Fate and Faith

There was an iconostasis on an isolated part of a road on the outskirts of my mother's childhood village that was never lit. The chief icon inside was of St. Constantine and St. Helen. I stopped as often as I could to light its vigil lamp whenever we visited family. My mother believes my efforts were rewarded by the saints because years later I married my husband, Constantine. In a sense, though we were separated by time and place, we found each other as these saints had found Christ's cross. Now some of you will say how silly but I assure you we never would have met if it wasn't predestined by God as we lived 330 miles apart in the States. My mother was in Greece having her house alarm repaired by my husband's cousin. He then approached my mother as to whether she had any eligible daughters for marriage as he had a cousin in America looking to get married. We met and despite the physical distance between us we were married within a year. Everyone attributes it to fate or written by the hand of God because so many pieces fell into place for the conclusion. My mother, of course, remembers the little church by the side of the road. If your kids become bored in Greece share the idea with them that destiny has brought them to Greece and one way or another it will be a life changing experience. The above icon is of Sts. Constantine and Helen from http://www.icnograms.org/ where you can send greeting cards with icons on them.

What are those little glass boxes on the side of the road?

Throughout Greece you will see small glass boxes on the side of the road called iconostasis. My kids have asked me what these are and who put them there. We place flowers or teddy bears as expressions of love where a crash has taken someone's life. Greeks do the same but instead they put up these little churches where a loved one died, was injured, or survived when they shouldn't have. Inside each are icons, a vigil lamp, 2 bottles of water and oil, matches, wicks, and cleaning items. The vigil lamp is a small glass that is filled with olive oil and water. The water remains on the bottom and the oil floats on top acting as a fuel for a circular floating cork with a hole in its center that holds a small wick. There may be an ornate hanging holder for the glass or just the glass itself. If you pass one by feel free to light it in the late afternoon before it gets dark. Fill with oil and the vigil lamp will burn over night remembering our faith and loved ones. Light the vigil lamp, pray for your family and the one who put up the iconostasis. You can stop at different iconostases to find your patron saint. It can be your kids’ treasure hunt. You can purchase icons of saints which are hand made individual pieces of art, vigil lamps and so on for your home remembering your trip and others always asking for God's grace in all things. Take a look at these sites before you go to Greece to know who is represented in the icons. They have certain elements particular to each.

The icon of the Virgin and Jesus at http://www.aquinasandmore.com%20/

The archangel icon at http://www.icnograms.org/

Cork wick holder http://www.religiousnet.com/greek_7620-50.html
Hanging holder for vigil lamp http://www.archangelsbooks.com/

First day at the beach

I packed up the kids and went to the beach in Gythio. For your viewing pleasure here is a clip of the area www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEUPtao4O8E . I figured Vodafone was not going to call on a Sunday with a solution to my connection problems as its stores are closed. If you are a cautious driver I warn you now about driving in Greece. Few people obey the traffic rules and though passing one another is legal in many places it is often illegally and dangerously done. Around 4 p.m. we drove 32 km from Sparti/Sparta past countless olive groves set in terraced plots on hillsides. Along the way beautiful Weeping Willows, pink blossomed Daphne and proud Mediterranean Cyprus trees lined the road with the steep mountains of the Taigetos, as wondrous as ever, set behind them. The drive took about 25 minutes as the road is quite curvy.
Gythio is rumored to be the port from which Helen sailed from on her fateful voyage to Troy. Every time I drive this route, E65, from my parents' to Gythio I think of Helen's mad abduction by or her elopement with Paris millennia ago. In Greece, Helen is called Beautiful Helen or Helen of Sparta rather than Helen of Troy since she originated and returned here after Troy's fall.
Gythio is also famous for its seafood. You can sit right by the sea and feed bread to little black fish from your table. You are welcomed inside the restaurants to pick the fish you want to eat too. Two popular things for adults to order are wine seared octopus and ouzo served over ice. I'm sure your kids like mine will love to eat the hand cut fries and fresh fish after swimming. Here is a great panorama of a shipwreck in Gythio's bay along with its rumor, a popular Greek pastime, http://www.360cities.net/image/gytheio_shipwreck. Some people crawl around and inside of it but I wouldn't recommend it. From Gythio you can take ferries to some of the islands. Try www.greek-islands-ferries.gr/ferry_gytheio.htm for more information.
One family favorite is the small island of Kythera.This small island is famous as the first place Aphrodite or Venus came to land from her sea foam birth. It is legal for you to scuba dive off its coast and equipment can be rented in the towns. Some of the Parthenon's marble statues fell into the sea off the coast of Kythera when they were stolen from Greece and taken to England for "safe keeping." A site to learn more on the history of the statues and their present state is http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/ . On this site there is a page especially for children. Besides Greek mythology there are strong Greek Orthodox connections of miracles related to the Virgin Mary or Panagia as we call her on this island. Take a look at http://gogreece.about.com/cs/greekislands/a/kytheraaphrodit.htm .
Looking for your kids to connect Kythera and Sparti? Have them make a family tree of the gods and goddesses from Greek mythology. For instance, Kythera is the "birthplace" of Aphrodite. Her parentage is questionable with Zeus possibly being her father. She was married to Hephaestus. Her son was Eros or Cupid. Helen's father was Zeus as well and her mother was Leda (Nemesis). Aphrodite and Eros played some part in Helen's abandonment of Menelaus as pictured in this vase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen as Aphrodite promised Helen to Paris. Make sure to leave plenty of room on the family tree for all of Zeus' children. Mythological or religious family trees can be done from a variety of countries' perspectives.