A. N. Kollias, The Strop Ha Des Islands in the Texts of the Ancient Writers

8/2/2019 A. N. Kollias, The Strop Ha Des Islands in the Texts of the Ancient Writers

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ATHANASIUS N. KOLLIAS

THE STROPHADES ISLANDS

IN THE TEXTS OF THE ANCIENT WRITERS


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First written in Greek in 1994Translated into English in 2002


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PREAMBLE

Very early, while spending my summer holidays on thewestern coast of the Peloponnese, I became interested in agroup of two small, remote, being at the end of thegeographical area of Greece, and of unusual morphology,islands that are covered by the mist of the legend and theendless roar of the sea. Strophades is the name of thesetwo low lying island, south of Zakynthos, in the middle ofthe open sea. Winds and big waves whip them. Zephyrs

breathing expels the summer heat. Adequate wells watertheir few meadows and make them productive. In theancient times, the islands were the abode of the wingedHarpies, demons of the storm. After that, monks came,drove away the legends, built a monastery and cultivatedthe land; and since then, the place was blessed.Discussions with old friends, but also an urge for acquiringa better knowledge of the subject have prompted me to

search for more information on the islands, to compile it inan orderly way and write it down. This undertaking,though it is a simple geographical and historicaldescription of the Strophades, it is nevertheless thematerialization of childhood memories of my mothersnarratives of strange islands, dream lands and fairy tale places, that nostalgically occupy my mind forever.Therefore, I dedicate this to the memory of my mother.

A.N.K.


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PROLOGUE

The Strophades Islands, though not of a large size,have nevertheless an enviable position in the Greekmythology, as well as in the monastic history andhagiology. But also, their very nature, despite its limitedspace, is remarkable.

Strophades are called two small islands in the IonianSea, having rocky shores, being very near one another andconnected with an underwater isthmus, from which pops

up a cluster of reefs, above and under the water. They aresituated at northern latitude 37 15 and longitude 21 00.The largest of them, stretched in the shape of a rectangular,to the south, is called Stamphanion, while the small one isnamed Harpyia (i.e., Harpy). Their surface covers about 3square kilometres. The islands, being at a distance of about45 kilometres south of Zakynthos, emerge quite remote inthe middle of the open sea at a site of great depths. They

are low lying and flat, having highest point of about 11metres on the largest of them. Therefore, they are notvisible from the continental land or from a certain distance,in particular when their presence is covered by clouds,waves and foam of a rough sea; but they are only seen, in away of floating, if someone draws near them. This is thereason why in the antiquity they were vividly called Plotae(i.e., the floating ones).

The list of the names given to the islands in the moderntimes is extensive. The larger island was known to theseamen of the period of the Ottoman domination under thename Stamfani. In Dantes Divine Comedy, the islands arementioned as le Strofade. In the Venetian texts we find thenames Strivali, Striphali, Stinfali and Stanfane. Elsewherethere are also the names Trivali, Stribali, Strovathi,Strafadi, Strophadhia and Stamphani. Today, the name of


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the islands is Strophades in English and French, after theGreek, Strophaden in German and Strofadi in Italian; and

also, in common Greek ta Strofadia.The geology of the islands is peculiar. The islands arethe top of an underwater cone rising precipitously from thesea depths of more than 1,500 metres; not being volcanic,in spite of this morphology. They are considered as havingbeing created in the Pliocene Period. Limestone and clayare the main elements of the soil, through which water,coming under the bed of the sea, wells up on the major

island, fertilizing its surface. In older times, a spring of theisland used to spout adequate quantity of water sweepingoccasionally leaves of plane tree. This led to theconclusion that the water of that spring was coming fromthe river Alpheius in the Peloponnese, given the fact thatthe region around its estuary, at a distance of about 60kilometres from the islands, is the nearest place where onecan find plane trees. Phenomena such as this tend to

confirm the opinion of the ancients that the waters ofAlpheius flew under the sea to come up on Sicily.Anyway, the water of this spring was reduced to aminimum after the earthquakes of 1886.

The Strophades, being part of the Municipality ofZakynthos, are not inhabited in the sense of the existenceof a permanent settlement. The only buildings worthmentioning are the old fortified monastery of Panaghia ton

Panton Chara (Our Lady of All Joy) and the lighthouse, aswell as some small secondary buildings. In the past, it issaid that the number of the monks was nearing onehundred. These monks, in full activity, were cultivating theland and, having two boats, were fishing at sea, and tradedthe products of their labour. In the beginning of thetwentieth century, the population of the islands totalled 18 persons, that is, 15 monks and 3 lighthouse keepers.


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Today, being no monks on the islands, the sacred relics ofthe monastery are watched over by a priest sent there by

the Metropolitan of Zakynthos. There are also variousvisitors, depending on the circumstances, that is, people towhom part of the land has been leased, craftsmen repairingthe damages of the building of the monastery, poachers,pilgrims and travellers.

The presence of the monastery is impressive andimposing. It is situated on the eastern part of the northcoast of Stamphanion. The main part of the building is a

conspicuous rectangular tower, being about 26 metres highand enlarged at its base. The southern part of the tower, aswell as the northern one, is long, forming the southern wallof the enclosure of the monastery. On each broad side ofthe tower, there is a line of three large arched windows, aswell as some smaller ones. Through the gate of themonastery, on the west side, which has two small cannonson its sides, we enter the courtyard, which is shadowed by

the huge tower. In the middle of the courtyard there is awell; and around that there are outbuildings of cells andother room. From the courtyard a staircase leads to the firstfloor of the tower. On this floor, we find the church of theTransfiguration of the Saviour and of Our Lady of All Joy.In the old days, the monastery was throbbing with life anddecorum; study and spirituality were reigning in its richlibrary; the industry of the Strophadian monastic

brotherhood was present. Today, the desertion, thedesolation and the decay are evident and depressing.Other buildings are the small dockyard, near the

monastery, the lighthouse at the north-west end and,towards the north-east, we find the cemetery and theossuary, where, kept in piles, are the bones of the brotherswho passed away into the eternal sleep. We mention, also,the existence of a cross in a grove, on the spot where Saint


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Dionysius used to pray, to study and to meditate. There, ina small trench, the body of Saint Dionysius was hidden by

some surviving monks, after the Turks raided and sackedthe monastery in 1717. There is also the very small churchof Saint Onuphrius on the small island of Harpyia.

