MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
A N E D I T I O N O F T H E M U N I C I PA L I T Y O F M Y K O N O S
Texts by Michalis Assimomytis and Vangelis Pelekis, based on earlier Folklore Museum editions written by Vassilis D. Kyriazopoulos English translation by Mary Kitroeff, Dorothy Lee Designed by Lila Paleologou and produced by pelpal productions The photographs of the exhibits and the Museum annexes were taken by Nikos Anastassiou and Vangelis Pelekis. These photographs, as well as others from the Museum’s archive, were digitally processed by Lila Paleologou. Additional photographs which do not depict Museum exhibits belong to the archive of pelpal productions. © copyright: Mykonos Folklore Collection (tel. ++30 22890 22591) and pelpal productions (tel. ++30 22890 71938 www.pelpal.gr) Municipality of Mykonos, Mykonos 2010 ISBN 978-960-87336-5-7 REPRODUCTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS OR THE TEXTS EITHER IN PRINT OR ELECTRONICALLY IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR. VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED UNDER THE LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
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Contents 4 5 7 21 29 69 73 94
Greeting from the Mayor of Mykonos, Mr. Athanassios Koussathanas-Megas Greeting from the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mykonos Folklore Collection, Mr. Mathios Aposotolou A brief history of Mykonos The settlement and the house in Kastro The Museum Guide Annex 1, Lena’s House Annex 2 , The Mykonos Agricultural Museum at Bonis Windmill The activities of the Mykonos Folklore Museum
Greeting from the Mayor of Mykonos
The publishing of the Guide to the Mykonos Folklore Museum is perhaps one of the most important publishing events to take place on the island in recent years. The Municipal Council and I personally as Mayor feel a special sense of satisfaction because this book provides a well-documented presentation of the life work of V. D. Kyriazopoulos, who bequeathed to us the Mykonos Folklore Collection, while at the same time honouring the tradition, the timeless civilization and the distinctive character of Mykonos. Amid tourist development and global changes, it is our duty to promote this character and to protect it as a source of inspiration and a guiding light for future generations. Therefore, I would like to thank the dedicated team that worked towards the completion and presentation of this work. Athanassios Koussathanas-Megas Mayor of Mykonos Mykonos, June 2010
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Greeting from the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mykonos Folklore Collection It is with great joy and emotion that we welcome the Guide to the Mykonos Folklore Museum, the latest publication of the Municipality of Mykonos. Through its pages, this work succeeds in winning over the reader, sharing with him the value and uniqueness of the exhibits it describes, and taking him on a journey through the time and space of the museum. As a result, the reader understands the history of our island and experiences our local culture. The Mykonos Folklore Collection, founded by Vassilis D. Kyriazopoulos in 1958, was born of his love for the tradition of his birthplace, Mykonos, and of the dedication and hard work he put into protecting and preserving it. It is common knowledge, after all, that, besides its identity, an object also reflects the civilization within which it was created and which it expresses. Every man-made creation may be an individual work, yet it also has social ramifications, based as it is on the collective representations that prevail during each era. Thus, from its founding to the present, the Mykonos Folklore Museum and its Annexes (Lena’s House and the Agricultural Museum) have showcased the identity of Mykonian culture, standing as an irrefutable witness of our island’s authenticity and a guardian of our manners and customs which, against the trends of a globalized world, are kept alive and perpetuated through open cultural processes. The Folklore Museum is a living cell, home to the soul of our island, and that is precisely the sense imparted to the reader by this book. I am confident that this guide will be appreciated and loved just as the Museum itself has been loved, and that it will act as a worthy ambassador. Our warmest congratulations then to all those who worked on this publication. May our culture, be it traditional or contemporary, remain strong and ever-lasting! Mathios Apostolou Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mykonos Folklore Collection Mykonos, July 2010
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A brief history of Mykonos
INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos
The mythical rocks of Mykonos under which Hercules buried the defeated Giants. This myth gave rise to the Ancient Greek expression ‘everything under one Mykonos’, meaning roughly everything in the same pot’.
The Lady of Mykonos, a clay Neolithic figurine from the area of Ftelia 8
With an area of 86.1 square kilometers, Mykonos, together with Delos, Rheneia and a few surrounding rocky islets, constitute a single island complex. According to Greek mythology, there was once a violent clash between the Olympian Gods and the Giants. Myth has it that Hercules, inevitable ally to the gods, came face to face with the Giants in Mykonos, where he buried them under huge rocks. Mykonos’s rocky terrain scattered with immense granite masses truly seems to have been created during a battle among giants. A typical example is the area of AiGiorgis Spilianos (Saint George of the Cave), with its charming church by the same name and its massive, rounded granite boulders, which appear to have been hurled by the hands of giants. It’s possible that the island’s name derives from the word mýkon, meaning pile of stones or rocky place. According to another tradition, the ‘eponymous hero’ of the island is Mykonos, the son of Anios who was king of Delos at the time of the Trojan War and was himself the son of Apollo and the nymph Roió. In Homer’s time, Mykonos is mentioned in connection to the death and burial of the hero of the Trojan War, Ajax of Locris. There are numerous significant testimonials and relics concerning prehistoric installations on Mykonos and the neighbouring islands - Rheneia, Delos and Stapodia. Excavations that took place around Ftelia brought to light finds from a Neolithic settlement of the 5th millennium BC, proof that Mykonos was involved in developments of distant prehistory. Early Cycladic tombs in the area of Diakoftis (excavated in 1898); the Middle Helladic relics at Paleokastro; the vaulted tomb of the Late Helladic (Mycenaean) period at Angelika - one of the few in the Cyclades - (rescue excavation, 1994); and the Mycenaean
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A brief history of Mykonos chamber tombs at Korfos are indicative of a flourishing civilization in Mycenaean times and the island’s active role in the life of Bronze-Age Greece (3000-1100 BC). Archaic and classical burials were found in Kato Myli and Alefkandra. An important burial finding on Mykonos is also the large, 1.30-meter-tall relief píthos (storage jar), depicting the sack of Troy and dating back to the 7th century BC, which was found at the Tria Pigadia area, in Mykonos Town. Karians and Phoenicians are said to have been the first inhabitants of Mykonos. Ionians from Athens settled on the island around 1000 BC and prevailed, driving away the earlier inhabitants. During the Archaic period (7th-6th centuries BC), Mykonos is referred to by the ancient geographer Scylax of Caryanda (6th century BC) as dípolis, indicating the existence of two cities. While Hellenistic, Roman or Medieval relics were found at almost all third millennium locations, it was only at Paleokastro and the Kastro in Hóra that vase shards and building relics from all periods were found, a fact that points to a continuous human presence and activity at these two locations. A typical example is the case of the Mavros School in Hóra’s Kastro district, where successive phases of habitation from the 3rd millennium BC up until the 21st century were discovered (rescue excavation 1993 and 2001). Hóra’s Kastro district and Paleokastro must then be the location of the two ancient cities of Mykonos, which came together under a joint administration in the 2nd century BC and to which the few existing ancient testimonials make reference. From prehistoric times to only a few decades ago, espe-
