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Here is a list of facts that you surely did not know about Greece and especially about the Cyclades. So now you can impress your friends and family with your knowledge about local cultural facts.
The islands of the Cyclades are named after "kyklos" which means "circle" in Greek. Indeed, it was thought before these islands were arranged in a circle around the central island of Delos.
It is also said that the Cyclades are nymphs who refused to sacrifice themselves to Neptune and were turned into rocks in the Aegean Sea.
But it is not only the Cyclades who evoke mythology in Greece. There is also the Aegean Sea. Indeed, it is said that when Theseus, the son of the king of Aegeus, departed to defeat the Minotaur, his father instructed him to sail with white sails in case of success and black sails in case of failure. However, after the struggle and victory against the Minotaur, Theseus would have forgotten the colour of the sails. His father, seeing his son's boat arrive, threw himself into the sea of despair.
Often the charm of the Cycladic islands is their villages of whitewashed white houses. But why such a practice?
Above all because white is a colour that returns heat, unlike the black that keeps it. Thus, when temperatures rise during the summer months, the temperatures inside the houses are considerably much cooler.
The roofs are very often terraces and domes, to preserve the rain water which is very rare during the summer.
For reasons of hygiene, the Greeks used lime to bleach their house because it allows the walls to "breathe" but also to disinfect as lime is a natural disinfectant.
In the end, there is obviously an aesthetic and symbolic reason behind the bewitching white of these beautiful houses. It is indeed the colour of purity and spirituality. But also because, in contrast to the blue of the sea, this refers to the Greek flag, and is therefore one of the national colours of the country.
To ward off the evil eye after a compliment, the Greeks tend to blow between their lips after making a compliment to someone. In this way, the person who received the compliment is protected from the evil eye and bad luck.
The proverb "take the bull by the horns" comes from Greece. It comes from the myth of Hercules saving Crete from a furious bull wanting to destroy it, seizing it by the horns.
Since antiquity, to pay tribute to the god Dionysos, festivals are organised in the squares of the villages gathering the inhabitants of all ages, known as the "panigiria". This kind of celebration still exists and especially on the islands of the Cyclades. Try to participate in one of these local and authentic festivals.
