The
myths of Greek antiquity depicted the gods as majestic, blessed
with incomparable beauty and enormous physical strength. They
also saw them as embodying all human traits and weaknesses.
The
gods hunted, fought, loved, and were jealous and often
unfaithful, which is why they persisted in meddling with
demigods and simple human beings.
Satyrs, nymphs, centaurs, and other strange, fanciful, and
bewitching creatures, along with the twelve gods of Olympos and
the ancient Greeks, had their hand in the writing of the story
of Greek mythology, which still continues to fascinate us.
Of course, the natural environment played its part: the endless
chains of verdant mountains, the wonderful climate, and the
ubiquitous sea.
Perhaps the place that was best endowed for these divine
festivities was Central Greece. In its rivers, lakes, and every
corner of its lovely mountains, the gods have left traces of
their passing. Parnassos was the home of Apollo and the nymphs,
and it was there that Pan had his cave. Kithairon was where
Orpheus strummed his lyre and the maenads held their orgies in
worship of Dionysos, while serene Helicon was where the Muses
reigned.
Central Greece was and is beloved of the gods and nature. The
Acheloos, the son of Oceanos and Gaia and father of the Sirens,
still flows peacefully among the mountains and forests. On
Pelion, the enchantingly beautiful mountain where the Centaurs,
half men-half horse, galloped after the nymphs, twenty-four
villages were built over the centuries amidst the oaks and
chestnuts, their delightful architecture enhanced by the sea on
one side, the woods on the other.
Life allover Greece bears the imprimatur of these myths. It lies
somewhere between memories of the past and the present, between
legend and reality, in the time of the demigods and in the world
of today.
While
at Meteora, in monasteries hidden on steep mountains tops, monks
and hermits live according to the Christian religion traditions. |
