Politismos eMagazine | Athina Pantazatou
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Author: Athina Pantazatou

The Parthenon of Saint Nektarios

15.10.2017 in History

The “Parthenon” of Saint Nektarios Saint Nektarios settled in Aegina in 1908, after several years of looking for a place to house a monastery – an “Ecclesiastical Parthenon”, as he called it – where he wished to spend his later years. He found the old abandoned monastery of the Zoodochos Pigi, near the village of Kondos in Aegina… It was here where Saint Nektarios decided to accommodate four women who were under his spiritual guidance at the time, along with three more local nuns. Apart from renovating the existing establishment he also built the convent of the Holy Trinity. The…

Antiparos – always a good idea

10.08.2017 in Travel

“Antiparos is always a good idea” Mariliza Dimakou, a former graphic designer and magazine creative director, gave up life in Athens some years ago for Antiparos. She’s currently the owner of two charming gift-shops, and the public relations representative for the municipality. When she agreed to talk to me about the dreamy little paradise that Antiparos is, I did a bit of research online and came across one of her shops. A rather unique item caught my eye—a bracelet in the shape of the island, and a prompt on its packaging: “Antiparos is always a good idea”. I couldn’t help…

Poseidonia – blazing in glory

15.07.2017 in Travel

Living Up to a Mythical Name – Poseidonia blazes in glory under the summer sun! Once on the island of Syros, approximately 89.5 miles south-east of Athens, you can leave its busy capital town of Ermoupolis behind and head south-east. A mere 6 miles from Ermoupolis, in Foinikas Bay, stretches the coastline town of Poseidonia, poised nonchalantly in the Aegean Sea. Poseidonia is both the name of the main village and of general area which is a part of the Syros-Ermoupolis municipality—it shares the island of Syros with the municipal units of Ano Syros and Ermoupolis. Formerly known as Dellagrazia, a Latin…

Travels to Morea

17.05.2017 in Travel

The Peloponnese – forged by war & peace From ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, to Elafonisos, Messinia, Kalavryta, Mani, Monemvasia, Mycanea, Mystras, Nafplion or Porto Heli, the Peloponnese is abundant with lush landscapes and cities of distinctive character. But you will find that the Byzantine “Despotate of Morea” is one of the greatest authentic cultural destinations of Greece! After the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade (1204 CE), two groups of Frank crusaders under the rule William of Champlitte and William II of Villehardouin, marched south through mainland Greece and conquered the Peloponnese. They founded the Principality of Achaea,…

Lake Tsivlou

10.04.2017 in Travel

Lake Tsivlou… When Slopes Collide A reminder of one of the most impressive and dramatic landslide phenomena in modern Greek history, Lake Tsivlou is also one of the few natural lakes in Greece. Lake Tsivlou is an alpine lake lying at an altitude of 2,625 feet on the mountain range of Chelmos, in Achaea. It was the result of a massive landslide in 1913 that drifted along two villages, Sylivena & Τsivlos (which the lake was named after), and blocked a bed of river Krathes. The birth of Lake Tsivlou In 1913, the region was just an open valley, in…

Mount Mainalo – Utopia

16.03.2017 in Travel

The Impressive and Abundant Mt. Mainalo, a Utopian Land Home to goddess Demeter and Nymphs, Mainalo echoes with “shepherds’ love songs and Pan’s flute.” Mt. Mainalo with an altitude of 6,496 feet occupies the center of the Peloponnese and the greater part of Arcadia’s western side. It extends from Tripoli to river Lousios, to the west, and from Megalopolis to river Ladonas, to the north. The purely mountainous area is approximately 172,974 acres so Mainalo is considered one of the most extensive mountain ranges in Greece! The landscape features dozens of peaks and ravines interchanging with pastures and plateaus. It…

The Churches of Karpenisi

18.01.2017 in Travel

“Let us Attend” Scattered throughout Karpenisi, in the prefecture of Evrytania,creating a beautiful landscape, you will find a magnificent array of Byzantine churches and monasteries untouched by time. Some well-known, others that have stood for centuries quietly; all though, constituting unique sites of archeological and architectural importance. Prousós Monastery (in the municipal unit of Prousós) The Monastery of “Panagia Prousiotissa” (the Virgin Mary of Prousós) is one of the most important religious locations in Greece. It attracts many faithful each year who visit to venerate its famous icon of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that the convent was established around…

The Durrells

17.11.2016 in Arts & Culture

Meet the Durrells! One of the first things I did when my niece was born 3 years ago was to compile a list of my absolute favorite children books; I’m hoping to start crossing several items off in years to come and be blessed with the opportunity to read some of them with her. “The Corfu Trilogy” is right in there, with “My Family & Other Animals” in the top rows, while my personal favorite of the three, “Birds, Beasts & Relatives”, follows right up. The Durrells in Corfu, based on Gerald Durrell’s warm and witty novels, aired in the…

Koroni, Motherland to the Koroneiki olive

19.10.2016 in Travel

Koroni, motherland to the Koroneiki olive! Koroni is a town that was founded in ancient times, is the motherlands to one of Greece’s better known olive varieties, the “Koroneiki”, and a launching site for Russian meteorological rockets, from 1972 to 1989! Koroni (or Corone) is in the municipal unit of Pylos-Nestoras, one of the 6 municipalities of the regional unit of Messinia in the Peloponnese. It is nestled in a hill, below the impressive Venetian Castle of Koroni, to the southeast of the Messenian Gulf. Along with its counterpart, the town of Methoni with its own castle, the towns were…