The vital space of the islands appears small andlimited, but the fertility of the earth is relatively rich.Nature and the cultivation of the soil are expressed in anharmonious equilibrium. On the Stamphanion Island, thereare a few orchards, where lemon trees, fig trees, mulberry

trees, vines and vegetables are planted, and some wheatfields. Clusters of reeds protect the gardens and the fieldsfrom the salinity of the sea. On the rest of the land, mainlyto the west, wooded stretches of Mediterranean short treesand bushes of hard leaves, interrupted by scanty andmeagre meadows, prevail. In the island groves, the cedarand the kerm oak are dominant. There is no lack offlowery meadows. One could also come upon the palm

tree, the pine tree, the wild olive tree, as well as othercommon species of plans. Clusters of bushes grow also onthe smaller island. In general, we see a rich variety of floraon the islands; but, being of low ground, the islands areexposed to the violence of the winds that affect thedevelopment of the vegetation, restraining the increase ofits height.

A small flock of sheep and a minimal number of other

domestic animals, depending on the circumstances, areincluded in the fauna of the Strophades. Beyond these, wehave to mention the breeding of other non domesticanimals, such as the pheasants. Yet, the birds are the realindigenous fauna of the Strophades. The islands are a passand a resting place of migratory birds, turtle-doves andquails. This fact, in our times, in spite of the prohibition ofhunting there during the season of migration of birds,


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attracts a multitude of poachers. However, the connectionof the Strophades of today with the legend of the Harpies

is a bird of the puffin family, Puffinus Kuhli, known to thelocals as artina. The squawks of these birds, resemblingthe wailing cries and the moaning of human beings, aswell as their ravenous appetite, characteristics of themythological Harpies, were considered by someresearchers as the reason why these islands were attachedto the ancient myth.

In the Greek mythology, the Harpies were monsters

personifying the storms. In the Lexicon by Hesychius,these creatures are defined as being twists of the winds,storms. In the Lexicon by Suidas, they are described asrapacious demons. They are the violent stormy winds ofthe sea that carry away everything. The unlucky travellersand the sailors, who did not returned home, like the muchafflicted king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Odyssey, 1, 241), werebelieved to have been taken by the Harpies. This is why

their name was etymologized as being derived from theverb harpazein (i.e., to catch, to seize, to snatch, to carryoff, to abduct, to plunder). Later, the pirates, the plunderersof the sea, used for themselves the mythological hideoutsof the Harpies. Thus, the Strophades, traditional den of theHarpies, had been a station of rest and supply with freshdrinking water for the pirate ships.

The appearance of the Harpies varies in details after

the descriptions of the ancient writers and their survivingdepiction in the works of ancient sculptors, potters andengravers. In any case, the basic aspects of their presenceare the head of a woman, having the pale face of a virgin,and the body of a bird, having a vultures strong wings andsharp hooked nails on the feet. Maiden faced birds(virgineas volucres), are called by Ovid (Metamorphoses,VII, 4) and by Virgil (Aeneid, III, 216).


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The number and names of the Harpies vary in thesources. Hesiod in his Theogony, providing their

genealogy, says that Thaumas married Electra, daughterof the deep-flowing Ocean, and to him she bare swift Irisand the long-haired Harpies, Allo and Ocypode, who withtheir swift wings keep pace with the blasts of the windsand the birds; for quick as time they dart along (verses262-269). Homer, too, names Podarge, one of the Harpies,mother of Xanthus and Balius, the swift horses of Achilles.That Podarge conceived these horses to the west wind

Zephyr, while she grazed on the meadow beside the streamof Ocean (Iliad 16, 148-151). If we examine the names ofthe Harpies given by the classical literature, we observethat they mean characteristics and qualities of storm. Andthe names are the following: Allo that means the stormy,Ocypode the swift feet, Ocypete the swift flyer, Nicothothe winner in the running, Allopous the stormy feet,Podarge the white (or quick) feet and Celaeno the

personification of the dark cloud.The Harpies were deities of death and punishment.According to Servius Maurus Honoratus (4th centuryA.D.), author of a celebrated commentary on Virgil, thesedeities are called Harpyiae only on earth. In theunderworld they become the Furies and in heaven theychange into the Dirae, the spirit of revenge.

As instruments of divine punishment, even for sins

committed by parents, the Harpies appear in the story ofthe daughters of Pandareus. Penelope, the wife ofOdysseus, being in despair, prayed to have the fate ofthose unfortunate girls and to vanish from the face of theearth as the storm winds (i.e., the Harpies) once tookaway the daughters of Pandareus. Their parents had beenslain by the gods, and they were left orphans in the halls,and divine Aphrodite tended them with cheese and sweet


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wine. Hera gave them beauty and wisdom above allwomen, and chaste Artemis gave them stature, and Athena

taught them skill in glorious handiwork. But while divineAphrodite was going to high Olympus to ask for themaidens the accomplishment of a joyful marriage - goingto Zeus, who hurls the thunderbolt, for well he knows allthings, both the fortune and the misfortune of mortal men -meanwhile the Harpies snatched away the maidens andgave them to the hateful Furies to be their servants(Homers Odyssey, 20, 66-78).

However, more interesting - and being connected withthe etymology of the name of the islands - is the story ofthe seer Phineus, where the Harpies were assigned asexecutors of his torment. According to the narrativeprimarily of Apollonius the Rhodian in his Argonauticaand of Apollodorus in his Library, Phineus, in Thrace,had been punished by the gods to an everlasting old ageand a perpetual hunger, for the assaulting Harpies were

snatching incessantly his food. The Argonauts, passing bythe house of Phineus, on their way to Colchis in search ofthe Golden Fleece, took pity on the old man and decided tohelp him. Two of them, the sons of the north wind Boreasand Oreithyia, Zetes and Calas, having winged feet,rushed with their drawn swords in hand against theHarpies and put them to flight. At this point, we may saythat it is obvious that the meaning of this myth is that the

favourable winds (sons of Boreas) chase away the galewinds (Harpies). Moreover, the appearance of the sons ofBoreas - long hair tied behind, long beard, short tunic andboots - resembles that of the winds in ancient portrayals,such as, for instance, that on the walls of the Hellenisticlock building Tower of the Wind of Andronicus ofKyrrha in Athens. Anyway, returning to our account, theflight of the Harpies in the sky was long, persistent and


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obstinate, till it ceased after the divine intervention, whenthe pursuers and the pursued ones reached the islands that

were named since then Strophades (i.e., Turning ones),because it was there that the heroes sons of Boreas turned back; and this is the etymological interpretation of theorigin of the name of the islands.