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The píthos (storage jar) of Mykonos depicting the sack of Troy (ca. 670 BC)
Below: Postage stamp showing a detail from the píthos of Mykonos
The hill of Paleokastro in Ano Mera
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INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos
The Mykonian farmhouse or horió with its auxiliary installations
Right: An ancient coin bearing a sheaf of wheat and the word MYKONION Left: Rendition of an ancient Mykonian coin by R. Tourte (1950s)
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cially in the south-western part of the island, there existed numerous farms. These farms were independent and isolated units, located at short distances from each other. They must not have been very different to Mykonos’s Hellenistic horía or modern-day farming installations (horiá), consisting of fields, the main house and the necessary auxiliary buildings a family would need. Scattered across the rest of the island were mostly pastoral installations, consisting of a hut where the shepherd would stay during certain times of the year; this was built and used in the same way as similar, more recent constructions, the Mykonian keliá (cells). An important inscription, which was found in 1886 in Linó, on the roof of the church of St. Marina, and dates back to 200 BC, refers to the settling of Mykonos’s two cities and contains a calendar of the sacrifices performed for each deity that was worshipped on the island. The most popular god appears to have been Dionysus, who was adored on Mykonos as Lineus (the god of the grape harvest) and Baccheus (god of mystical intoxication and orgiastic ecstasy). He was pictured on the city’s coin nude and crowned with ivy, and two months in Mykonos’s calendar had been named in his honour – Lineon and Bacchion. Lineon (January-February) was the most important one. Demeter, Persephone and Zeus were celebrated
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A brief history of Mykonos on the 10th day of that month, Semele, Dionysus’ illfated mother, on the 11th, while on the 12th, probably at Linó, the sanctuary of Dionysus Lineus and perhaps the most official sanctuary of the ancient city, sacrifices were offered to Dionysus Lineus, to Zeus Chthonius and Gaia Chthonia, in a feast exclusively for Mykonians from which foreigners were barred. These threeday feasts were held thanks to the good offices of the city’s chief magistrates and priests, and the expenses of the organization, the sacrifices and the feasts were covered by the public fund. Outside the city, in the still unexplored, rugged area of Diras (meaning a row of hills), stood the
agricultural sanctuary of Dionysus Bacchus, whose feast day was on the 10th of the month of Bacchion (March-April). A male goat was sacrificed to the god, followed by a banquet, which again was paid for by public coffers. In 2002, in the Finikiés area, archaeologists discovered the sanctuary of Apollo Hecatombios, to whom, each year, on the 7th day of the month of Hecatombeon (July-August) a bull and ten lambs were sacrificed. The same day would see sacrifices offered to the Acheloös River.
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The archaeological site of Delos
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INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos
Portes: megalithic Hellenistic tower above Platys Yialos
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Mykonos emerged unscathed from the tribulations of the Persian Wars and was not pillaged as were the rest of the Cyclades, not only because the Persians considered Delos to be a holy place, but also because the Mykonians submitted to the Persian conquerors. Following the Persian Wars, Mykonos acceded to the Athenian Alliance (478 BC), paying an annual tax of 1.5 talent in 451 BC and 1 talent in 442 BC, which indicates that the island was poor (Thasos, for example, paid 30 talents). Large tracts of Mykonos belonged to the Sanctuary of Delos and were rented out as farmland. However, burial findings, building relics and inscriptions show that the island flourished during Hellenistic times. According to one inscription of the 2nd century BC, one of Mykonos’s approximately 24 farms, comprised 37 fig trees, 2750 vines, 25 wild olive trees, 2 myrtles, 3 walnut trees, 56 apple trees, 1 palm tree and 1 laurel tree. Another inscription of the same era lists clothing, which was given as a dowry to the daughters of three Mykonian families. The clothing is estimated to have cost 200, 300, and 500 drachmas, which were huge amounts at the time and are indicative of Mykonos’s flourishing economy. At numerous locations across the island, archaeologists have discovered square or round Hellenistic towers, which were main buildings of agricultural installations and were used as places to live or to store produce, but at the same time – and perhaps primarily – as places of observation, refuge and defence. The destruction, in 69 BC, and the subsequent decline of the Sanctuary of Delos appears to have adversely affected Mykonos, but as far as the
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A brief history of Mykonos Roman and Early Byzantine years are concerned, there is insufficient information concerning the state of the island. During the Early Post-Christian period, many of the Cyclades had been severely depopulated or were being used as places of exile for prominent Romans who had fallen in disfavour. Strabo mentions that, in his time (the early 1st century AD), the only islands that were relatively thriving were Andros, Naxos, Paros and Tinos. Following the reign of Constantine the Great, the Cyclades became part of the Eastern Roman State and came under the administration of Asia, while in Constantine Porphyrogennitus’s De Thematibus they are referred to as belonging to the Aegean Theme. The settling of Saracens on Crete in AD 821 during the reign of Michael Travlos impacted the Cyclades, which, for many years hence, was plagued by pirate raids. It was during this period that fortification works were carried out on Mykonos to protect the island from Arab pirates. Mykonos continued to be a Byzantine possession until the late 12th century, which was immediately followed by the period of the Frankish Aegean. In the Late Byzantine period, given their critical geostrategic position, the Aegean islands were in the crosshairs of the powers with interests in the Aegean: the Byzantine Empire, Genoa, the Catalans, Venice and, later, the Ottoman Empire. Of course, this situation fostered the rise of maritime piracy. Thus, when the Fourth Crusade (1204) ended at the expense of Byzantium, the Aegean islands, most of which had become pirate bases, were divided up according to the Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romaniae between Baldwin I, Latin Emperor of Constantinople,
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Map of Mykonos (Sonetti Bartolomeo, 1485) The castle of Mykonos is marked to the west, next to the harbor. Paleokastro is marked inland.
