including the cross vaults, are adorned with the precious ex-votos and chandeliers of a primordial faith, which in the Dodecanese views this Archangel as the saviour of not only the souls but also of the bodies of those at sea, contrary to the tradition of the rest of the Aegean, which looks to St. Nicholas. And from Symi to the open sea, beyond Rhodes, where the Aegean expands and becomes the Mediterranean, to oblong Rho, just a hair’s breadth away from Kastellorizo, with its peaceful bays, its walls and ancient towers, the island of its Lady, Despoina Achladioti, the holy, yet earthly, protector of its borders. And ultimately, Kastellorizo, the southeastern extremity of the territory of Greece, ancient Megisti, i.e., the largest of the adjacent islands opposite the southern shores of Asia Minor. You will be greeted by the ancient Lycian tomb hewn into the rock that bears the Castello Rosso, with Ai-Giorgis high up in the east and, on the mountaintop, Palaiokastro in the west with its ashlar walls and gates, its series of ancient stones and the hidden carved inscriptions, all overlooking the open sea. The last stop. Something like Seferis’ Cava dei Tirreni, before you take to the seas to encounter the island of Cyprian queen, Aphrodite. The above journey is the first of a series of itineraries resulting from the fruitful collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with our Museum. Beginning at the eastmost extremity of the territory of Greece, Kastellorizo, so topical today, it ends at the islands within the embrace formed by Rhodes and Kos. Through the 390 artefacts of every kind and every material, indicatively chosen from prehistoric and classical antiquity until and including the post-Byzantine period, the exhibition “Islands off the Beaten Track …” aims to provide a message regarding the fertility of human presence, life, and activity on these small islands that were once cradles of civilization and that – in the face of the times – continue to resist to this day, when the shipping lanes no longer follow the natural currents of the Mediterranean as they used to, even during the early 20th century. Within the narrow scope of such an introduction, I chose to reject the scholarly approach. After all, this is being applied below by my dear colleagues, many of whom I have been collaborating with in the Dodecanese for dozens of years now. Moreover, regardless of what we archaeologists want to convey, the exhibition has its own dynamic, its own multiple readings, perhaps as many as its visitors, since everyone will view it differently. Therefore, open wide your eyes and enjoy. This will constitute your thanks to all those who created it. I, in turn, would like to once again thank the Ministry of Culture, my colleagues in the 22nd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the Fourth Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Dodecanese, Yorgos Tassoulas, and Stavroula Oikonomou. Nicholas Chr. Stampolidis Professor of Archaeology, University of Crete Director, Museum of Cycladic Art
16