“Cash only!” “Dollars, not euros for tips!” “We do not honor Power of Attorneys from New York Consulate unless we see a specific clause relating to the Bank,” said officers of the National Bank of Greece. “We are the Bank!” I passed this information to legal professionals. My impression in the first week of June 2015 was that Greece’s government was the Bank. I changed my outlook on USA banks after experiencing the horror of the Greek banking system. My husband became overstressed and found refuge in Tripoli, Arcadia.
“Nona, go on your five day excursion in Macedonia,” said my godson, Dr. Alexios Vardouniotis, otolaryngologist. “Nono will enjoy Tripoli with us. My dad, Professor Spiro, will restore his health.” Our cousins, Pitsa and Christo Macarouni, explored Arcadia with John. The Greek businesses and educated middle class, who are holding Greece’s economy up, showed me more loyalty than my own blood and old friends in both countries. One never knows when a higher power sends persons in one’s path to save one.
I left all. I went solo on a five day tour of Central Greece and Macedonia, arranged by Uli of Dolphin Hellas Travel Agency in Athens. The excursion was part of G.O. Tours; a conglomerate of various travel agencies pooling together their groups to form one excursion. This is called cutting costs. I was picked up in front of Athens Hilton. Our guide, Effie Varvatsoulaki, explained the history of the Boeotian plain on our way to Delphi. Effie was a highly educated person, diligent in her profession, with a positive attitude.
“This is the navel of the world,” she explained. “The high priestesses of Apollo were called Sibyls. This polygonal wall was commemorated to Delphi from the island of Chios.” Effie’s information brought back memories of my research on Chios and Erythrea, Asia Minor, where my family has roots. Herodotus states in his History that “the Temple of Athena Polias at Erythrae was famous in the ancient world for their famous priestesses known as the Sibyl.“ According to Greek and Roman mythology, they were women bestowed with prophetic powers by God Apollo. The Erythaean Sibyl was painted by Michelangelo from 1508-12 in a fresco at the Sistine chapel, Vatican. The famous Sibyls were the Erythraean and the Cumaean Sibyl who presided over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy. The Erythraean Sibyl sold the sibylline books to Tarquin, the last King of Rome, that were housed in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome.
At Delphi, I overheard Effie say to our guide, Matina, in Greek, “You have two members who know Greek.” Actually we were three persons; the tourists who did not know Greek were highly educated and understood all. Some members of our group claimed they were experts on Greece. They claimed they knew more than native Greeks on their history. “We will be together for the next five days,” said our new guide Matina, with humility and genuine warmth.
Matina was on call 24 hours a day. She cared about each individual person. Her expert information on Macedonia will form the basis of more articles on Greece. “Philip of Macedon was a Dorian Greek from a Peloponnesian tribe,” she explained. “He participated in the Olympic Games. Only Greeks were allowed to participate.” This destroys the false modern mythology that Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great were not Greek. Matina showed us proof that St. Demetrios existed through his prison under the Church of St. Demetrios in Thessaloniki. St. Demetrios died three years before the “Edit of Milan.” This disproves the Catholic Church’s claim that St. Demetrios was a mythical figure. Driving along the Aliakmon River in Macedonia, brought alive my memories of the October 28 celebration of Greece’s heroic stand against the Axis Powers in WWII. Many view 2015 as the successful reconquest of Greece in an economic war. The middle class is holding its ground and will be inspired by their unique cultural legacy to succeed.
My daughter called me in the monastery of St. Varlaam, asking me for Holy Water. Matina went out of her way to please my daughter who was calling from New York City. She had one aim: to welcome the foreign tourist so they would return. Our driver, Kosta, did an excellent job of navigating through mountains and narrow roads. His driving expertise was behind the success of our tour.
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