4. Baked potatoes without their skins are mixed with oil and sugar and used as a poultice.
Baldness and Falling Hair
1. Mix garlic, dynamite powder, and powdered roofing tile and make a paste with water. Shave the head and apply the paste. Cover the paste with cow dung.
2. The dung beetle is powdered, mixed with alcohol and dabbed on to the bald patches.
3. Two yolks of egg are added to powdered dry fig leaves. This paste is put on to the hair. It cures baldness and dandruff.
Birth
This is often performed in the sitting position, and a chair cut away in the seat is used specially for this purpose. (The squatting position is now being tried by a London hospital.) In the Cyprus Museum there is a terracotta figure of a woman giving birth and being held up by the arms in the sitting position, with a helper delivering the baby. This figure dates from 500 BCE and shows a strong Phoenician influence.
1. To bring on labor pains bran (pítyron) is boiled and wrapped up in a cloth and applied to the abdomen hot. A hot tile (keramídi) is used in a similar way to apply dry heat.
2. Seven days after the birth of the child the midwife puts her bare foot on the vulva of the woman and pulls each hand in turn. A vaginal douche is then performed after which sexual intercourse is permitted. This treatment is supposed to replace the genital organs and its efficiency was vouched for by a woman who was the mother of fifteen children!
Burns
Ink is used in a similar way to tannic acid.
In the majority of cases mastika is applied liberally and a light dressing put on. Infection is said never to occur with this method.
Common Cold
Crude sheep’s wool is dipped into a mixture of paprika and mastika. The whole body is rubbed vigorously with the wool.
Conjunctivitis
Wash out eye with sap of vine or tears. Or with cow’s or human urine. An ophthalmologist friend of mine has seen bilateral gonococcal conjunctivitis as a result of this method. The child lost the sight of both eyes.
Erysipelas
1. Dissolve copper sulphate in mastika and massage into the area.
2. A piece of red cloth is put on top of the area of the rash.
Seven pieces of resinous wood and seven small pieces of cotton wool are used. Apiece of cotton wool is placed on top of the red cloth and a piece of resinous wood on top of the cotton. The wood is lighted and as soon as the cotton takes fire it is nicked off with the finger and the following words are repeated. The whole process is repeated seven times:
káto stó gialó stín ammo
oí spanói zeygéri kánoyn
vézoyn tís psolés tón alétri
kài t’archeídia ton zeygári.
Mi òspóros tón matiásei
míti fókío na rizósi.
This may be translated as follows:
Down on the beach, on the sand
the beardless ones are mating,
they use the penis like a plough
and their testicles like a pair of oxen.
Let not the Evil Eye fall on the seed (sperms)
nor the erysipelas take root.
This is strongly suggestive of the ancient phallic ceremonies in which foul words and gestures were used to ward off evil spirits and at the same time, ensure fertility.
Lactation
An amber bead hung round the neck of a pregnant woman will ensure a plentiful supply of milk, as will wine and hot bathings. If the mother wishes to stop lactating, a key is hung down the back inside the clothes. Mud from flat roofs (patelía) is made into a paste and smeared on the breast to stop the flow of milk. (This is an interesting link with the Egyptian Arabs who use mud from the roof for the same purpose, the mud in this instance containing dung.) If a woman suckles her child she believes that she cannot become pregnant, during that time. I have seen children being suckled at the age of three and a half years.
Pregnancy
The desires of the woman for unusual foods at unusual times must be satisfied. If she does not satisfy her desire and happens to touch her body at the same time, the baby will be marked where she has touched herself. The birthmark of the child is also supposed to indicate the nature of the desire.
Indigestion during pregnancy is due to the unborn infant developing hair. The indigestion is cured by a spoonful of sesame seeds. Coffee is applied to the umbilicus of the newborn infant as an astringent and antiseptic.
A pregnant woman must not cross her legs on sitting down because the child will have the “cord round the neck.”
Sex
To determine the sex of an unborn child the following methods are used:
1. When the woman is seven months pregnant, a drop of breast milk is expressed into a glass of water. If the milk dissolves, the child will be a female. If the milk drop remains fibrous and upright in the water, it will be a boy. The latter is obviously a phallic symbol.