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INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos
The coat of arms of the Venetian family of Ghisi
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the Crusaders and Venice. The need to conquer the islands forced Venice to collaborate to this end with military officer Marco Sanudo (nephew of doge Enrico Dandolo), provided Sanudo recognized the suzerainty of the Latin Emperor and maintained good relations with him. By promising fiefs to noblemen and adventurers of mainly Venetian origins, Sanudo, who had taken part in the Fourth Crusade, captured the island of Naxos between 1204-1207, going on to seize the rest of the Cyclades. Henry of Flanders, the second Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1206-1216), ceded control of the islands he conquered to Marco Sanudo, raising them to the status of a duchy. Under the title of Duke of the Aegean (Duca dell’Egeopelagi) or Duke of the Archipelago (Duca dell’Arcipelago), Marco Sanudo was named head of the duchy which, besides Naxos, also included the islands of Paros, Antiparos, Milos, Ios, Kythnos, Amorgos, Kimolos, Siphnos, Sikinos, Syros and Folegandros. The other islands conquered by Sanudo were divided up among his Venetian associates in exchange for their participation in his military operations. The brothers Andrea and Jeremia Ghisi turned Mykonos and the remaining islands (Tinos, Kea, Serifos, Amorgos, Skyros and Skopelos) into their fief. They fortified the hill of Paleokastro on Mykonos, where many of the islanders had sought refuge during the Arab raids of the 7th century. In 1390, the last of the Ghisis died, leaving Mykonos under the direct control of the Venetians. This resulted in the island complex of the Cyclades being broken up into several small Latin hegemonies of a feudal type and the creation of a unique regime, according to which the local rulers maintained their autonomy as subjects of the Duchy of Naxos. At the same time, the Duchy came under the suzerainty of the Latin Emperor which lasted until 1248, at which point it was handed over to the Villehardouins, the Frankish rulers of the Peloponnese, and then in 1278 to the Andegavos of Sicily who had taken control of
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A brief history of Mykonos Frankish-occupied Peloponnese and consequently become suzerains of the Cyclades. The boundaries of the Duchy of the Archipelago were shifted often during its long history. Venice, naturally, never ceased trying to control the islands in every way possible. The Duchy of Naxos was the most stable entity created by the Frankish occupation in Greece and remained so for 300 years. Under the Sanudos and later (1383) under the Crispos, with brief intervals of direct Venetian rule, the Duchy remained powerful even after the fall of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. It was not abolished by the Byzantine Empire and it survived for almost one hundred years following the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks (1453). When Suleiman the Magnificent became sultan of the Ottoman Empire, most of the Aegean islands, including Mykonos, were occupied in 1537 by the pirate and head of the Ottoman fleet Hayreddin Barbarossa, ushering in a period of subjugation of the islands to the Sultan (1537-1566). In 1566, when the Duchy fell to the Turks, Sultan Selim II handed over the administration of the islands that comprised the Duchy of the Aegean to his protégé, the Spanish Jew Joseph Nasi, who ruled through his locum, Francisco Coronello. From 1566 to 1579, Joseph Nasi’s administration of Mykonos and the other islands constitutes a peculiarity, however it belongs to the island’s Ottoman period. After the death of Joseph Nasi in 1579, Mykonos and the other islands came under the direct control of the admiral of the Turkish fleet (Kapudan pasha). Only Tinos avoided the Ottoman occupation at the time, remaining under Venetian rule until 1715. Under Ottoman domination, Mykonos developed a strong communal administration, which, as in the other islands of the Cyclades, took on various duties, including the coordination of collecting
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Suleiman the Magnificent The most distinguished among the sultans, and the one with the longest reign – from 1520 to his death in 1566.
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INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos and redistributing of the island’s taxes. The Mykonos Commune existed as early as the beginning of the 17th century, instituting rules and local laws that determined the islanders’ lives. In any event, the Ottoman domination of the Cyclades was exercised at a distance, with a leading role played by the sultan’s privileged orders. Of course, the arrival each spring of the Turkish imperial fleet under the leadership of the Kapudan pasha in order to collect taxes struck fear in the hearts of the islanders. At the same time, Mykonos continued to be plagued by pirate raids and epidemics. Between the 17th-19th centuries, the island’s population ranged from approximately 2000 to 5000 inhabitants. In the 17th century and particularly during the Turko-Venetian Wars (1645-1669 and 1684-1699), the situation in the Aegean became especially vola-
Kato Myli in Mykonos Town (Hóra)
tile. The lack of stability and the frequent payment of taxes by the islanders to both the Turks and the Venetians created an atmosphere of insecurity that fuelled piracy. The bishop of Hierapolis Sebastiani, who visited Mykonos in 1666 as an envoy of the Pope, recorded with great precision that Mykonos was inhabited by 3000 Greeks, 20 Latins (almost all of whom were pirates), 50 priests and 40 monks.
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A brief history of Mykonos During these years, the island’s economy relied mainly on agriculture and stockbreeding. But the infertility of the soil and the poor agricultural yield, combined with the Mykonians’ experience at sea, led them to seafaring and commerce. At the same time, the increasing number of windmills contributed to the processing and sale of – mostly imported – grains. It is at this time that, due to its location, Mykonos begins to act as a supply station for passing ships. For the most part, the inhabitants of Mykonos were involved in these different activities at the same time. They gradually invested their profits in shipping, commerce, and the purchase of land on the island. During the Russo-Turkish War (1768-74), many Mykonians fervently supported Orthodox Russia and took active part in the islands’ uprising, instigated by Catherine the Great and the Orlov Brothers, which came to be known as the Orlov Revolt (177074). One of its protagonists was Mykonian captain Antonios Psaros. In spite of the oppressive presence of the Russian forces on the islands, the fact that the war was won by Russia (which proceeded to withdraw from the islands and other regions), created favourable conditions for Greek merchant shipping (Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji 1774), which grew at a spectacular rate over the next years. In fact, taking advantage of Russia’s favourable stance towards Greece, some islanders emigrated to Russian provinces where they became active as merchants. Thus the Mykonians were later able to help the struggle to liberate Greece from the Turkish yoke (1821). At the beginning of the war of independence, Mykonos had 22 ships and 132 canons. During the Revolution of 1821, inspired by the island’s heroine, Mando Mavrogenous (the scion of a powerful aristocratic family raised in Trieste and imbued with the principles of the Enlightenment), the Mykonians zealously repulsed an attack by a squadron of the Turkish fleet (October 1822) and participated in the war of independence with four armed
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The Mykonian heroine of Greece’s War of Independence, Mando Mavrogenous (A. Friedel, 1823)
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INTRODUCTION
A brief history of Mykonos
August 1894. Two Mykonian workers at the Delos excavation site holding up the statue of the Diadoumenos – a young athlete binding his hair. (Archive of The French School of Athens)
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ships. Mavrogenous, who placed her significant family fortune towards the nation’s struggle, undertook the maintenance of two of these. With the birth of the new Greek state, Mykonos witnessed the renaissance of a dynamic merchant class which, through its ties to Greeks abroad, developed a flourishing trade with southern Russia (Odessa and cities on the Crimean peninsula), Romania (Braila, Constanta), Italy (Livorno) and France (Marseille), as well as Alexandria, Smyrna, Constantinople and the economically flourishing island of Syros. In 1855 Mykonos boasted a large number of sailing ships, which accounted for 2% of Greece’s fleet. However, the complete prevalence of steam technology in the late 19th century, the opening of the Corinth Canal (1893), and the economic crisis in the Kingdom of Greece in the 1890s brought about changes in the financial life of the island. That was when more and more Mykonians began to emigrate in search of a better future; some of them abroad (to Russia up until World War I, to Egypt, and then to the United States), but most of them moved to Greece’s new urban centres – Piraeus and Athens. World War II and the German and Italian occupations caused the island severe food shortages, which were the main cause of the decrease in population during this time. A demographic rebound occurred after the war. Immediately following the war of independence of 1821, the Mykonians began excavations on Delos, accumulating a significant collection of statues and burial steles, which they donated in 1829 to the newly established National Museum on the island of Aegina.