In this way, the Harpies made their nests on theStrophades islands and from there they scared the minds ofsimple people, they embellished the stories of old peopleand they filled pages of books on strange creatures.

The Harpies of the ancient Greek mythology havesurvived in the modern Greek folklore, which is thecontinuity of the ancient traditions, transformed intoaerika, that is, evil doing spirits or air demons, whoseappearance sometimes, with signs of noise and lightning,carries away everything, like the whirlwind. Aspects ofcharacter and qualities of the Harpies are to be found inother fantastic beings, too, such as the stringles (i.e., old

and ugly women of wicked nature), the neraides (i.e.,fairies) and the telonia (i.e., vicious spirits) of thepopular myth making. Furthermore, we should note thatthe existence of the representation of the Harpies in theEuropean heraldry - especially in the German speakinglands under the term Jungfrauenadler (i.e., the virgin-eagle) of Nuremberg - is not really the survival of theancient myths, but it is the evolution of the presentation of

the German imperial eagle having the face of the emperor.This face, in the 14th century, acquired obvious femininefeatures so that it turned out, with the help of theRenaissance humanists educated in the classical letters, tobecome the heraldic Harpy.

In the following pages, we quote passages of texts ofclassical authors, relating to the Strophades. The textscome from works of ancient Greek and Latin geographers,


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poets and lexicographers. These texts give us informationof two types. In the first one, we call it the geographical

one, the object is defined and its position is set; and in thesecond one, the mythological one, the tissue of myths onthe Strophades is exposed in detail. After the main part ofthe work, comes the epilogue. The epilogue contains thehistory of the islands in the mediaeval and modern times;and it is mainly the history of the monastery. Next comethree appendixes. These appendixes contain short reviewsof the chapters on the Strophades of three old books by

Italian authors; the first one is written in Latin.


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ALPHABETICAL CATALOGUE

OF CLASSICAL WRITERS,

WHO HAVE WRITTEN ON THE STROPHADES

- Antoninus, Emperor, see Itinerary.- Apollodorus, The Library.- Apollonius the Rhodian, Argonautica.- Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy.- Flaccus, Valerius, Argonautica.- Harpocration, Valerius, On the Words of the Ten

Orators.- Hesiod, Theogony.- Hesychius, Lexicon.- Hierocles the Grammarian, Synecdemus. In Mignes

Patrologia Graeca, vol. 113.- Homer, The Iliad & The Odyssey.- Itinerary of the Provinces and Sea-routes of Emperor

Antoninus.

- Mela, Pomponius, Chorography.- Ovid, Metamorphoses.- Pliny the Elder, Natural History.- Ptolemy, Claudius, Geographic Description.- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica.- Strabo, Geography.- Suidas, Lexicon.- Virgil, Aeneid.


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THE STROPHADES ISLANDS

IN THE TEXTS OF THE ANCIENT WRITERS

The islands bear the name Strophades in almost all theancient texts, Greek and Latin. In a few cases that we finda corrupted form of the name, this must be considered anerror made by an ancient copyist. The only exception is thename Strophadia by Hierocles the Grammarian, which isthe first mention of the modern colloquial name.

The lexicographer Stephanus of Byzantium defines

briefly the number f the islands, their position and thename of the inhabitant:Strophades, are two islands towards Zakynthos. Thename of the inhabitant is Stophadeus.

Strabo (1st century B.C.), stoic philosopher, historianand famous geographer, in his Geography (8, 4, 2) givesus the distance, measured in stades, of the islands from thecoast of Messenia opposite them. It should be noted that

the stade is an ancient Greek unit of length equal to 600Greek feet or 606.75 English feet. He says:Opposite this coast of the Cyparissians, out in the highsea, lie two islands called Strophades; and they are distant,at that, about four hundred stades from the mainland, in theLibyan and Southern Sea.

Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.), one of thegreatest astronomers and at the same time the greatest

geographer of antiquity, in his monumental workGeographic Description (3, 16, 23), defines thegeographical co-ordinates of the Strophades:And these are the islands that lie next to the Peloponnese,Strophades 47 3 (=47 20 longitude) 36 (=36 northlatitude).


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The accuracy of the calculations of Ptolemy shows that thegeographical latitude measured by him is not far away

from that measured today by using modern instruments.There is the form Stromphides in the book On theWords of the Ten Orators by Valerius Harpocration(probably 2nd century A.D.):Stromphides Islands, in the Tyrrhenian speech byDinarch. They are some islands that lie between Zakynthosand Elis.This is a fragment of the public speech Tyrrhenian of the

Attic orator Dinarch (about 361 - after 292 B.C.). Theform Stromphides is not correct; it should have beenwritten Strophades.

But the error goes on. The Lexicon by Suidas (11th

century), based on Harpocration, perpetuated theStromphides in its own entry:The Stromphides Islands lie between Zakynthos andElis.

The Latin geographer Pomponius Mela (1st

centuryA.D.), in his second book of Chorography (II, 110),listing the islands around the Peloponnese, writes thattowards Epirus are found the Echinades and the formerlyPlotae, but now Strophades.

The eminent scholar Pliny, the so-called the Elder, inhis extant and diligent Natural History (IV, xii, 55)defines the position of the Strophades as being

in front of Zakynthos at a distance of 35 miles to theEurus (i.e., south-east) wind;and further, he adds that therelie the two Strophades, called Plotae by others.

