Syros
The god of wind, Aeolus, decided the island of Delos was not to be our destination today, and instead led us to the lee side of Syros. Syros’ bustling port of Ermoupoli reflects its history as a center of modern day commerce. The main town and port were founded during the War of Independence by refugees from Psara and Hios. Ermoupoli became Greece’s chief port in the nineteenth century, but was eventually outstripped by Pireas. Hades, the messenger of the gods and the patron god of “thieves,” or more politically correct the patron god of merchants, still does a brisk business here. Ermoupoli is the largest town in the Cyclades and is the archipelago’s capital as well.
Our explorations took us through the center of this hustle and bustle. An aromatic fringe of coffee shops, bakeries and cafes skirt the harbors edge. Amongst these bakeries we sought out to sample a sweet local specialty called loucoumi. We found monuments in marble to most of the nine muses, with a cameo of Apollo amongst them. The goddess of victory stood by the waters edge with a perpetual gaze towards the sea. At the Apollon Theatre, a copy of the La Scala in Milan, we were delighted to find a production scheduled for tonight of a modern day version of the first Rhapsody of the Iliad, to be presented in English! Many of us purchased tickets to this fortuitous event made possible by our Aeolus induced deviation.
An afternoon on a sunny beach balanced out our need for culture with our desire to cool off and enjoy the gifts of Helios. As we gathered in the lounge this evening, ancient servers presented us with the foods savored by the ancient Greeks. Olives, dried figs, almonds, goat cheese and raisins were served by our toga clad clan. All in all a diverse day spent in a vivacious city.
We travelled through Greece on a boat
And saw many things, including a goat
We saw three million cats
And got really fat
So now we can go home and gloat!
Limerick Authors:
Joanna Bell, age 18
Emily Mullen, age 14
Amelia Bell, age 14
& Greg Lerner, age 13
The god of wind, Aeolus, decided the island of Delos was not to be our destination today, and instead led us to the lee side of Syros. Syros’ bustling port of Ermoupoli reflects its history as a center of modern day commerce. The main town and port were founded during the War of Independence by refugees from Psara and Hios. Ermoupoli became Greece’s chief port in the nineteenth century, but was eventually outstripped by Pireas. Hades, the messenger of the gods and the patron god of “thieves,” or more politically correct the patron god of merchants, still does a brisk business here. Ermoupoli is the largest town in the Cyclades and is the archipelago’s capital as well.
Our explorations took us through the center of this hustle and bustle. An aromatic fringe of coffee shops, bakeries and cafes skirt the harbors edge. Amongst these bakeries we sought out to sample a sweet local specialty called loucoumi. We found monuments in marble to most of the nine muses, with a cameo of Apollo amongst them. The goddess of victory stood by the waters edge with a perpetual gaze towards the sea. At the Apollon Theatre, a copy of the La Scala in Milan, we were delighted to find a production scheduled for tonight of a modern day version of the first Rhapsody of the Iliad, to be presented in English! Many of us purchased tickets to this fortuitous event made possible by our Aeolus induced deviation.
An afternoon on a sunny beach balanced out our need for culture with our desire to cool off and enjoy the gifts of Helios. As we gathered in the lounge this evening, ancient servers presented us with the foods savored by the ancient Greeks. Olives, dried figs, almonds, goat cheese and raisins were served by our toga clad clan. All in all a diverse day spent in a vivacious city.
We travelled through Greece on a boat
And saw many things, including a goat
We saw three million cats
And got really fat
So now we can go home and gloat!
Limerick Authors:
Joanna Bell, age 18
Emily Mullen, age 14
Amelia Bell, age 14
& Greg Lerner, age 13