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A brief history of Mykonos The systematic excavation of Delos began in 1873 by the Hellenic Archaeological Service and the French School of Athens. As early as 1926, cruise ships brought wealthy travellers from all over the world to the sacred island. They came to visit the antiquities of Delos, but along the way they discovered and fell under the spell of the ‘sparkling white, pristine, picturesque island of Mykonos and the smiling, openhearted, welcoming Mykonians’. Mykonos soon became a cosmopolitan summer retreat, attracting countless visitors from across the world. In the post-war years, against the backdrop of the rapid development of the tourist industry in southern Europe, Mykonos successfully responded to the new demands and, thanks to the enterprise and business acumen of its inhabitants, holds one of the most enviable positions in today’s international tourist market. Yialos in 1915 and today
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The settlement and the house in Kastro
INTRODUCTION
The settlement and the house in Kastro
(C. Papas, L’urbanisme et l’architecture populaire dans les Cyclades, Paris 1957)
The Folk lore Museum of Mykonos is located in the northwestern section of Hóra (another name for Mykonos Town), in the picturesque Kastro neighbourhood, which was founded many centuries ago on a rough flat-topped rock over the sea (initially, separate from the mainland). This location seems to have been almost continuously occupied since pre-historic times and it is evident that it constituted the initial (late-medieval) nucleus of the present-day town of Mykonos. Recent excavations at the site of the Markos Mavros School located near the Museum, reveal successive phases of habitation, thus proving that the Kastro area was inhabited continuously from the 3rd millennium BC up to the present day (rescue excavation 1993 and 2001). During the period of the Ottoman rule, the walled-in Kastro (the Greek word for castle) was a densely built, crowded seaside settlement of about 2,000 people, occupying a rectangular area no larger than 7,500 square meters. Security was a primary concern of the Kastro’s inhabitants during those unsafe years and as a result, the area was bounded by a rudi-
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The house in Kastro in the 1960s
Development models for fortified medieval settlements in the Cyclades
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The settlement and the house in Kastro mentary defensive perimeter. Like the surviving walls of similar walledin towns on other Aegean islands, the Kastro wall was comprised simply of the adjoining, solid, outer façades of the tall buildings on the settlement’s outer edge. At the base of the stone structure of the Paraportianí church complex, the visitor today can still see remains of one of the Kastro’s three or four defence towers. Remains of another tower can be seen next to the Panagia Priani church, on the southern side of the Kastro. Historic iconography provides a relatively clear idea of the Kastro’s appearance between the 14th and the 17th century AD. A colored map of 1420 by Christoforo Buondelmonti (13851430), a Florentine monk and traveller, shows the settlement with a tall central tower flanked by lower angular towers.
Three very interesting illustrations, reproduced here from the Archives and the Library of the Folklore Museum, document the evolution of the historic settlement of Mykonos Town from the 17th till the late 18th century. The oldest of these three prints, shows the inhabited area of the island limited to the Kastro area. It is a copy of a rough outline sketch from a portolan (naval) chart, found in a 17th century manuscript at MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Delos - Mykonos (Cr. Buondelmonti, 1420)
Mykonos portolan chart (Museo Civico Correr, Venice, 17th century)
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INTRODUCTION
The settlement and the house in Kastro the Museo Civico Correr of Venice. The second one is a travel-book illustration, by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1658-1708), showing the blind seaward façades of the houses in the Kastro. A native of Provence, J. P. de Tournefort - botanist and physician - visited Mykonos in 1700, where he seems to have spend an entire year. His book Relations d’un voyage du Levant, first published in Paris in 1717, became very popular; a copy of the 1741 English edition can be found at the museum’s library. The third illustration is a drawing by Thomas Hope (1769-1831), nearly a century later, in 1790, showing the settlement of the Hóra of Mykonos extending beyond the limits of the Kastro; there are openings for both doors and windows on the seaward façades of the houses. Mykonos already looks like a lively and prosperous island port.
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The moorings at Mykonos harbor in 1700 from the book by J. P. de Tournefort.
A general view of Mykonos Town (Thomas Hope, 1790)
INTRODUCTION
Schematic representation of the Kastro area (17th century)
The rough diagram of the 17th century layout of the Kastro, initially published in a report by V. D. Kyriazopoulos in 1972, records both existing traces of construction and information transmitted by oral tradition. 1. Ai-Yannis tou Vathous 2. Agia Sotira. The grave of the pirate Mermelechas 3. Kastro windmill 4, 5, 6. The Panagia Paraportianí cluster of five churches, the tower and Kastro’s Paraporti (small gate) 7. The Agia Eleni cluster of three churches 8. The house of Captain Nicholas Malouhos 9. Agios Dimitrios 10. Panagia Pyrgiani 11. Lateral tower of the Kastro 12. Agia Moni (new location) 13. The gate of the Kastro 14. Agios Petros and Pavlos 15. Ai-Yorgis 16. The well of the pirate Mermelechas. Hall VΙ of the Folklore Museum 17. Ai-Yannis tis Barkias 18. Location of Markos Mavros School (19th century) 19. Porta tis Sapionéras 20. Agia Moni (old location - central tower) and the Ghisi mansion 21. Location of Agios Markos
(Note: Ágios,Ái = male Saint, Agía = female Saint) MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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INTRODUCTION
The settlement and the house in Kastro
Aerial photograph of Hóra, 1940 Below: katastéyi, covered road in the Limni district, Hóra
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The crowded, densely constructed area of the Kastro has been justly characterised as a pomegranate. It was a chaotic jumble of buildings, a truly suffocating place to live. An architectural element typical of the merging of the private and public space, is the narrow, covered passageway called katastéyi, which lies beneath two-storey buildings. Up until 1920, when it was closed, the lane of the last katastéyi extant in the Kastro was situated underneath the upper-storey of the Panagia Paraportianí complex, leading to the Paraporti of the Kastro. The other two entrances to the Kastro were the main Pórta (remains of which were still visible in 1885) and the Pórta tis Sapionéras. On a subdued rock at the southern side of the settlement, there are discernible traces of the Kastrianós Mílos (the windmill of the castle), which is probably the oldest on the island. (See Kastro area map, p. 25) The foundations of the building housing the Folklore Museum lie on a vertical rock that, until 1900, was literally washed by the sea. The exact age of the house in Kastro is not known. All travellers and sightseers of the past who have depicted the Mykonos Hóra have sketched a tall building in its place. The location of the house offers spectacular views to the west towards Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, to the north towards Syros, the commercial hub of the 19th century and present capital of the Cyclades and towards Tinos, the neighbouring island MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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The settlement and the house in Kastro of the See of the Shrine of the Virgin Mary. Considered to be one of the oldest buildings on the island, this house, which accommodates part of the Folklore Museum of Mykonos, has inspired painters, photographers and important Greek authors, among them, Melpo Axioti, Alkis Tropeatis and Andreas Karantonis.