The Strophades are mentioned in the Itinerary of theProvinces and Sea-routes of Emperor Antoninus,compiled in the end of the 2nd century A.D. this is what isreported on them (523-524):


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The Strophades Islands, which are also called Plotae, arein the Ionian Sea that washes Greece; the Harpies used to

dwell on these.After the geographers and the lexicographers, it comesthe turn of the poets, whose muse unfolds the thread of thelegends of the Strophades and the Harpies.

The remarkable Alexandrian scholar Apollonius theRhodian (3rd - 2nd century B.C.), in his admirable epicpoem Argonautica, was the first to outline thoroughlywith lyrical inspiration the figures of Phineus and the

Argonauts and the chase of the Harpies as far as theStrophades. His narrative (2, 176-300) comes as follows:And on the next day they (i.e., the Argonauts)

fastened the mooring cables opposite the Bithynian land.There Phineus, son of Agenor, had his house by the sea,Phineus who above all men endured most bitter woes because of the gift of prophecy which Letos son (i.e.,Apollo) had granted him in time past. And he did not

reverence at all even Zeus himself, for he foretoldunerringly to men his sacred will. Thus, Zeus sent uponhim a lingering old age, and took from his eyes the pleasant light, and caused hi not to have joy of theinnumerable dishes of food that those living around everbrought to his house, when they came to ask for the divinewill. But suddenly, swooping through the clouds, theHarpies with their crooked beaks incessantly snatched the

food away from his mouth and hands. And at times not amorsel of food was left, at others but a little, in order thathe might live and be tormented. And they poured forthover all a loathsome stench; and no one dared not merelyto carry food to his mouth, but even to stand at a distance;so foully reeked the remnants of the meal. But at one,when he heard the voice and the tramp of the band, heknew that they were the men passing by, at whose coming


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Zeus oracle had declared to him that he should have joyof his food. And he rose to his couch, like a lifeless dream,

bowed over his staff and crept to the door on his witheredfeet, feeling the walls; and as he moved, his limbstrembled for weakness and age; and his parched skin wascaked with dirt, and only the skin held his bones together.And he came forth from the hall with wearied knees andsat on the threshold of the courtyard; and a dark stuporcovered him, and it seemed that the earth reeled round beneath his feet, and he lay in a strengthless trance,

speechless. But when they saw him they gathered roundand marvelled. And he at last drew laboured breath fromthe depths of his chest and spoke to them with propheticutterance:

Listen, bravest of all the Greeks, if it be truly you,whom by a kings ruthless command Jason is leading youon the ship Argo in quest of the fleece. It is truly you.Even yet my soul by its divination knows everything. I

render thanks to you, O great god, son of Leto, although Iam plunged in bitter affliction. I beseech you by Zeus thegod of suppliants, the sternest foe to sinful men, and forthe sake of Phoebus and Hera herself, under whoseespecial care you travel, help me, save an ill-fated manfrom misery, and depart not uncaring and leaving me inthis condition. For not only has the Fury set her foot on myeyes and I drag on the end a weary old age; but besides my

other woes a woe, the bitterest of all, hands over me. TheHarpies, swooping down from some unseen den ofdestruction, eve snatch the food from my mouth. And Ihave no device to aid me. But it wee easier, when I longfor a meal, to escape my thoughts than them, so swiftly dothey fly through the air. But, if by chance they leave me amorsel of food, it reeks of decay and the stench isunendurable; and not could any mortal bear to draw near,


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even for a moment, not even if his heart were wrought ofdiamond. But bitter and insatiate necessity compels me to

abide and abiding to put food in my miserable belly. Anoracle says that these pests will be refrained by the sons ofBoreas. And they are not strangers those who will expelthem, if indeed I am Phineus who was once renownedamong men for wealth and the gift of prophecy, andAgenor was my father; and, when I ruled among theThracians, I brought home, with bridal gifts, their sister tobe my wife.

In this way the son of Agenor spoke; and deep sorrowseized each of the heroes, and especially the sons ofBoreas. And, brushing away a tear, they drew near. AndZetes, taking in his hand the hand of the much-afflicted oldman, said these words:

Oh unhappy one, I think that no other man is morewretched than you. Why is the burden of so many sorrowslaid upon you? Have you sinned against the gods with

harmful folly by using your skill of prophecy? Are theyangry with you for this? Yet our spirit inside is dismayed,despite our desire to help you. Because the reproofs of theimmortals are discernible to men on earth. And we will notcheck the oncoming Harpies, for all our desire, if you willnot swear that for this we ill not draw the anger of thegods.

So he spoke; and to him the old man lifted his sightless

eyes and replied with these words:Be silent; do not put such thoughts in your heart, mychild. Let the son of Leto be my witness, he who of hisgracious will taught me the lore of prophecy, and be mywitness the implacable fate which possess me and the darkcloud upon my eyes that the gods of the underworld,whose curse may be upon me if I die swearing lies, that nowrath from heaven will fall upon you for helping me.


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Then, after the oath, those two were eager to help him.And quickly the younger heroes prepared a feast for the

old man, a last prey for the Harpies; and both stood nearhim, to smite with the sword those pests when theyswooped down. Scarcely had the old man touched the foodwhen they immediately, like severe storms or flashes oflightning, darted suddenly from the clouds, and swoopeddown with a yell, fiercely craving for food; and the heroesbeheld them and shouted in their midst; but, at the cry,they devoured everything and left away over the sea afar;

and an intolerable stench remained. And behind them thetwo sons of Boreas raising their swords rushed in pursuit.For Zeus imparted to them tireless strength; but withoutZeus they could not have followed, for he Harpies everused to pass over the west wind when they came toPhineus and when they left him. And as when, upon themountain-side, hounds skilful in chase, run in the track ofhorned goats or deer, and, as they strain a little behind,

gnash their teeth upon the edge of their jaws in vain; soZetes and Calas, rushing very near, just grazed theHarpies with their finger-tips. And assuredly they wouldhave torn them to pieces, despite the will of the gods,when they had overtaken them far off at the Plotae, had notswift Iris seen them and leapt down through the sky fromheaven above, and checked them with these words:

It is not lawful, O sons of Boreas, to strike with your

swords the Harpies, the hounds of mighty Zeus; andmyself will give you a pledge, that hereafter they shall notdraw near to Phineus.