2. A knife and a pair of scissors are placed each on a seat and covered with a cushion. The expectant mother is sent out of the room while this is being done and she is called in to choose a chair. If she sits on the knife, it will be a boy; if she sits on the scissors, it will be a girl. The knife is another phallic symbol.
Smallpox
The Greek name is evlogià. This means “she must be named with respect.” This is a reference to the fear of omnipotent destructive spirits. They must not be offended. Hence the respectful name. Compare with Evil Eye.
Select Bibliography
In English
Rhodes in Ancient Times
1885 Torr
Rhodes in Modern Times
Aegean Island
1887 Tozer
Travels and Discoveries in
the Levant (2 vols.)
1865 Newton
In French
L’ile de Rhodes
1881 Bileotti and Cottret
L’ile de Rhodes
1856 Guerin
Description des Monuments de Rhodes
1828 Rottiers
Histoire des Chevaliers Hospitaliers
1726 Vertor
In Italian
Isola de Rodi
1688 Coronelli: Parisotti
Istoria del Sacro Militare Ordine
Gerosolimitano
1602 Bosio
In Modern Greek
POΔIAKA
1939 ANAΣTAΣIOϒ Γ
BPONTH
POΔITIKATPAΓ.OΔϒIA
1939 ANAΣTAΣIOϒ Γ.
BPONTH
O AΓOΣ ΣOϒAAΣ
1934 EMM. KϒPIAZH
Index
A
Abbot of Patmos 83, 87, 88–91, 92–94, 96–97
Aegean Sea 6, 7, 40
Aesculapius 124, 224
Agamemnon, tomb of 174
Albergo de Rosa (hotel) 13, 15
Alexandria 4, 5, 17, 107
Amorgos 90
Anatolia 14, 41, 48, 53, 98, 139, 273
Anatolian mountains 15, 44 142
Andrew, St. 287
Anthony, Major 93, 96–97
Antigonus 106, 107, 120
Aphando 66
Aphrodite (prostitute) 101
Apocalypse 87, 94
Apollo. See Sun God; Colossus
Apollonia, founding of 134
Apollonios Molon 131
Argos 50
Artemis 227
Artemisia 107, 133
asphodel 61, 282, 286
Astypalea 220
Athene Lindia 185–186, 227
Atlantis, and Atlanteans 1, 123
B
Baedeker, Baron 46, 48, 64–65, 217, 232, 237, 242, 256, 272
baobab tree 61, 63, 136
Basil, St. 288
Bey, Mehmet 2, 46–48, 241, 254, 256
Bileotti and Cottret 49, 52, 297
Bosio 203, 298
bread 51, 166, 243
Brigadier 65, 129, 140, 211, 215, 219, 220, 238, 244, 250
British Officers’ Club 100, 132
C
caieque 73, 80–81, 95
Cairo 19, 71, 210, 268
Calato 182, 188
Calithea 143, 218
Callias of Arados 117
Cameiro Skala 176–178
Cameirus 50, 149, 150, 168, 169
Carian Mountains 99, 108
carob tree 44
Carpathos 43, 198
Casos 19, 198, 286
Cassius 20, 107, 132
Castel Rosso 195, 198
Castello 21–22, 40
Cato 133
Cattavia 181
Chalce 198
Chares of Lindos 122
Christ (printer) 46, 68–70, 232, 233, 254, 256, 272
Chronos 42, 69
cicada 44 52, 67, 137, 160, 189, 284
Cicero 131
Claudius, Emperor of Rome 133
Cleobolus 106, 185, 186. See also Villa Cleobolus
epitaph on Gordius 131
Cleobulina 187
Cnidos 50
Colossus 99, 105, 121–125
Constantine, St., festival of 61
Constantinople 194, 205
Cos 50, 71, 74–75, 136, 144, 195, 220, 273, 286
Crete 7, 53, 109, 162, 178
Croker, Sergeant 22, 23 36, 146, 254
cross
festivals and ceremonies 286, 289
relics 158, 226
Crusaders 21, 40, 99, 145, 157, 184, 191–192, 194, 205. See also
Knights of St. John
Custodian of Enemy Property 62
Cyprus 10, 12, 192, 193, 204
D
dancing 215, 245–246, 250–252, 253, 285
De Vecci, Governor 50, 99
Demeter 280
Demetrius (monk) 130
Demetrius, St. 51