The House in Kastro, northern view
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MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
The Museum Guide
INTRODUCTION
Museum Plan F loor plan of the M A I N building
The six ground-floor halls and two courtyards occupy a total area of 320 sq. meters. Next to the old house, there are two, more recent, single-storey buildings: Hall I and Hall VI of the Folklore Museum. The typically irregular, un-plastered stonework of the northern and northwestern walls closely resembles the surviving section of the ancient Kastro wall. ENTRANCE: Locks and Κeys from the past HALL
Ι : Lamps through the centuries; Old furniture and household
wares; Traditional Mykonian costume; Cycladic chairs; escritoires; old weights and measures; Commemorative ceramics and tableware; Stone carvings and epigraphs; Mykonian hand-woven textiles; Lithographs, paintings and icons; Votive offerings; Mykonian earrings HALL
Ι Ι : The education of women in the 19th century; Portraits;
Furniture and household appliances; Musical instruments; Clothing of the 19th century; Stamps and coins H A L L Ι Ι Ι : The 19th century bedroom HALL HALL
Ι V : The Mykonian kitchen V : Manuscript archives and library; Dressing and toilette of the
Mykonian woman; Popular art and ceramics HALL
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V Ι : Mykonos and the sea
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INTRODUCTION
The Collections The Mykonos Folklore Museum, during its five decades of operation (since 1958), has developed into one of the most important Ethnographic-Historic museums in Greece. The exhibits of the museum focus the visitor’s attention on the material life of Mykonians during the last four centuries. A magnificent view of the harbor and the surrounding islands can be enjoyed from the large paved courtyard, open to the public, on the ground floor of Hall VI. There, on an antique marble slab are inscribed three words:
αιώνες γαλάζιων ανέμων Aeons of sky-blue winds
The museum has a variety of displays: there are Collections, groups of objects that at one time served the same or similar purposesuch as the Neocycladic Stone Sculpture Collection- as well as exhibits of unified functional groups (which in the past fulfilled certain needs of man’s daily routine), exemplified by the 19th century urban bedroom in Hall III. From the point of view of their origins, the exhibits are distinguished as either being of indigenous popular production, as for example, the Mykonian Hand-Woven Textiles Collection, as items which were used in the same way throughout Greece, such as the Collection of Old Weights and Measures or as objects of regional Mediterranean origin and use, the Lamps Through the Centuries Collection being typical of this category.
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ENTRANCE
Locks and keys from the past The Collection of Locks and Keys contains many examples of all types of keys, ranging in size from the hefty cellar key to the microscopic keys used for winding old pocket watches. An interesting assortment of keys is on display, in two built-in showcases in the small foyer of the entrance, along with various locks (a few with a characteristic small alarm bell), doorbolts, bars, chains and whatever else was used in the past to secure a house, a shop, a church or a trunk.
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Lamps through the centuries The Lamps through the Centuries Collection presents designs, mainly in use during the preindustrial era, made out of clay, glass, porcelain, copper, bronze or iron. A great variety of candlesticks and examples of every sort of lamp is on display, ranging from the clay lýkhnoi (oil-lamps) of the 3rd century BC originating from Hellenistic centres of the Eastern Mediterranean, to the various portable and pendant lamps of the 19th and early 20th century, from Vienna or Istanbul. Among the brass lanterns are examples of the sheet metal work by Aristodimos Rambias, a Mykonian tinsmith and folk-musician who was working up until the 1980s. In Hall I, there is an addi32
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Lamps through the centuries tional showcase with a variety of lamps whereas the collection continues in Hall VI, where the visitor comes upon the following ancient epigram on the third showcase with such lamps: The lamp intoxicated with oil glows bright, a sharp breath, the hissing wind blows out the light. He lights it for the second time and sighs “Silence, lamp and shine: star glow never dies”
Babrius, Mythiamvoi, 114 5-7 (2nd century AD)
Bronze oil lamp
Aristodimos Rambias (1918-1982) Mykonian Tinsmith & Folk Musician Aristodimos Rambias belonged to the Kimiliós extended family, a group of islanders from near-by Kimolos who emigrated to Mykonos. Like many anonymous craftsmen of his time, he was a multi-talented individual who earned his living on the island by making objects of everyday use out of tin. Characteristic of the pre-refrigerator era, ‘fanária’ (small hanging cupboards with sides made of metal mesh, for keeping flies away from edible goods), tin boxes with hinged lids for coffee and sugar, oil lanterns as well as larger decorative lighting fixtures were amongst the numerous objects made by Aristodimos, found in many Mykonian homes or chapels. He used tin or copper sheets on which he first drew the outline of the design in question, then cut it with special scissors and finally weld all the pieces together, often adding simple but beautiful decorative details such as little birds, fish, floral elements etc. He is still fondly remembered in his workshop at the Matogianni main street in Town, working away on his bench. Equally cherished was his presence in many a local wedding or feast, playing the lute, as a self-taught folk musician. The Mykonos Folklore Museum has a large collection of lamps and lanterns as well as many kitchen utensils on show (Hall IV) made by Aristodimos Rambias.
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Old furniture and household wares
Ornate chest for a woman’s dowry
Silk lace made by bobbin-weaving
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The furnishings grouped together in the centre of Hall I include a Mykonian style three-leaf table and a fancy, early 19th century wedding trunk ornamented with white studs and glass beads. Various chairs from the Cycladic Chair Collection are placed round about the room and there is a large, wooden, Mykonian couch on the right-hand side of Hall I. On the couch, there is a seated mannequin doll dressed in a traditional Mykonian costume. Another such figure is standing next to it, portraying Mando Mavrogenous, the heroine of the Greek Independence War of 1821 (see opposite page). Interesting further information about the Mykonian costume can be found in Halls II & V. Nearby, there is a large bronze mangáli (brazier) brought from Constantinople around 1850, a small oriental table, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and a kopanéli (a lace-making tool). The Museum’s large collection of antique furniture made or used in Mykonos during the 18th and 19th century (and, in some cases, even earlier) has never been on display in its entirety due to a lack of exhibition space. The major part of this collection has been allocated to various rooms of the Mykonos Folklore Museum and Lena’s House, including five antique sewing machine of various types, powered either by hand or by foot.
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Mykonian Costume through the Ages In Hall I, one of the two life-sized mannequins is seated on the couch, a carved wooden stool at her feet. She is dressed in a reproduction of a typical, mid-17th century, upper-class urban costume, as recorded by J. Spon and G. Wheler, in 1682 and by the Netherlander, Olfert Dapper, in 1688. The fancy, late-18th century style dark red velvet outfit, worn by the standing lady, is modelled after an early 19th century engraving by the Dane Adam de Friedel (1827), portraying the heroine of the Greek Revolution, Mando Mavrogenous. These two costumes were re-created and donated to the museum by the Women’s Cultural and Folklore Society of Mykonos. Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, a French botanist who travelled in the Aegean between the years 1700 and 1702, has also made detailed sketches of the local female costumes. All such engravings depicting local attire are on display in Hall V. Original 19th century men’s folk costumes are also on show in the museum in Hall II.
