The morning found us in the central Cycladic Islands, setting sail to the island of Tinos – in ancient times called Aeolos after the God of the Winds. Today Aeolos decided to give us his quite strong southern winds and finally we decided to change our course. Instead of Tinos we sailed to Syros Island.
As we were getting to the port the main town, the capital of Syros, Ermoupolis, gave us its warm welcome while in the background stood the two main hills crowned by the two cathedrals of the island, the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic. We had an early afternoon walking tour of Ermoupolis, one of the first urban centers of Greece in the 19th Century AD that soon developed into a thriving maritime-industrial-financial-intellectual center that played an active role not only in the eastern Mediterranean but also in the rest of the European world. Sailor merchants – businessmen – visited Syros for their trading exchanges or opened new businesses in Ermoupolis, which led to a steadily growing prosperity and wealth.
Not accidentally the name Ermoupolis (Hermoupolis), means “the town of Hermes,” who was the patron god of trade and commerce for the ancient Greeks. We could wonderfully feel the wealth that defines this place, walking on the narrow marble-paved streets with the elegant neoclassical mansions, the private houses of the wealthy ship owners, the public buildings such as City Hall or the charming Apollo Theater, like a smaller scale Milan Opera where theatrical and music performances were and still are held.
After the tour many of us decided to spend more time in town exploring its vibrant modern life: traditional shops along with modern stores, various cafeterias along the waterfront and so many cozy Greek restaurants in the back streets with tables outside serving local specialties.
We left from Syros at 11:30p.m. and despite the change in our original plans it was an unexpected wonderful experience.
