The Greek Islands and Their People
The classical gods made their home here, fighting their
battles, having their love affairs, and giving birth to their children.
The Persians coveted them over 7,000 years ago, and they were
stepping-stones on the long East–West trading routes throughout
Hellenistic and Roman times. Throughout most of the last two millennia,
they were fought over by European superpowers and became pawns in the
religious conflicts between Christianity and Islam. Although they now
form part of the modern state of Greece, a deep imprint of history’s
footsteps can be seen clearly on every dusty hill, in every olive
grove, and along every coastline. Today, with their hot summer days,
warm waters, abundant beaches, and distinct lifestyle, the Greek
islands of the Aegean are among the major tourist playgrounds in the
world.
The Aegean is a small sea, a finger of water 640 km (397
miles) long, and 320 km (198 miles) wide, pointing up out of the
eastern Mediterranean between the modern states of Greece and Turkey.
Its more than 1,400 islands, although scattered, form a series of
groups, each with its own particular character. This guide will
introduce you to many, but not all, of the popular Aegean Islands.
The most accessible islands from Athens are the Cyclades to
the southeast, thrown like a handful of pebbles into the sea. In
ancient times, they sat in a circle (cyclos) around the sacred island
of Delos, and their name has carried through into modern times. The
islands’ barren landscapes and stark white, cubical houses with their
blue-shuttered windows bedecked with geraniums represent the Greek
islands to many. The most popular and best known are the lively island
of Mykonos and the awe-inspiring caldera of Santorini.
Collected together in the southeastern reaches of the Aegean
Sea are the Dodecanese islands. They rest against the southwest corner
of the Turkish coastline. The major island in the group is Rhodes
(covered in its own Berlitz Pocket Guide), but others include Kos and
Patmos. In the eastern Aegean, three of its larger islands mirror the
western Turkish coastline. Lesvos, Chios, and Samos still have many
vestiges of the traditional rural lifestyle that made them rich and
coveted during previous centuries.
In the northern Aegean are three more disparate
islands — Thasos, Limnos, and Samothraki — while southwest of these,
closer to Athens, are the Sporades islands of Skiathos, Skopelos,
Alonissos, and Skyros — until recently the exclusive playground of the
Greek jet set.
The volatile and fascinating history of the whole area means
that no two islands are identical, although similarities do exist.
Despite countless different landlords, the basic elements of the way of
life of ordinary people have changed little for over 5,000 years. The
seas produced abundant food for the earliest settlers, and the warm
summers brought forth crops of grain that sustained humans and provided
grazing for herds of goats from the fifth century b.c. onward.
Since the Bronze Age, donkeys and mules have provided a
means of transport; around the same time, the first olives and vines
were planted in the ground. Life was governed by seasons of planting,
tending, and harvesting. Look around the Greek islands today and there
is little cause to think that much has changed.
Tradition plays a great part in island lifestyle. The sexes
still lead separate lives, with the women in the home, chatting across
balconies festooned with washing or sitting on shady street corners.
The men work in the fields or at their boats, with older men at the
kafeneion or coffee shop — where the world is put to rights over a
strong café ellenikos.
The family is the core of daily life. Children, especially
boys, are seen as a blessing and are treated with indulgence, fussed
over by mothers and grandmothers. Grandparents and fathers push the
carriages of the new arrivals during the evening volta, or stroll,
glowing in the warmth of the congratulations of their neighbors and
friends. Fathers and uncles employ sons and nephews in family
businesses, before any outsider.
The siesta is an important part of the day. Everyone from
the youngest to the oldest rests during the heat of the afternoon and
makes the most of the cool evenings, often not going to bed until well
after midnight.
Historically, the fabric of life has been sustained by
religion. Indeed, the church, and the Orthodox religion, was identified
with all that was Greek long before the modern state was created in
1832. Through natural disaster, war, and disease, the church has been
there as a place of refuge and solace, both physically and spiritually.
To this day, the priest has a strong influence within the community.
Women have traditionally formed the majority of the congregation,
praying for the protection of their fathers, husbands, and sons while
they were away at sea in merchant fleets, diving for sponges, or
working in lands far away. The smallest whitewashed churches house a
simple cross, icon, and lit candles, although you will find the largest
churches are somewhat more lavish and ornate.
Greece once had the largest merchant fleet in the world,
and the sea still plays a major role in the life of the Aegean. On
smaller, more remote islands, ferries form the only transportation link
with the outside world. They carry essential goods, just as they have
done throughout history. Each island has a flotilla of small craft
setting sail daily to bring fresh catch to the island’s tables.
However, tourism has begun to alter this long-standing
scenario. It is now the biggest money earner in the islands. In high
season, you will share your Greek odyssey with visitors from almost
every country in Europe, and increasingly from around the world. This
has saved many islands from the brink of poverty and depopulation,
although it is undoubtedly affecting the character of many of the more
popular islands. Island society has seen more change in the last twenty
years than in the previous thousand.
Today, motor scooters often drown the sound of playing
children, and mobile phones are heard far more frequently than the
haunting cadences of the bazouki. More often than not, the harried man
walking briskly along the street while taking his call — often waving
an arm in animated fashion — has a business empire of restaurants,
car-rental agencies, ticket offices, and studio apartments to manage.
He needs to keep his finger on the pulse to succeed during the short
tourist season.
As incomes rise, the young farmer buys a truck to replace
his father’s trusty donkey, or he gives up farming altogether to open a
bar or car-rental office. The fisherman uses his boat to ferry tourists
to nearby beaches rather than to catch fish.
But the picture is not quite as bleak as it is painted.
Tourism too is a seasonal industry, fitting neatly into the traditional
cyclical pattern of island life. In spring, before the tourists arrive,
goats and sheep give birth and their herds head out to the open
pasture; a little later, the grain crop is harvested. As autumn
approaches, another harvest begins. Olives, walnuts, almonds, and late
developing fruit must all be brought in and preserved before the start
of winter.
So in a sense, island life continues just as it always
has!
