As I was helping my son with his history project about Isaac Newton I realized I didn’t remember many details about his life I’ve learned during my high school years. For example, do you remember that he was born on Christmas Day, 25 December 1642 an hour or two after midnight, at Woolsthorpe Manor in...
According to myth, Minos king of Crete every year had to sacrifice his most beautiful bull to god Poseidon. One year the bull that was born was so beautiful that Minos didn’t want to lose it and so he sacrificed another one of a lesser beauty. When Poseidon found out, became very angry and enchanted...
Weekends usually are, for most people, the two days they have to relax from a stressful week and probably do things they don’t have the time to do during weekdays. For me it is a whole different reality. Saturday morning, I wake up around 8:00 a.m. and start my day by going shopping to buy...
I love, love chocolate and although I make several sweets and I really like them, my heart belongs to chocolate. There is always chocolate in my home in many sizes and types. Although I am trying to keep my weight under control, I cannot possibly refrain from eating at least a small piece of something...
In many of my posts I have described several of Hercules’ Labors in order to be forgiven for the deaths of his wife and children after Hera’s spell that made him lose his mind. When Hercules completed the cycle of the labors he planted an olive tree outside Hera’s temple in ancient Olympia. Olympia was...
Pies with or without phyllo are an essential part of Greek culture and kitchen. Throughout Greece there is a vast range of diverse types of pies that are made locally with goods that can be found in nature. Basically, there are two types of pies; the ones with meat and the meatless. Meatless pies are...
One of the five basic elements of ancient Greek diet was wine. Although the origin of vineyards and viticulture comes from Asia, ancient Greeks because of trade started cultivating vineyards since Neolithic Age. Homer, Plato and Xenophon in their written documents make an extensive mention to all their contemporary wines from several parts of Greece....
Athens along with its suburbs counts for about 4 million people which is almost half of Greece’s population. During the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s because of the lack of works in the province, people moved from villages to the big city to find a job. Initially and up to the 80’s downtown Athens was the...
In Greek mythology, Eros was the god of love. According to myth, when Eros was striking someone with his arrows, he immediately fell in love. His power was invincible not only among humans but also among gods. According to orphic teachings Eros came from a cosmic egg that Night left in the bays of Erebus....
When I was a kid, my mom was taking me along with her to visit my maternal grandparents. We lived in downtown Athens and my grandparents lived in Piraeus. That meant, back in the 70’s, that we had to take the subway and then get either a taxi or the bus to go to them....