With these words she took an oath by the waters ofStyx, which to all the gods is most dread and awful, thatthe Harpies would never thereafter again approach thehome of Phineus, son of Agenor, for so it was fated. Andthe heroes, yielding to the oath, turned back their flight to


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the ship. And, on account of this, men called these islandsthe Strophades (i.e., the Islands of Turning). While

formerly they used to call them the Plotae Islands (i.e., theFloating Islands). And the Harpies and Iris parted. Theyentered their den in Minoan Crete; but she sped up toOlympus, soaring aloft on her swift wings.

The same story is related by Apollodorus (2nd centuryB.C.) in his Library, which contains in a concise mannerthe ancient myths. This is what he says (1, 9, 21-22):

From there they put to sea and came to land at

Salmydessus in Thrace, where lived Phineus, a seer whohad lot the sight of both eyes. Some say that he was a sonof Agenor, but others that he was a son of Poseidon, andvariously alleged to have been blinded by the gods forforetelling men the future; or by Boreas and the Argonautsbecause he blinded his own sons at the instigation of theirstepmother; or by Poseidon, because he revealed to thechildren of Phrixus how they could sail from Colchis to

Greece. The gods also sent the Harpies to him. These werewinged female creatures, and when a table was laid forPhineus, they flew down from the sky and snatched upmost of the food, and what little they left stank so thatnobody could touch it. When the Argonauts would haveconsulted him about the voyage, he said that he wouldadvise them about it if they would rid him of the Harpies.So the Argonauts laid a table of food beside him, and the

Harpies with a shriek suddenly pounced down andsnatched away the food. When Zetes and Calas, the sonsof Boreas, saw that, they drew their swords and, beingwinged, pursued them through the air. Now it was fatedthat the Harpies should die when they could not catch up afugitive. So the Harpies were pursued and one of them fellinto the river Tigris in the Peloponnese, the river that isnow called Harpys after her; some call her Nicotho, but


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others Allopous. But the other, named Ocypete or,according to others, Ocytho (but Hesiod calls her

Ocypode) fled by the Propontis till she came to theEchinades Islands, which are now called Strophades afterher; for when she came to them she made a turn (strophe inGreek) and being at the shore fell for very weariness withher pursuer. But Apollonius in the Argonautica says thatthe Harpies were pursued to the Strophades Islands andsuffered no harm, having sworn an oath that they wouldwrong Phineus no more. And being rid of the Harpies,

Phineus revealed to the Argonauts the course of theirvoyage.The Latin writer Valerius Flaccus (1 st century A.D.),

with eager desire to pursue the poetical glory ofApollonius the Rhodian, followed, too, in verses, thecourse of Jason and his companions. In his ownArgonautica (IV, 12-13), he refers tothe Ionian Sea and the rocks in its midst that the dweller

of this mighty sea calls them now Strophades.The great Latin poet Ovid (43 B.C. - A.D. 17) in hiscelebrated work Metamorphoses, relating the voyage ofAeneas, makes a short mention of his visit to theStrophades (XIII, 709-710):

But wintry waves tossed the comrades and at thetreacherous coves of the Strophades came, where Allofrightened them away.

A splendid description of the incident between theHarpies and Aeneas and his comrades is given by thegreatest Roman poet Virgil (70 - 19 B.C.) in hismasterpiece, the epic poem Aeneid (III, 209-269):

Saved from the waves, I am received first by theshores of the Strophades. Strophades is the Greek namethese islands are called and are set in the great Ionian Sea,where dread Celaeno and the other Harpies live, since


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Phineus house was closed on them, and in fear they lefttheir former tables. No monster more baneful than these,

no fiercer plague or wrath of the gods ever rose from theStygian waves. These birds have maiden faces, they dropfoulest filth from their bellies, their hands are clawed, andfaces ever gaunt with hunger. When, coming to this place,we entered the harbour and saw goodly herds of cattlescattered over the plains and flocks of goats untended onthe grass. We rush upon them with the sword, calling thegods and Jove himself to share our spoil; then on the

windy shore we build couches and banquet on the richfood. But suddenly, with fearful swoop from themountains the Harpies are upon us, and with loud clangingshake their wings, plunder the feast, and with uncleantouch mire every dish; then amid the foul stench comes ahideous scream. Once more, in a deep recess under a cavedrock, closely encircled by trees and quivering shade, wespread the tables and renew the fire on the altars; once

more, from an opposite quarter of the sky and from ahidden lair, the noisy crowd with clawed feet hovers roundthe prey, tainted the dishes with their lips. Then I bid mycomrades to seize the arms and declare war on the terriblerace. They lay their swords, as ordered, in hiding in thegrass, and bury their shields out of sight. So when,swooping down, the birds screamed along the windy shore,Misenus on his hollow brass gave the signal from his high

watch. My comrades charge and attempt in a strangecombat to wound with the swords those filthy birds of theocean. Yet they feel no lows on heir feather, nor woundson their backs, but, soaring skyward with rapid flight,leave the half-eaten prey and their foul traces. Only one,Celaeno, ominous seer, alights on a lofty rock, and breaksforth with this cry:


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Is it even war, for slaughtered cows and slainbullocks, is it war you are ready to bring upon us, you sons

of Laomedon, and would you drive the guiltless Harpiesfrom their fathers realm? Take then to your heart and setthese words of mine. I, eldest of the Furies, reveal to youwhat the omnipotent Father foretold to Phoebus andPhoebus Apollo to me. Italy is the goal you seek; invokingthe winds, you shall go to Italy and entered her harboursfreely; but you shall not surround with walls your promised city until dread hunger and the wrong of

violence towards us force you to gnaw with your teeth anddevour your very tables!She spoke and, borne away on her wings, fled back to

the forest. But my companions blood chilled and frozewith sudden fear; their spirit fell, and no longer with arms,but with vows and prayers they now beg me to sue forpeace, whether these be goddesses or dread and ill-omenedbirds. And my father Anchises, with outstretched hands,

on the shore calls upon the mighty gods, and proclaims thedue sacrifices:Gods, avert their threats! Gods, turn such a happening

away and graciously save the pious!Then he orders us to haul the cables from the shore,

uncoil and loose the sheets. Notus (i.e., the south wind)stretches the sails; we flee over foaming waves, where thewind and pilot called our course.