Little Summer of 71, 287
Demetrius Poliorcetes 20, 106, 107, 109–117, 119–121, 135, 203
Demosthenes 133
Diagoras of Ialysos, Pindar’s ode 186
Diodorus 106, 112–113
Diognetus 117–120
Dodecanesians 100, 193
E
E 3, 5, 43–44, 76, 79, 89, 135, 268, 272, 273
exploring the lost cities 158, 162, 169, 176, 186
at the Villa Cleobolus 62, 64
earthquakes 50, 122, 123, 134, 187
Easter 280–281
Egypt 5, 43, 62, 109, 119, 186
Electra 142
Eleusinian mysteries 280
Embona 177, 178, 215
dancers 250–252
English, soldiers 92–93
Epidaurus, valley of 170
eucalyptus 13, 60, 137, 206
Eurotas 174
evil eye 209, 296
F
fig 61
flowers, calendar of 277–289
folksongs, Greek and Anatolian 161–162
Foreign Bible Society 66
France, Major 76, 78, 93
G
G, letter from 100–102
Gela (Sicily), founding of 134
George, St. 281
Germans
conflict with Italians 157
occupation of Rhodes 20, 65, 144, 152–153, 208–209
prisoners 19
soldiers 92–93, 171, 209
Gideon, Captain A. 16–18, 26, 19–30, 31, 35, 41, 52, 101, 105, 144, 160, 162, 164, 166, 173, 180, 187, 208, 213–214, 270, 272
on art and architecture 21, 23
concern with livestock 128–129, 152, 167, 211
expedition to Soroni 230, 234, 244
exploring the lost cities 150–151, 156, 157, 158, 168, 169, 170, 176, 177, 188
on literature 25, 49, 218
on myth and ancient history 125, 142, 187
at Soroni 255–256
tour of islands 215, 219, 220, 221
at the Villa Cleobolus 63–64, 128
and the Villa Mondolfo 145–147
during voyage to Rhodes 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14
and wine 25, 147, 161, 168, 173, 178, 215, 221, 255
writings 1, 17–18, 34
Gigantes, General 214, 215, 219–221, 243, 255, 257, 266
Gongorides, Mr. 132
Gordius, King of Phrygia epitaph on 131
gravestones 172–173, 175. See also Turkish churchyard
Greece 5, 7, 37, 40, 98, 118, 264, 271–272
military mission to islands 213–214
restoration of islands to 266, 268
Greek language 77, 130, 142, 144. See also rhetoric
Greeks 39, 85, 102, 172, 176, 187
character 56, 89, 214
hospitality 184, 220
print workers 41, 140
H
Harbor (Mandraccio) 12, 18, 20–21, 36, 99, 100, 272
Hascmet (poet), tomb of 59–60, 266
Helen Dendritis, tree cult,
Helen of Troy 45
Helen of Troy (tavern) 24
Helepolis 106, 112–117, 119–121
Helios 22, 49, 49–50
Heliousa 49
Heracles 230
Heraclides 134
Herod of Judea 134
Hesiod 146
hibiscus 52, 153
Hippocrates, tree of 74
Hippodamus 145
History, function of 149
Homer (dog) 12, 14, 23 25, 152
Homer (poet) 25
Hoyle 2, 3, 26–30, 32, 34, 35, 44 58, 102, 159, 162, 207, 272, 273
exploring the lost cities 150, 158, 169, 170, 173, 175, 177, 179, 185, 186
at Soroni 243, 255, 256
at the Villa Cleobolus 26, 61, 63–64, 128, 130, 136, 142, 143
and the Villa Mondolfo 145, 146
Huber, Egon 3, 36, 45, 46, 62, 128, 207, 211, 267, 272
Hunchback (at Leros) 78–79, 95
I
Ialysos 50, 150, 154
painting by Protogenes 115
Icaria 90
ikons 39, 165, 223
Indian soldiers 143, 151
Islam 62
islomania 2, 17, 35
Italians
conflict with Germans 144, 157, 171
printers 68
restoration of buildings 21, 144, 172
Sienese farmers 188, 221, 222, 231
soldiers 92–93, 145, 152
Italy 271
J
Jerusalem, and the Crusaders 191, 194
John the Baptist, St.