Mando Mavrogenous in a lithograph by A. Friedel, 1829
Mykonian woman, print by F. Smith and T. Viero, late 18th century
Mykonian dress by C. Decker, from the book by O. Dapper, 1688 MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Cycladic chairs The Folklore Museum has a collection of various styles of wooden seats, the oldest of which dates from the 18th century. The relevant research has pinpointed the Cyclades as their place of origin. There are two main varieties of these so-called Cycladic chairs: one popular style features the characteristic figure-eight chair-back and another, a design reminiscent of a lyre. French, English, Spanish and Italian prototypes obviously influenced the design of these chairs.
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Escritoires At the far end of Hall I are two upright skrínia, grand examples of luxurious late 18th century Venetian escritoires (also known as tall or glass skrínia). The term skrínio, derived from the Italian scrinium (box, trunk), was used in the Cyclades, the Ionian Islands and other parts of Greece, to describe this category of multi-component wooden furniture of European origin. Characteristic features, common to all the different varieties of skrínia, are the three drawers in the desk’s lower part used as linen cupboards and the adjacent fixture, the hinged board of the desktop with the space that it conceals. This space, which is apportioned in various ways, differing from one desk to 36
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Escritoires another, contains little drawers, shelves, pigeonholes and secret hiding places in false drawers. In the tall escritoires, the upper part of the furniture is a cabinet, with a mirrored door (or two mirrors if styled with double doors). Topped by an impressive baroque pediment, this cabinet is divided in the interior into smaller spaces. These imported furnishings were a symbol of wealth and social status. It is estimated that as recently as 1950 there were over 50 skrĂnia to be found in Mykonian homes. Today, the few escritoires remaining on the island are in private hands. The collection of the Folklore Museum comprises of nine pieces of such furniture. Only five are on display in the museum, two of which have been recent ly restored (2006-7) with funding by the Association of Friends of Delos & Rheneia.
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Old weights and measures
Measuring vessels for wine
Traditional scales
A large showcase contains items from the Collection of Weights and Measures, a collection that is considered to be one of the most complete of its kind. It includes every sort of device used in the past to measure height, space, weight, specific gravity and the volume of liquids (measured in okádes and misés) such as wine, oil, kerosene, ouzo and lamp oil. There are pottery vessels for measuring wine (nembótis), antique thermometers and chronometers. The breadth of the collection spans from the marble síkoma, with which a merchant in ancient Delos measured olive oil, to the vezené of the Ottoman Rule as well as the little copper pocket-sized scale for gold coins and the pináki for measuring whitewash. There are examples of all the types of weights and measures in use during the years before the institution of the metric system in Greece (1959), including a pharmaceutical balance scale and an infant scale.
Scale for coins
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Commemorative ceramics and tableware
The Collection of Commemorative Ceramics and Tableware is on display in a large, arched alcove in the rear of Hall I. There is an array of decorated plates, dating from the 19th and 20th century, commemorating personalities and events of historical importance. This series begins with porcelain plates from 1863, showing the young King George I, when he first arrived in Greece. Most of these plates were initially produced for the everyday needs of the household but later on, became popular as commemorative objects. The majority of the plates were printed using the copperplate technique (mainly in English workshops) based on designs created in Greece by local artisans. The iconography of these items is a reflection of the common zeitgeist and their subjects include: Greek Mythology, Ancient Greece and Byzantium, the Greek War of Independence, King George I, the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece, the Hegemony of Samos, the Cretan Revolutions, the Union of Thessaly with Greece, the Balkan Wars, King Constantine and Eleftherios Venizelos, King George II, Cyprus and Archbishop Makarios, George Papandreou and Constantine Karamanlis. MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Commemorative ceramics and tableware The collection also includes other ceramic (faience) plates, platters, tureens and serving dishes, as well as drinking glasses, glass kerosene lamps, tobacco containers carved in the likenesses of historical personages and iron serving trays decorated with royal figures. In addition, there are plates and other porcelain items, adorned with neoclassical decorations, sentimental sayings and advertising. A number of these typical examples of the 19th century popular styles are products of the Baranovka porcelain factory, once owned by the Mykonian merchant and dignitary Nicholas Gryparis, who operated far-flung commercial enterprises in Tsarist Russia.
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Baranovka Mykonian Enterprise in Tsarist Russia One of Mykonos’s oldest families, the Gryparis family, went to Russia following the favourable commercial climate of the late 19th century The Gryparis brothers, Nicholas and Pericles, established their wheat trading business in Odessa and subsequently undertook the supply of the Black Sea fleet. Gradually expanding their enterprises, they opened branch offices in various other cities in southern Russia and one of the brothers went to Egypt, where he engaged in the cotton trade. In 1896, the brothers bought the Baranovka property, together with 12,000 hectares of land. On this property in the Volynya region (today’s southern Ukraine) there were lakes, farms, pastures, forests, water-mills and factories. The already existing porcelain factory in situ, had been founded by a Polish businessman, Michael Mezer in 1801. One of the five sons of the Gryparis family, Petros, without delay went to the famous Limoges factory in France, to learn the art of manufacturing porcelain. Thus, after the Gryparis bought the property, the factory went back into production. The products of the factory were soon of even better quality than ever before and the porcelain became known as ‘Sèvres Russes’. Artisans, brought back from France, worked with Kabaliefski -the artist responsible for the characteristic floral designs on these porcelains– and Mezer, a Pole who was probably a descendant of the factory’s original founder. The factory was operating until 1916 when political developments in Russia forced the owners to flee, first to Odessa and from there, to Alexandria in Egypt. Petros Gryparis, at the last minute, pocketed the “secret recipe” for the manufacture of the Baranovka porcelain whereas Nicholas Gryparis, the last to flee, escaped hidden in a hay-wagon. In recent years, the Baranovka factory produced porcelain insulators for the electrical power network although recent developments marked the production of porcelain utensils for domestic use once more.
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Stone carvings and epigraphs On the floor one can see a part of the Collection of Stone Carvings and Epigraphs, a collection comprising about 100 marble carvings from previous centuries, including architectural components from local buildings and such typical household objects as mortars, basins etc. One remarkable piece, referring to the local history, is the surviving fragment of a rough anaglyph slab, a carving in low relief which depicts a man, from the feet up to the chest, garbed in a long fur coat, typical of a local 18th century dignitary, holding rosary beads adorned with a cross. This slab was found in the wall of the old Chapel of Saint Nicholas of the Harbor, (Ai-Nikoláki tis Kadénas) in Mykonos Town. According to the 19th century French historian Théodore Blancard, it represents the Mykonian Dimitrios Mavrogenis who served as a voivode of the island at about 1754. Another interesting piece, part of a marble skylight screen, shows a human figure wearing breeches and a casque. Besides the carvings exhibited in this hall and other sections of the museum, there is a number of others, originally found walled-in (in functional positions) in various old Mykonian homes and churches. There are three fully carved door frames -one of which dates back to 1710, a skylight dated 1797 and four marble fouroúsia (lintel supports). The door frames are typically decorated with tendrils (vines, arbours etc.), cypresses, birds and rosettes; other floral themes such as stylised trees, helixes and tendrils, as well as the geometrical rosettes, adorn the lintel supports. There is also a marble thorákion (partition slab) from an early Christian temple on Delos. Yet another example of a bas-relief plaque dated 1763 is one with a proprietary 42
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Stone carvings and epigraphs inscription from the now demolished windmill of the Monastery of the Panagia Tourliani in Ano Mera, Mykonos. There is also an outstanding, very old, marble grave-marker representing a reclining nude, with the right hand supporting the head. It has been called The Maiden of Mykonos because, although lacking breasts or gender characteristics, the figure’s pelvic formation indicates a woman’s build. Part of the collection of stone carvings (especially architectural elements) is also on exhibit in Hall VI.