Next to the chorus of the classical writers, Greek andLatin, who mentioned the Harpies and the Strophades, weinclude Dante (1265 - 1321), founder, so to say, of theItalian literature and the greatest poet of Italy. And this,because Dante, although does not belong to antiquity interms of time, is, however, a true heir of Virgil and in facta classical writer. From Dantes poetical masterpiece TheDivine Comedy, we quote the relevant passage (Inferno,


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canto XII, verses 2-15). In this, Dante, going about theseventh circle of Inferno (i.e., Hell), enters the forest of

those who have committed suicide:We entered a forest, where there was no trace of apath. The foliage was not verdant, but it had a dark colour.The boughs were not smooth, but crooked and stinking.There were not any fruits, but thorns with poison. No wildanimals live in such rough and thick wood as those thathate the cultured fields, between the town of Corneto andthe stream of Cecina. Here the brute Harpies make their

nest, the same who drove the Trojans away from theStrophades with a sad announcement of their future woe.They have broad wings, and human necks and faces, feetwith claws, and a large feathered belly. They sit and wailon their strange trees.

And Dante closes the circle of the classical authors onthe Strophades.


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EPILOGUE

Archaeological remains have not been found in theStrophades. Undoubtedly, the islands have not beeninhabited permanently in the ancient times, but by chanceand temporarily by seafarers, who dropped anchor, or bycastaways, who were rescued there. The fact that theislands have not been a habitable place is owed to theremoteness of their position, in regard to the continentalcoast, and to the very limited resources of the ground to

support a certain number of inhabitants, but a few hermitscontent with little. Therefore, having all these in mind, we presume that the appellation Strophadeus (i.e., theinhabitant of the Strophades), which is registered byStephanus of Byzantium (around the year 500 A.D.) in hisfamous geographical lexicon Ethnica, does not provethat the islands were ever inhabited, but rather portrays thedesire of the conscientious lexicographer to reserve the

appellation of the native of this place-name.Synecdemus is a list of cities in the eastern RomanEmpire, recorded by province, which was compiled byHierocles the Grammarian (before the year 535). In thesection on the province of Hellas, where 79 cities areregistered, the islands appear under their contemporarycommon name Strophadia. This statistical handbookmentions Strophadia, together with other islands, in this

order: Island Zakynthos, island Cytheria, island Mycon(i.e., Mykonos), island Strophadia. Actually, the fact thatthe rest of the places mentioned in that list were inhabited,leads us to the conclusion that there was in some way a permanent human presence on the Strophades andtherefore the appellation Strophadeus is justified, butmaybe this has something to do with the legend of the


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existence of a military guard post on the lager island inorder to keep an eye on the sea in that border of he empire.

A single find of the mediaeval age has been discoveredon the smaller island. It is a golden coin of the lastByzantine period. The origin of this coin should beconsidered purely coincidental; and it is a lost object of anunlucky seafarer or, probably, a part of loot of pirates.

The existence of the monastery is connected with thestory of the rescue from the tempest of the empress Irene,wife of Emperor Theodorus I Lascaris (1204 - 1222). The

imperial ship, according to the tradition, was sailing in theIonian Sea, when a storm broke out. The ship was tossedabout on the stormy sea, battling against huge waves. Atthose critical moments the prayers and the minds wereturned devoutly to Virgin Mary. And, behold the miracle!The Strophades appeared in the middle of the waves andthe ship was saved. The imperial gratitude on thedeliverance was shown in the year 1241 with the

foundation of a coenobitic monastery for men, laid on thesite of the old guard post. The system of coenobites is astrict form of monastic life. The monastery was establishedto venerate the name of Our Lady of All Joy and theTransfiguration of the Saviour.

The establishment of the monastery gave a new life tothe islands. Hard working monks cleared the wild place,cultivated gardens, bred domestic animals and with their

own boats did off-shore fishing or transported and tradedtheir products. Despite the limited vital conditions, thefame of the monastery was increasing, as well as itswealth, by acquiring dependencies in other places. Thefortified monastery was standing as a vigilant guard of theOrthodox Church in the vastness of the sea, protectingwith walls its prosperity and its faith from the rapaciousinclinations of its enemies and the pirates.


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The mariners of the Christian ships passing by, as wellas the pilgrims bound for the Holy Land, used to greet

devoutly the sacred abode of the monks and to provide tothem any assistance they could.In 1568 an event happened, which was destined to

have a great significance in the history of the monastery.Draganigo Siguro, coming of an aristocratic family ofZakynthos, son of Nuzio Siguro and of Paolina Balbi,decided by his own will to take holy orders and to devotehis life to the service of the Almighty God. The young

man, who became later, for a brief period, Archbishop ofAegina, took the name Dionysius and became a monk inthe monastery of Theotokos Anaphonetria (i.e., Our Ladythe Exclaimer) in Zakynthos. Dionysius, despite his nobledescent, always displayed the Christian virtues of humilityand love. According to a tradition, he sheltered andprovided refuge to the man who had killed his brother. Hedied on the 17th of December 1624, requesting his body to

be buried in the Strophades; and this happened. The bodyof the holy man was brought to the imperial monastery ofthe islands and was buried in the small chapel of SaintGeorge. After the removal of his relics, in conformity withthe monastic order, the undecayed body of the holy manwas placed standing on the Episcopal throne of themonastery. In 1703, with a synodical act by the Patriarchof Constantinople Gabriel III, Dionysius was canonized

and placed in the official list of the saints of the OrthodoxChurch; and the 17th of December was assigned as the dayof veneration of his memory. After that, in 1724 the city ofZakynthos solemnly recognized him as its patron saint andprotector.

Except of Saint Dionysius, occasionally, severalformer Ecumenical Patriarchs, such as Methodius III, cameto the Strophades to live a monastic life; and it was in this


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monastery that the later Ecumenical Patriarch and Greeknational martyr Gregory V became monk.