feast and festivals 278, 283
relic 158, 224–225
John the Evangelist, St. 94
K
Kalavarda, valley 168–169
Kallikanzari 288. See also Kaous; Pan
Kalopodas, Panagiotis. See Baedeker, Baron
Kalymnos 53, 71, 73–74, 135, 198
Kaous 138–139, 156, 288
Kirkbride, Sergeant 265
Knights of St. John
(Knights Hospitallers) 145, 192–193
Knights Templars 198
Kostas (editor) 69, 217, 233, 244
Kremasto 139, 165–166, 227, 286
L
Laches of Lindos 122
Largo, Mario 50
lemons 44
Leros 71, 75–78, 79, 90, 94–96, 195, 198, 220
Lindos 40, 50, 150, 154, 185, 198
expedition to 150, 175, 181–187
and St. Paul 187, 228, 230, 285
Lynceus of Samnos 218
Lysippus 122
M
Macedonia 162, 284
Maillol, Aristide 72
Malona 154, 188, 284
Mandraccio. See Harbor (Mandraccio)
Manners, Sergeant 265
Manoli (butcher-poet) 216–218, 248, 249
Manoli (net maker) 46, 54–57, 258, 261, 269, 270
Manoli (printer) 68, 136, 139–140, 208, 232, 234–235, 236, 245, 256
Maria (servant) 136
Marine Venus 3, 35–37, 264–265, 274
Maritsa 54, 157, 285
Markos (guardian
of Lindos Acropolis) 184, 185–187
Marmarice 144
Martin, Major 58, 210–211
mastika 3, 77, 163, 176, 219, 254
remedies 291, 293
military workings 154, 171
Mills, Chloe 33, 34, 162, 170, 179, 207, 212, 269, 272
Mills, Raymond 3, 31–36, 44 64, 74, 105, 128–130, 143, 207, 268–269, 273, 291
exploring the lost cities 150–151, 158, 161, 162, 168, 169, 170, 173–174, 176, 180–181, 184
letter from 211–213
at Soroni 248–249, 251, 253, 255, 257, 262
minefields 19, 75, 152–153, 155, 182, 188
Mithridates 20
Monte Smith 19, 66, 99, 101, 143, 150
Moricand (astrologer) 58
Mosque of Murad Reis 26, 57
Mount Atabyron 53, 177–179, 215
Mount Paradiso 155
Mount Tsambika 188, 286
Mufti 31, 58, 58–60, 61, 128, 135–136, 243, 266
Museum 3, 36, 264
Mylantia, Harbor 171
N
Nemesis 211
Neohori 151
Nereids 66–68, 85
Nero, Emperor of Rome 133
newspapers 68–70, 77, 141
production of 42, 140
Nicholas, St. 68, 288
fort of 21, 99
Nisyros 53, 198, 219, 270
O
oleander 51, 61, 127–128, 285
olives 44 152, 186, 256
Oracle of Delphi 125
Orthodox Church 138, 228
Ovid 210
P
Pan 67–68, 138, 173
Panaghia 157, 165, 227
Paris, Matthew 191
Parmenon of Rhodes 218
Patmos 53, 71, 76, 220
expedition to 78–95, 96, 97
Paul, St. 187, 229
gothic tower 21
Paximadi 182
peasants
clothes and costume 214
farming 221
lore and superstitions 44 51, 61, 128, 136, 138, 143, 227–230
during period of starvation in Rhodes 164–166
remedies 128, 291–296
Persephone 280
Peruzzi, house of 195, 199
Peter (warden of Phileremos) 153, 155, 157–159, 162–163, 163, 165
Pheraclyea 188
Phila (wife of Demetrius Poliorcetes) 112
Phileremo 54, 153, 154, 156–157, 159, 192, 226
chapel and monastery 226–227
Our Lady of 225, 227
Phocylides 76
Pindar 186
place
history of 40
presiding genius and spirits of 35, 37, 66
Plato the Martyr, St. 287
Pleiades 141, 287
Pliny, account of Demetrius and the Colossus 115, 122
poetry 53, 63, 131, 216
pomegranate 61, 140
Pompey 132
Porphyrogennis, Panayotis 168
pottery
ancient 144
Reflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes Page 22
