Sailing in the Aegean

with History at the helm

 INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH / NATIONAL HELLENIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION

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INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH / NHRF

ISBN 978-618-81781-1-3
PIRAEUS PORT AUTHORITY
 NATIONAL HELLENIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION
INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

PIRAEUS PORT AUTHORITY

Sailing in the Aegean

with History at the helm

Edited by Eugenia Drakopoulou Dimitris Dimitropoulos

Translated by Deborah Brown Kazazis

ATHENS 2015
 CONTENTS

foreword
Yiorgos Anomeritis, Chairman and CEO of Piraeus Port Authority SA...... 9

foreword
Taxiarchis Kolias, Director, Institute of Historical Research ..................... 11

introductory note
Eugenia Drakopoulou Dimitris Dimitropoulos ...................................... 13

Angelos Chaniotis
Piraeus. A Cypriot merchant arrives in Pericles Piraeus ............................ 17

Eftychia D. Liata
Nafplio. Fortress-state painting, song, and history . .................................. 31

Kostas G. Tsiknakis
Chania. The dilemma ...................................................................................... 45

Eugenia Drakopoulou
Rethymno. A late sixteenth-century painters workshop ............................. 59

Angeliki Panopoulou
Heraklion. The Admiral ................................................................................. 71

Anna Michailidou
Santorini. The dream of Epiphanes from Santorini ..................................... 83

Dimitris Dimitropoulos
Mykonos. On Mykonos at the dawn of the 18th century ............................ 95
8 CONTENTS

Yiorgos Anomeritis
Naxos. The arrival of the governors daughter in the port of Naxos and
her marriage in the Castle ............................................................................. 105

Christos Loukos
Syros. Days of revolt in Hermoupolis on Syros (1862) ............................... 119

Marina Loukaki
Paros. The hermit woman . ........................................................................... 133

Eugenia Drakopoulou
Melos. Maritsa of Melos . .............................................................................. 143

Efthymios Nikolaidis
Rhodes. (Hi)story of a shipwreck ................................................................. 155

Harikleia Papageorgiadou
Kos. Casa Romana ........................................................................................ 167

Zisis Melissakis
Patmos. What thou seest, write in a book ................................................... 179

Katerina Dermitzaki
Chios. Chiot reminiscences ........................................................................... 191

Panagiotis D. Michailaris
Lesbos. The last of the Gattilusi remembers . .............................................. 205

Dina Moustani
Volos. The reception of the King ................................................................... 217

Anastasia Tourta
Thessaloniki. Vignettes of Thessaloniki, mid-September 1353 ................. 229

The contributors to the volume ..................................................................... 245

 Paros
The Hermit Woman
Throughout the 9th and the first half of the 10th century AD,
the Arabs relentlessly raided the islands of the Aegean Sea. Their
base was Crete, which they had conquered in stages, beginning
in 823 AD. The island of Paros, which all evidence would suggest
was flourishing until that time, was one victim of their incur-
sions. Those inhabitants who remained on Paros after the Arab
raids abandoned all shorefront settlements and made for the is-
lands mountainous interior, leaving the coastal villages to ruin.
The following story is a free adaptation of the Life of
Saint Theoktiste, a unique hagiographical text written by the
Byzantine scholar and official Niketas Magistros between 913
and 920. Saint Theoktiste is the patron saint of Paros. This text
is a valuable source of information regarding the political and
social environment of the 9th and 10th centuries in Byzantium,
and more specifically about the conditions in the Aegean islands,
which were being raided by the Arabs. Note, however, that there
is no other testimony, whether historical or hagiographical, re-
garding Saint Theoktiste, nor were any significant cults dedi-
cated to her during the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine periods1.
In composing this Life, Niketas adopted a modernistic nar-
rative technique, deftly nesting the first-person narrative with-
in a number of other framing narratives. He borrowed motifs
from famous ancient hagiographical works (Life of Saint Mary
of Egypt, Life of Saint Theodora of Thessaloniki, etc.), and en-
riched his text with vivid descriptions (of the harbor, the church,
the ciborium, etc.), borrowing vocabulary from the Ancient
Greeks (Homer, Thucydides, Achilles Tatius), from Biblical and
Patristic sources (e.g., Gregory of Nyssa).