The monks were leading a life of hardships and tests oftheir souls, walking through the sorrows to the eternal life.They were engaged in a hard struggle not only against thedifficult conditions of life, but also against the enemy raidsand against the elements of nature, which, too, causedgreat damages. Thus, for instance, we read in the relationof Hierotheus Abbatius of Cephallenia on the greatearthquake, which occurred in the year 1637, that it

happened also on the small islands of the Strophades; andthe tower of the monastery and the church cracked.Almost all the tremors of this region of high seismicity inthe Ionian Sea hit also the Strophades, causing damages tothe building of the monastery and changes in theunderground of the islands, such as the earthquake of the15th of august 1886, which reduced notably the flow ofspring waters. The last great earthquake to case serious

damage to the monastery was that of the 18th

of November1997.The Latins have been among the enemies, who wanted

to seize this Orthodox monastery. Benedictine monks arementioned, during the first period of its establishment, aswell as the appointment by the Pope of a prior of OurLady of Stropharia. But in vain the Catholics had tried toreplace this solitary guard of the Orthodox faith. The

monastery, renovated in the middle of the 14

th

century byEmperor John VI Cantacuzenus, remained in Greek hands.The Turks and the Berber pirates were the greatest

scourge of the tranquillity of the islands and the mostdeadly danger for the monks. The monastery wasthreatened repeatedly by their fearful raids; but three ofthem were the most destructive. During the first raid,which occurred on the 29th of April 1537, Algerian pirates,


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despite the determined resistance f the monks, burst intothe monastery, slaughtered mercilessly the monks and set

the building on fire. The Ottomans commemorated theslaughter of innocent monks and the setting of monasteryon fire as a war exploit, being the first attack on Venetianterritory during the then Veneto-Turkish War. The eruditePachomius Rusanus (1510 - 1553) of Zakynthos, on themartyrdom of those hermits, composed a Mass inMemory of the Blessed Fathers, who were killed in theStrophades. The next devastation of the monastery was

carried out on the 21st

of May 1571 by Turks and Berbers,who dragged away the surviving monks and novices asslaves. The third capture of the monastery, on the 19th ofAugust 1717, was painful, too. This time, the pride of themonastery, the holy relics of Saint Dionysius, was in peril.Two monks, who survived, hid the miraculous relics withthem, and, later, after attracting a passing ship, transportedthe relics to Zakynthos, for safety. And ever since, the holy

relics became the palladium of the island of Zakynthos.The date of transport of the relics of Saint Dionysius, onthe 24th of August 1717, as well as the day of his memoryon the 17th of December, is solemnly celebrated inZakynthos with a splendid litany.

Strong emotions seize the devout pilgrims that come tobow before the holy relics of the Saint of the Forgiveness.In front of the uncorrupted relics of the Holy Father and

Comforter of those in distress, the heart of the faithfulquivers, tears well up in the eyes and the knees bend insupplication. Then, the hymn of the Saint is heard. Itsverses are as follows:Let us, all the faithful, honour, in one voice,Dionysius, the offspring of Zakynthos,The Bishop of Aegina,The Guardian of the Monastery of the Strophades.


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Let us entreat him in sincerity,By your prayers, save those who celebrate your memory

And cry out to you:Glory to Christ, who glorified you,Glory to Him, who has made you miraculous,Glory to Him, who has granted us you,Our unsleeping intercessor .

Along with the holy relics of the Saint, the library ofthe monastery, the sacred vessels and some holy iconshave been moved to Zakynthos. Part of the library went to

the Marcian Library of Venice. Among the icons from themonastery of the Strophades, the most celebrated are thefollowing:

(a) Panaghia Thalassomahousa (i.e., Our Lady theSea-Fighting), a masterpiece from Constantinople,was painted in the beginning of the 13 th century.According to the tradition, during the period oficonoclasm (the breaking of images), the icon had

been thrown to the sea in order to be saved.Ultimately, the icon reached the Strophadesfloating, standing up over the waves. The monks,who were to sail away, wishing to encounter acalm sea, used to put some oil drops in itssuspended oil-lamp.

(b) Panaghia ton Panton Chara (Our Lady of All Joy),the household icon, was painted in the 15th

century, in the Cretan style. This icon was lootedin 1717 by the Turks, who sold it later on to themonastery of Saint John the Divine of Patmos.From there, it was returned to the monastery of theStrophades.

(c) Saint Theodorus the Stratelates, in a splendidRoman military uniform, was made in the 15 th

century by the Cretan painter Angelus.


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In the old times, the access of women was not permitted in the Strophades; nor was permitted the

existence of female animals on the islands. In fact, thenatural inaccessibility kept the women away. Because ofthe remoteness of the islands, during the period of theEnglish protection of the Ionian State in the 19 th century,the monastery was used as a place of exile for priests, whowere politically undesirables.

In 1849, a lighthouse, necessary for guiding the ships,was built at the north-west end of the larger island. In 1887

the lighthouse was renovated with equipment that gave aninvariable white light with a red gleam, visible at adistance of 16 miles. Today, because of the completeautomation of the lighthouse, there is no need for anylighthouse-keeper.

In our times, the natural environment of the Strophadesis protected by law, but occasionally, the presence of poachers becomes one of the major problems of the

islands.Today, the monastic installation of the Strophades isitself a dependency of the new Holy Monastery of theStrophades and of Saint Dionysius, which is built in thecity of Zakynthos. The venerable relics of the Saint are thegreatest treasure of the church of Saint Dionysius in thenew monastery. The dependency of the Strophades wasabandoned by its last two elderly monks. The Metropolitan

of Zakynthos sends a priest in turns to look after thesanctities of the Strophades.


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APPENDIX I

ON THE STROPHADESFROM LIBER INSULARUM ARCHIPELAGI

BY CRISTOPHER BUONDELMONTI

Christopher Buondelmonti of Florence was anecclesiastic with a notable taste for antiquities. During theyears 1414 to 1420, he travelled in the Aegean Sea. Hisjourneys provided material for a remarkable book he wrote

in Latin 1420 on the Greek islands. The book Liberinsularum Archipelagi (i.e., Book on the Islands of theGreek Sea) was dedicated to Cardinal Jordan Orsini. Thereis a very early translation in Greek found inConstantinople in the nineteenth century. The Greektranslation, known as the Seraglio manuscript, waspublished, along with the maps, by mile Legrand in 1897.

