance.

The whole concept is magnificent.  It is basically giving without expecting anything in return.  In the Christian gospel of Luke, chapter 14, Jesus expounds on this, asking us to invite to dinner  those who are not in a situation or don’t have the means to invite us back.

Giving for the shere  pleasure of giving and sharing what we can is not only a lovely thing to do, but in the process of doing so, we are uplifted by all the wonderful associative feelings! It just plains feels good!

Efharisto, Helen and George for all that we received from you with much care and love!

Addendum: If any of you are interested in staying at their studios, with gorgeous sea views, let me know and I will put you in contact with them.