1.
A small chapel was dedicated to Saint Theoktiste in the church of The
otokos Katapoliani, but not until the 17th century.
134 MARINA LOUKAKI

I was once on the island of Paros. Admiral Hemerios and I had been traveling
to Crete, dispatched as ambassadors by our most revered and wise emperor,
the late Emperor Leo, in order to negotiate with the Saracen Arabs who
then held the island of Crete and were raiding the Aegean. As we drew
near Ios, strong winds impeded our progress, forcing us to seek shelter on
the nearest island. We laid anchor at the windless isle of Paros, with its
calm waters gently leading to the shallows, where the bay at the foot of the
mountain safely welcomes all ships, whatever the season2. We decided to
disembark and explore this land, which appeared deserted, and to worship
at the famous church of the Blessed Mother of Paros3. We had heard that
this church, originally built by the Emperor Constantine the Great at the
request of his mother, Saint Helen, and later lavishly renovated by the Em
peror Justinian, who was famous for his restorations of churches, castles,
and walls, had been lying in ruins for years.
We followed the cobblestone road, and soon saw the splendid church
rising before us. We entered with reverence, prayed, burned sweet-smelling
incense, and then allowed our gaze to wander in melancholy over the
remains of this marvel of art. The church was perfectly symmetrical, and
rested on dozens of columns cut from the famous ancient Parian marble.
The same royal stone was draped over the walls, like a garment of byssos4,
gleaming like pearls. Within the Sanctuary, our gaze was captured by the
altar and the ciborium that had once housed it5. What a magnificent work
of art! It was as though it had not been made by human hands, not cut
from stone, but made from milk, mixed in with the sap of the fig tree and
poured into a mold, to congeal into the shape of a cover for the altar. But

2. The harbor in question is the one at the modern village of Paroikia.

3. This refers to the modern church of the Dormition of the Virgin at Paroikia. This
church is also known as Ekatontapyliani (of the hundred gates) and, somewhat more ac
curately, Katapoliani (near the city). Neither of these two appellations, however, appears
in Byzantine sources.
4. By royal stone, Niketas Magistros means white marble, or perhaps simply marble.
Byssos was a fine linen and silk fabric, off-white and yellowish in color. A very rich collection
of Early Christian sculptures and inscriptions is housed today in the Katapoliani complex.
5. Today, this remarkable Early Christian (4th 7th century AD) ciborium (a type of
covering over the altar where the Christian liturgy is performed) has been restored to its
original position inside the church.
PAROS 135

this beautiful ciborium lay in pieces on the floor. We indignantly asked one
another who could have committed such sacrilege.

Katapoliani, altar ciborium

(photo: Machi Marouda).

We crossed ourselves, and exited to the churchyard. From the forest

nearby, we saw an old monk emerge. He was thin as a rail, sunburnt and
wrinkled; his appearance alone attested to his virtue. He walked towards
us and after we embraced each other, he told us that his name was Simeon,
that he was a priest, and that he had come to Paros thirty years earlier to
live as a hermit. He did not wish to say any more. We knelt and asked for his
blessing. He blessed us eagerly, and prayed for the success of our mission.
We begged the hermit to speak to us, and to teach us the word of God.
At first he refused, insisting that he was unworthy, having committed a
multitude of sins. Finally, however, we succeeded in convincing him, and
we all sat down around him, perching on the broken pieces of marble
lying on the grass. The spring gurgled nearby, making the place ideal for
conversation and spiritual improvement. Curious as to who had defiled
this sacred place, I mentioned the ruined church and the broken ciborium.
The hermit began his story: You have surely heard, he said, of the dread
136 MARINA LOUKAKI

Nisiris, the Saracen admiral of Crete6. When, years ago, he landed on Paros
and saw this ciborium, he liked it so much that he wished to take it with
him back to Crete. So he measured the dimensions of the door, then he
measured the ciborium. Assured that it could easily be carried through the
door, he removed the ciborium from the altar, placed it on the ground,
and dragged it towards the door. But as he dragged it, the ciborium grew
bigger! Then Nisiris demolished the wall. But the ciborium only grew and
grew, until the Arab despaired and furiously hacked it to pieces. So God
punished him. At Kafireas7, the dread promontory of Euboia that sailors
have nicknamed Wood-eater, Nisiriss ship sank, dragging all the crew,
including Nisiris, to their deaths. The hermit went silent.
As dusk began to fall, we stood up, thanked the hermit for his words,
which were balm to the soul, and invited him to dine with us. We headed
towards the ship together. The tents had already been pitched on the
dockside, and the sailors had prepared our dinner at Admiral Hemerios
tent. We had barely finished, when Simeon beckoned that he wished to
speak to me in private. We sat apart from the others, and he said: Lord
Niketas, God willing, tomorrow your ship will pass swiftly through the
straits of Naxos. You will reach your destination, succeed in your mission
from the emperor, and safely return to Constantinople, the God-guarded
City. I understand that you are a highly educated man. I want to beg you a
favor, and please do not decline, saying that you have no time, or that your
words are not fine enough. First, I want you to put the story that I will tell
you in your heart and in your mind; then, I want you to write it down, so
that all men may learn it and hear of it. They will marvel, and zealously
worship virtue and God. His words surprised me, but rather intrigued, I
asked him to continue.
He said: A few years ago, some hunters had traveled from Euboia to
Paros. This island was always full of deer and wild goats, although there are
even more now that the coast has been abandoned, and the few inhabitants
have retreated to the mountains out of fear of the marauding Saracens. One