In the text, there is an account of the mythological

history of the Strophades. It also mentions the monastery,which numbered, at that time, fifty monks, who were on ahard diet of fishes and water. Then, it says that the monksdisdain the eating of meat and they just eat fishes, dried inthe sun, and dry bread, so that each of them should be ableto render his soul impeccable to the Almighty.


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APPENDIX II

ON THE STROPHADESFROM THE BOOK OF ALL THE ISLANDS

OF THE WORLD

BY BENEDETTO BORDONE

This is an isolario or book of islands or travellersguide to the islands descended ultimately fromBuondelmontis Liber insularum Archipelagi. Benedetto

Bordone was a Paduan illuminator and wood-engraver,who lived at Venice. In 1528, he published in Venice hiswork Libro de Benedetto Bordone nel qual si ragiona detutte lisole del mondo (i.e., Book of All the Islands of theWorld), provided with important woodcut maps.

In the section of the book dealing with the Strophades,Bordone, after a rather long consideration of themythological background of the islands, says that the

inhabitants are caloieri (i.e., monks), who subsist onbarley bread, fishes and water; they live in a castle, onaccount of the Turks, and they are given alms by theseafarers.

The maps of the book are drawn with eight wind raysgiving orientation. The map of the Strophades, one of thefirst of its kind, shows the island of Harpyia, situated to thesouth-west instead of the north-west, to be a little larger

than the island of Stamphanion; but in the following map,showing the southern part of the Morea (i.e., thePeloponnese), the size is corrected while the wrong position of the islands remains. Anyway, on anothergeneral map of Greece and Asia Minor, the position of theStrophades is improved, not only between themselves, butalso regarding the west coast of the Peloponnese.


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APPENDIX III

ON THE STROPHADESFROM THE HISTORIOGRAPHIC MEMORIES

OF THE KINGDOM OF MOREA

BY CORONELLI

Here we have an edition of the book Memorieistoriografiche de regni della Morea, Negroponte, eLittorali fin Salonichi, which was published in 1680s

in the workshop of Vincent Maria Coronelli, who was theofficial cosmographer of the Most Serene Republic ofVenice.

The Strophades of the Historiographic Memories arecalled Strivli; and so they are allegedly called byPausanias. The book also says that the islands are calledStamfane by the mariners, Strophades by Strabo, Pliny andApollonius, Stromphides by Suidas and Calydnes by the

German scholar Joachim Camerarius (1500-1574).Further, it mentions the produced excellent wine and thewater springs, in which in great frequency sprigs of planetrees are found, although the nearest of these exist in theMorea, at a distance of 30 miles. The Calogeri (i.e., themonks) are referred to as the only inhabitants, living in thefortified monastery equipped with cannons and aportcullis gateway. And in the end, there is talk on the

mythological past of the islands.


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Supplement

ATHANASIUS N. KOLLIAS

A FEW THINGS

ON THE DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLEWITH MAN-FACED WINGS


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A FEW THINGS

ON THE DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE

WITH MAN-FACED WINGS

Eagles are considered as the most powerful of the birdsof prey. A pair of strong wings helps them to move quicklyto long distances and great heights. Therefore, the eaglehas been a very old emblem of gods in most peoples of theEast and the West. It is considered the symbol of powerand grandeur, par excellence. This quality s intensified

sometimes by the existence of two eagles, a double eagle.Two eagles appeared in the temples of zees in Greece;even on the coins of the Ptolemies, rulers of Egypt. ThePtolemies had been successors of Alexander the Great,who was scion of the royal dynasty of the Heraklids, whoclaimed to be descended from Zeus.

Since the ancient times, the double eagle appeared asone with two heads, that is, the double-headed eagle. Early

representations of the double-headed eagle were found ona cylindrical seal in Mesopotamia, on a sculptured relief inAsia Minor and on an ivory buckle in Sparta. A veryunusual sort of a double-headed eagle in Asia is that withman-faced wings. This is a double-headed eagle withhuman faces on the upper part of the forearms of its wings;and the primary feathers on the lower part of the forearmsform the beards of these figures. But, let us examine the

depiction of this strange double-headed eagle.The normal double-headed eagle with man-facedwings appears on a copper coin of Nasir al-din Mahmud(1201-1222), of the Turkish dynasty of the Ortukids, rulerof Upper Mesopotamian cities of Hisn-Keifa (ancientKiphas) and Amid (ancient Amida, modern Diyarbakir) onthe Tigris river. The same type of eagle has been seenmarked on bricks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another


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type of this peculiar eagle, this time with one head, wasfound on a clay tessera from Palmyra in Syria, dated in the

2nd

or 3rd

century A.D. In this case, only one of the humanheads is found on a wing of the bird, while the other headseems to be part of the birds body. Finally, in a third type,we see an one-headed bird with man-faced wings carvedon a seal made of spotted jasper during the time of thePersian dynasty of the Sassanids (226-651). But this bird is barely taken for an eagle; it resembles more to themythical simourgh of the Iranian legends, in which

characteristics of the peacock and the dragon arecombined.The significance of this curious being is not known.

The man-faced wings probably signify heavenlymessengers ready to carry the divine commands, as theangels of the Christian tradition, who appear sometimes asbodiless heads girdled by wings. The double face remindsus of Janus, the indigenous god of Italy, keeper of the

gates, who controls the way in and the way out. In thismatter, the double face and the double head of this being,found in Asiatic lands, leads us to the conclusion that it possibly symbolizes the dual nature of some Asiaticreligious concepts, especially that of the religion ofZoroaster, in which the good and the evil fight eternallyone another in order to dominate upon the earth. In theend, a safe conclusion is to say that the double-headed

eagle is the god himself, while the man-faced wingssymbolize the gods dreadful attendants, who are portrayedin other ancient representations as demon-like guards.

A. N. Kollias, The Strop Ha Des Islands in the Texts of the Ancient Writers

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