Mythological Landscapes

GREECE | Friday, 5 July 2013 | Views [1021] | View Smaller Image

Another indispensible element of the Greek landscape, specifically on Paros, is its rock faces. Strewn in the middle of the island with the sea on one side and sprawling mountains on the other are huge boulders that appear to arise out of nowhere. These rock faces, having been eroded over time, have some of the most magnificent cave like hollows, cracks and creases that make them resemble large sprawling sheets of cloth all piled up together. The ancient Greek myths speak of landforms such as these being the inhabitance of the nymphs. Kolymbithrus, on the island of Paros is one such cluster of boulders/rocks that almost instantly transports you to a time when nymphs hopped through valleys and hid in rocks and perhaps Apollo flew to the sun. These rock faces are unique to the Greek landscape and stand once again as a firm link between the past and the present – a constant reminder of the relationship between the mythic and the real.

(NOTE: All of these photos were shot using 4 x 5 Ilford FP4+ film on a Wista Camera. )

Welcome to Greece. Most associate Greece with idyllic blue and white villas sprawled over slopes that look over the Aegean Sea or else exotic sunsets and beach parties. In this set of 3 simple images I hope to introduce to you the Greece that many ignore. The soul of Greece lies in its landscape and natural wonders. Every part of the Greek landscape is intricately woven into the fabric of its mythic culture. This is one among a set of five 1000 year old olive trees found on the small island of Paros. As you drive from the town of paroikia to another little town on the island, Lefkes, you are enveloped by a row of olive trees so majestic that one wonders if this were not where homer was once inspired. The olive tree has long been an integral part of Greek landscape and hence Greek myth. From Homer’s Odyssey to the Iliad, from ancient Greek myth to present day Greek orthodox rituals, the olive has stood as a symbol of rebirth, purification and abundance. Even today, one of Greece’s most characteristic elements is the olive tree. It stands as a firm link between the past and the present – the mythic and the real.

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Strewn across the island’s shores are these magical caves that kiss the edge of the Aegean Sea. When one thinks of mystical caves with water gushing through it Greece is the first place that comes to mind. Across Paros’s coastline there are numerous little caves accessible only if one is willing to swim out to them. As the sun rises and sets these little caves flood with light and bring to life the mythical environments of the much beloved and rather well know water nymphs. Nymphs, in Greek mythology, are regarded as divine spirits that animate nature. They are believed to have inhabited caves and other cool places where the sun and sea met in idyllic balance. These caves are an essential and rather magical element of Greece’s magnificent landscape. Rocks, Water and Tree formations form the essence of Greek landscapes and ironically, or perhaps beautifully, are a constant and gentle reminder of the culture, myth and history of the land.

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Mythological Landscapes

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