The Maiden of Mykonos
Ego Dormio et Cor Meum Vigilat
As early as 1754, the traveler A. Drumond has recorded the existence of this funereal plaque and its epigraph. Two hundred and ten years later, another Englishman, Robert Payne (1911-1983), an avid admirer of the same sculpture, which he would prefer to represent a man’s body, writes: “… a wonderful bas-relief has made a great impression on me. It is quite small and shows a youth reclining on the ground. Above him are the words EGO DORMIO ET COR MEUM VIGILAT.* Although the words are in Latin, because of their precision and calm tone, they resemble a strange form of Greek. There is no name or date, nothing to indicate the origin of this stone sculpture, which probably dates from the time of the Crusades…” * “I sleep and my heart is awake”: quotation from the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament
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Mykonian hand-woven textiles Just as in other regions of Greece, treadle looms were once used in almost every Mykonian family home in order to produce necessary cotton and woollen items, which were of good quality and original aesthetic value. During the 1930s, with the advent of tourism on the island, the textile producer Theodoros Harakopoulos created bath towels, copying the old-fashioned designs of the broad barbaresque men’s sashes from northern Africa. These towels had a loosely woven pattern of alternating striped bands, of varying colors and widths. The rhythmically repeated bands of random width created an aesthetically pleasing harmony of color. This cloth came to be recognised as the Mykonian boldoúra. From the outset, these handwoven fabrics were a success and, after World War II, became more widely known and circulated commercially, especially with the creation of the ‘Mykonian skirt’. During the 1950s, Christian Dior enjoyed vacations with his entourage in Mykonos. In one of his autumn Collections the, then-reigning, deity of French haute-couture presented his Parisian audience with new designs made out of Mykonian hand-woven fabrics. As a result, within a very short time, textile manufacturers all over the world were mass-producing cloth with the trademark of ‘Mykonian Hand-Woven’, an unparalleled advertisement on an international scale for this small island. Givenchy, another French fashion designer, in collaboration with the renowned local tailor Joseph Salachas (so-called Le Roi du Pantalon), also produced garments for his models using such fabrics. At the same time, several local women produced large quantities of hand-woven items in treadle looms at their homes, not only for domestic use but also for sale to the ever-increasing numbers of foreign visitors, establishing thus a blooming home-based industry. According to oral testimonies, around 1960, the looms on the island numbered around 500. Unfortunately, by the late 20th century, this phenomenon dwindled away due to the mass-produced imported 44
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Mykonian hand-woven cloths fabrics. Nevertheless, there is still one or two women on the island who weave unique items made of wool or cotton, keeping alive this handicraft tradition of past centuries. The Collection of Mykonian Hand-Woven Textiles is stored in the large oak armoire in Hall I, 755 fabric samples in plastic covers, displaying an outstanding variety of colors and designs. Accompanying the samples are a series of photograph albums and an informative summary about hand-woven textiles, created with the co-operation of the folklorist Alki Kiriakidi-Nestoros, friend and colleague of the Museum.
Mykonian weaver MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Lithographs, paintings and icons
The Virgin Mary with Jesus
Among the paintings in the museum’s collection, Hall I houses three works by the postimpressionist Greek painter Emmanuel Zairis (another painting of his, a large composition, adorns the reception room of the Mykonos Town Hall). Zairis was the director of the Athens School of Fine Arts during the 1930s, at the time of the establishment of the Summer Annex of the School of Fine Arts in Mykonos in 1934. One should also admire a unique 18th century icon, portraying Virgin Mary and Jesus called Panagiá Galaktotrofoúsa, with gold and silver ex-votos attached on it. Along the walls of Hall I, one can also view gilded Venetian mirrors and series of French 19th century colored lithographs with historical and allegorical themes by the French artist Lafosse.
The Four Continents Color lithographs by Lafosse, 19th century
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Votive offerings
In a multi-faceted, rotating display case, the visitor can admire the Collection of Votive Offerings and Baptismal Pins. Támata (ex-votos: votive offerings) are small hand-made (later massproduced) sheets of gold, copper, silver or metal alloy, with designs in bas-relief depicting the human body or parts of it, buildings, ships or other means of transport, animals, symbols of the heart etc. They were traditionally used by believers in order to make a plea or express gratitude towards a particular saint. These ex-votos were positioned upon the icons, symbolising the strong religious belief and faith in the power of the portrayed saint. Also in this display case in Hall I are several martiriká tis váptisis (baptismal pins), the tiny cross or other Christian emblems, offered and worn by the guests at Greek Orthodox baptisms.
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Votive offerings In a separate display case, one can admire three ornate pieces of jewellery created by Sofia Thanopoulou, widely known as Maroulina, who along with these necklaces, donated to the Museum about 200 pieces of támata, a substantial part of the Collection of Votive Offerings. By the side of the main entrance of the Museum, there is also a large scroll of paper printed with a reproduction of signatures of famous people who visited Maroulina’s Little Shop in the 1960s. Two monographs on her jewellery are also on show at the museum, completing the presentation of her work.
Mykonian earrings This is a handsome jewellery collection of earrings of traditional Mykonian designs, consisting of generous donations by local women as well as by the islands’ goldsmiths. These earrings are hand-made in gold, adorned with ornate elements of pearl, coral and blue or green enamel. A lavishly illustrated study by the local ethnographer Mrs. Evangelia VeronisKammis (1941-2010), Mykonian Women’s Earrings, was published by the Folklore Museum of Mykonos in 2001, in tribute of her invaluable contribution to the museum.
Traditional earring designs in gold and pearls
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Sofia Thanopoulou (1908-1997) A Mykonian woman with a unique vision Sofia Thanopoulou (1908-1997), known by her artistic alias, Maroulina, was a self-taught artist. In her work, she combined simple, inexpensive materials such as shells, beads, leather or cord along with pearls, red or black coral, precious and semiprecious stones, silver and gold. Her unique creations became a landmark in the history of Greek jewellery. In 1954, she opened in Mykonos, in the Matogianni main street, the renowned Maroulina’s Little Shop (To Magazáki tis Maroulínas) where her regular clientele included many famous Greek and foreign artists, many of which left their signature on the walls of the shop. As an example of the country’s tourist development, for almost twenty years (19541972), this shop was one of the island’s landmark and an emblem of the optimism typical of the post-war era. Every summer, the White Garden of her house in Mykonos Town hosts several cultural events, organised by her daughter, Marlena Georgiades and the Association of the Friends of Delos and Rheneia, the proceeds of which support the cultural institutions of the island.
