Hellenic Heritage Journeys in English

In this episode, we travel to the fertile interior of Naxos and climb a low hill at Gyroulas, south of the village of Sangri. There, we discover a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, with a temple that marked a turning point in the history of architecture. The story begins with open-air rituals around 800 BC and gatherings of worship, possibly linked to a mystery cult, beneath the first...

In this episode, we wander to the north-western edge of ancient Athens, to what the historian Thucydides called the “most beautiful suburb” – Kerameikos – where the River Eridanos gave life to potters’ workshops and serenity to the city’s dead. We discover how Themistocles’ wall divided the area into two and follow the Street of the Tombs in ancient Athens’ most important cemetery, seeking the sto...

In this episode, we explore the mystical island of Samothrace and step into the inner sanctum of one of the most enigmatic sanctuaries of the ancient world – the Sanctuary of the Great Gods – to uncover the sacred rites performed there. To be initiated, your origin, gender, and social status meant nothing. What mattered was your faith in the gods and the oath of silence you would keep forever. Fro...

Imagine witnessing a sacred ritual of antiquity, at a sanctuary near the mouth of the Erasinos River in eastern Attica. Before you, a group of young girls dressed in yellow robes move rhythmically around an altar, holding burning torches. You hear people whisper that they are the arktoi – the “little bears” of the goddess Artemis, the deity worshipped here. In this episode, we journey to the Sanct...

As you walk across the Macedonian plain, among the ruins of an ancient city, imagine that what you would once have heard here, thousands of years ago, was the sound of waves breaking on the shore. How could a city that now lies 25 kilometres from the coast once have had a harbour, a sea breeze and streets leading to every corner of the known world? In this episode, we follow the traces of ancient...

The Tsiatsiapas Mansion, built in 1754 in the Apozari district of Kastoria, is not simply a beautiful house. It is an entire world, preserving the history of an era that shaped the city. There are walls painted from end to end, with cities that look real but are not… with roosters, dragons and other curious symbols. There are coloured skylights and carved wooden decoration, all features that defin...

Before you even take a step inside the Casa Romana in Kos, a single word – carved into marble – awaits you. What made the owner of this house choose such an inscription? In this episode, we take you into the heart of the aristocratic quarter of Roman Kos, in the 2nd century AD, entering an impressive mansion with peristyles, courtyards with fountains, marblework, and mosaics. Today, the inscriptio...