6. The Arab Cretan admiral Nisiris (a Hellenized form of the Arab name Nasr) does not
appear in any historical sources. It may be that Niketas created him along the model of other
famous Arab pirates of the age, such as Leo of Tripoli, who plundered Thessaloniki in 904.
7. Today this promontory is known as Cavo Doro.
PAROS 137

of those hunters, a most God-fearing man, told me that he had visited Paros
before. During that visit, he had taken a break from his hunting and entered
the church of the Blessed Mother to pray. After praying, he noticed a small
dent in the marble floor, where a few white lupins were soaking in a puddle
of water. This flower is very common here, just as other islands are covered
with thyme, oregano, or fragrant fennel. It occurred to the hunter that a
hermit might live there, and as he left the church to resume his hunting, he
hoped that he would meet him. But it was not to be. In the afternoon, as the
other hunters were heading toward the shore, he decided to return to the
church and pray to the Blessed Mother once again. To the right of the altar,
he noticed a shadow, something like a piece of cloth waving in the wind.
He thought it was a spider web. He stepped closer to inspect it, and heard
a voice saying: Halt, man, go no further. I am a woman, and I am ashamed
that you should see me naked. The hunter was terrified, and thought of
running away. But he kept his head, and asked the woman who she was,
and what she was doing in the wilderness. The voice now pleaded: lease
throw me a piece of clothing, and by God, I will answer any question you
ask. The hunter removed his overcoat, placed it on the floor, and stepped
out of the church. The woman picked up the overcoat and wrapped herself
in it. When the hunter returned, he saw before him a figure that had the
general shape of a woman, but seemed to be not of this world: white hair, an
ashen face, an emaciated body. She was more like a shadow than a woman,
and only her gaze betrayed that she was human. The hunter panicked, and
trembling from head to toe he fell to the floor and begged for her blessing.
The woman turned to the east perhaps to convince him that she was not a
ghost crossed her hands and began to whisper a prayer. Then she turned
to him and said: God have mercy on you, my man. I will tell you my whole
story. Lesbos is my place of birth. Methymna8 is my city, and Theoktiste my
name. I was a girl of eighteen years, when one Easter I traveled to a nearby
village to meet my sister. That night, Arab Cretans led by Nisiris attacked
the village, taking us all captive. At dawn, with drumbeats and shouts, the
Arabs joyfully loaded their human plunder on their ships and set out to
sea. Eventually they laid anchor at this island, unloaded their captives, and

8. Modern-day Molyvos.
138 MARINA LOUKAKI

began to appraise them and divide them amongst themselves. On a pretext,

I went into a nearby forest. While out of sight, I started running, heading
for the interior of the island. I did not stop for a minute, although the rocks
were cutting my feet to pieces and I was out of breath. At last, I fell down,
half-dead and writhing in terrible pain. But the next morning, I stood on
a hill and watched the pirate ships departing, and I quite forgot my pain.
That was thirty-five years ago. Since then, I have lived here, eating white
lupins and mountain herbs, or rather, I have been nourished by the Word of
God: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God9. Now I have told you of my troubles. My good
man, do me a favor. When you return to this island to hunt, bring me a
box of communion bread. I have lived in the wilderness so long without
the opportunity to take communion. The hunter promised, then returned
to his comrades, but he told no one of his strange meeting with Theoktiste.
A month later, he returned to the island, and leaving his fellows, he went
back to the church. As soon as he saw the wild woman approaching, the
hunter fell to his knees and began to worship her. Theoktiste ran near him,
with tears in her eyes, and pleaded: I beg you not to do that, my man.
You carry the Divine Communion; do not dishonor it by kneeling before
a wretch like me. She pulled him to his feet, and he gave her the little box.
Theoktiste received it with trembling hands, and said: Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace10. Then she thanked the hunter and sent
him back to his companions with her blessing. The hunters remained on
the island for seven days, hunting the wild goats that resembled deer in
size and color, with horns up to five feet in length. When it was time to
depart, the hunter passed once more by the church to receive the blessing of
Theoktiste. He found her lying dead, at the exact spot where he had left her.
Shaken, he did not know what to do. But the small-minded wretch, rather
than praying to God and to the saint to show him the light, or calling to his
companions to help him bury and honor the body, decided instead to cut
off her hand, wrap it in a cloth, and take it with him as a charm. Late that

9. Matthew 4:4.
10.
The opening of the Canticle of Simeon.

The Greek original
is
.
PAROS 139

night, a favorable wind blew, filling the sails and bringing the ship to the
open sea. Yet at dawn, the hunters found to their horror that they were still
in the harbor of Paros, as though an anchor or a sea monster were pinning
the ship firmly in place. Each man gave his own explanation, but the hunter
realized that his sacrilege was to blame. Secretly, he ran to the church and
replaced the saints hand by her body. Returning to the ship, he encouraged
his friends to resume the voyage. No sooner said than done. The little ship
easily left the island, soaring like a bird. When they reached the open sea,
the hunter decided to tell his comrades the whole story. His companions
reproached him for his terrible sin, and turned the ship toward Paros once
more. When they laid anchor, they ran to the church. They found traces
of the saints body, but the body itself was gone. A great miracle! The poor
in spirit searched everywhere, but in vain. They boarded their ship, and
returned home praising the God of miracles.

The church of Katapoliani.

The old hermit Simeon told me all this, and I gave him my word that I
would not let it be forgotten. He could not tell me many details about the
life of Saint Theoktisti, only that she died in the autumn, around November.
I kept that promise, and wrote this text as soon as I returned safe and sound
from Crete, by the grace of God, and as foretold by Simeon. I am sure that
140 MARINA LOUKAKI

some day other great men will be able to pinpoint the day of her death, and
will write eulogies, and praise her in hymns and panegyrics. This has been
my valuable cargo, and my profit, from my journey to Paros, this is what
now gives me the strength and peace of mind to withstand the hardships of
exile and ceaselessly praise the glory of God11.

Notes
Niketas Magistros: Niketas Magistros, born in Larissa, Thessaly around
870 AD, was a highly educated senior official in the Byzantine court. His
career began during the time of Leo VI the Wise (866-912). Involved in
the intrigues of the Byzantine imperial court, Niketas supported the acces
sion of Romanos I Lakapenos to the throne (920-944), and even had his
daughter married to Romanos son, Christopher Lekapenos. Later, Niketas
was accused of conspiring against Romanos, and was exiled to his estate on
the Hellespont. From there, he sent literary epistles to notable ecclesiasti
cal and political officials, including the scholarly emperor Constantine VII
Porphyrogennetos.
Admiral Hemerios: Niketas Magistros and Admiral Hemerios had been
sent as envoys by Emperor Leo VI the Wise (866-912) to meet with the
Arabs of Crete. The purpose of their mission was most likely to ensure the
neutrality of the Arabs of Crete, prior to the Byzantine fleets successful
attack against Syria in 910, under the command of Admiral Hemerios.
Ekatontapyliani and Saint Helen: According to tradition, a tempest
forced Saint Helen to stop over at Paros on her way to the Holy Lands, where
she was going to search for the True Cross. Afterwards, she asked her son
Constantine to sponsor the building of a church on that island. It is known
today that the current old Christian church of the Dormition was built over
an older three-aisled basilica, which was itself built atop the mosaic floor of
yet another building, perhaps a gymnasium, dating to the early 4th century.
During the 6th century, the church was renovated from the foundations up,
acquiring the form of a large and impressive domed cruciform basilica. In
later centuries, it underwent numerous interventions, suffered damage, and
was repeatedly repaired, which altered its initial character. In 1959-1966,

11.
The final sentence was added by the author.
PAROS 141

archaeologist Anastasios Orlandos oversaw restorations to return the

church to what he believed was its original form.
Life of Saint Theoktiste: In the version of the Life of Saint Theoktiste that
was adopted by the 10th-century Synaxarium of Constantinople and the
Orthodox Church, the hunter buried the saints body within the church.
According to tradition, inhabitants of Methymna retrieved the saints body
from Paros and buried it in their homeland, leaving in Paros only a single
bone, which is now kept safe in the chapel of the Katapoliani. In Lesbos,
it is rumored that unknown sailors stole the body, but were overtaken by
men from Ikaria, who took the saints body from them; this explains how
a tomb containing Saint Theoktistes remains came to be on Ikaria, where it
remains to this day. The Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Theoktiste
on November 9.

Selected bibliography
Text of the Life of Saint Theoktiste:
Acta Sanctorum Novembris, vol. 4, Brussels 1925, p. 224-233. English
translation by ngela C. Hero, Life of St. Theoktiste of Lesbos, in A.-M.
Talbot, Holy Women of Byzantium. Ten Saints Lives in English Translation,
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library Collection, Washington, D.C. 1996, p.
101-116.
For Niketas Magistros and his writings:
L. G. Westerink, Nictas Magistros. Lettres dun xil, Paris 1973. See also
the entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.
For the church of the Virgin Katapoliani:
V. Christides, The Raids of the Moslems of Crete in the Aegean Sea,
Piracy and Conquest, Byzantion 51 (1981), p. 76-11.
Idem, The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs (ca. 824). A Turning Point in the
Struggle between Byzantium and Islam, Athens 1984.
D. Tsougarakis, Byzantine Crete. From the 5th Century to the Venetian
Conquest, Athens 1988.

Marina Loukaki