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The education of women in the 19th century
The Town Hall and the Mavros School to the right, 1885. Above: Mykonian merchant and benefactor Markos Mavros, a Greek from Egypt
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The visitor enters Hall II through a beautiful marble door frame (see Collection of Stone Carvings), with the following inscription (motto) in Latin: TIBI SOLI DEO HONOR & GLORIA P F C M 1721 (Honour and Glory be to God alone) On the thick walls of the passageway there are needlework samples, embroidered during the second half of the 19th century, by students of the Markos Mavros School, the first state school in Mykonos which operated till 1934. The school was build in 1857-8, during the reign of King Otto, based on the 1837 designs of the Bavarian civil engineer Wilhelm von Weiler and financed by Markos Mavros, a prosperous Mykonian merchant from Alexandria. It is situated between the Mykonos Folklore Museum and the Town Hall (built in the 1770s). At this so-called Allilodidaktikón Scholeíon, where the Lancastrian pedagogic method was initially used, the older students were actively engaged in teaching the younger pupils, always under the teacher’s vigilant and austere supervision. This establishment was a pioneering school for its time, a vivid expression of the local need for education and selfenhancement. Boys and girls were taught the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetics, as well as French and a variety of crafts.
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Portraits Around the walls of Hall II, there are a number of paintings by local artists, such as Papa-Markos Markaris, Maria Igglessi, Antonis Polikandriotis, Pavlos Mathiopoulos and Katy Bertou. The subjects of some of the portraits are Mykonian personalities of the 19th and 20th century, such the founder of the Museum, Vassilios Kyriazopoulos, the portrait of the Mykonian donor, I. Meletopoulos etc. In this hall, the visitor can also view several 19th century prints with themes from the Greek Mythology and History, used to decorate local town houses of the time. There are also series of early 19th century lithographs portraying the Four Elements of Nature: Earth, Air, Water and Fire by the French artist Lafosse (see Lithographs, Paintings & Icons, Hall I).
Papa-Markos Markaris (1871-1941), self-portrait
Vassilios D. Kyriazopoulos (1903-1991) Vassilios D. Kyriazopoulos is the founder and chief donor of the Folklore Collection of Mykonos. His father’s family was from Nafplion and his mother’s from Mykonos (the Bertos family). From early childhood, he considered Mykonos to be his home and, in fact, he devoted himself to it with a quiet passion. He studied Physics, Meteorology and Climatology and had a brilliant career in Higher Education (Agriculture College, the Universities of Athens and Thessaloniki and the Military Academy). His spirit was exceptionally restless and positive: two of his main interests were the study of modern Greek civilization and the collection of works of traditional handicrafts. In 1958, he founded the Mykonos Folklore Collection, which has three branches, and, in 1974, the Athens Museum of Ceramic Folk Art. He was honoured with many decorations and special distinctions for his notable contributions in research and writing.
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Furniture and household items In Hall II, there are two low escritoires displaying various writing implements (quills, pens, writing paper, envelopes, post-cards etc.) from the days when inkwells were still in use. The oval marble table and a few Cycladic style chairs at the centre of the room are accompanied by a well-preserved velvet sofa (here we perceive a countrified version of the Louis Philippe style) and a characteristic, local example of a type of corner cupboard (kantouniéra) that was commonly used by the islanders, because it was well-suited to their small rooms. Today its contains the complete works of the author and critic Andreas Karandonis, an important figure in modern Greek literature, who had an inseparable bond with the island. These furnishings are in good company with an old large, gilded, Italian mirror, which still holds its original, hand-made glass panels. Nearby there is a 19th century standing clock, which was brought to the island from France. Also on show here, three (out of the museum’s collection of five) antique sewing machines, powered either by hand or foot. The oldest one is English and dates from 1840 whereas the others are from the late 19th and early 20th century. There is also to be seen a gramophone with a horn from 1900 and Mykonos’ first telephone set. On display, there is a small collection of various types of censers (incense-burners), made of brass and clay, for domestic and ecclesiastic use. In a small showcase there is part of the Collection of Prehistoric Stone Tools and Weapons made of obsidian rock from the island of Milos.
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Musical instruments In an armoire in Hall II, there is the Collection of Local Musical Instruments, including the saboúna (bagpipes), the toumbáki (drum), a violin, souvriália (panpipes made of bamboo) and an iron triangle for Christmas carols. There is also the santouri (santoor) of the popular local musician, Michalis Rambias, donated to the museum by his son, Konstantinos. Instruments similar to these are still used in local festivities, weddings and feasts around the island (panigýria), following traditions of centuries. The wrought-iron bell from the Metropolis Church in Mykonos Town where it was used since 1805 is on show in this hall as well.
Below: M. Rabia’s santoor Folk music players
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Clothing of the 19th century A great quantity and variety of 19th century clothing is on display as well as stored in drawers in Hall II. There are numerous hand-made items: under-clothing, women’s outfits, including two fancy wedding dresses, examples of urban class luxury garments imported from western Europe during the 19th century. There are also men’s local outfits, such as a kófa (men’s old-fashioned breeches) in the customary black color and also in a very rare olive green shade, worn by the islanders of the 19th century. Beautiful examples of lacework, knitwork and embroidery are also on show. Regarding the traditional Mykonian women’s costume, there are gravures and reproductions both in Hall I and V. MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Mykonian seaman in pantaloons and Mykonian women in traditional dress (Drawing by Τhomas Hope, 1790)
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Greek coins and postage stamps The collection of 19th and 20th century Greek coins is kept in special cases. The philately section of the museum is nearby. There is a framed series of all Greek postage stamps with illustrations inspired by Mykonos and Delos such as the Windmills and the Paraportianí church.
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A 19th century urban bedroom Hall III contains all the comforts of a properly furnished bedroom in a 19th century urban middle-class home. The iron double bed has a decorated canopy, a silk quilt from 1850 and large pillows in embroidered pillowcases. There is a marble commode and a large walnut cupboard. Next to the bed there is an old-fashioned bidet. A plain copper basin and a towel rack embellished with the popular greeting Kaliméra (good morning) complete this charming setting.
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HALL ΙV
A Mykonian kitchen Hall IV was the actual kitchen of the building which houses the Museum. All the 19th century cooking implements are arrayed in the hearth, alongside examples of typical fuels of this era: brushwood, grape vines and dried cow-dung. The kitchen is also equipped with a small water jug with its ladle and a plate rack with a space for a decanter. On the counter lie the roasting pan and hand-grinder, used in the old days for grinding coffee beans. In two glass-fronted cupboards there are various cooking utensils, tableware as well as a collection of replicas of baked goods (Easter kouloúres, Christmas breads and local sweets) and even a glass flytrap. The basin essential for kneading bread dough -which sometimes did double-duty as an infants’ cradle- is next to the small sink. Also on display are several items of everyday use: the pinakotí (a long, wooden utensil for the baker to put the loaves of bread to rise before baking), a glass ice bucket, a stone salt-grinder and a mousetrap. On the wall hangs a birdcage and cupboards, one with a collection of small coffee cups and implements for home baking and confectionery, another with an assortment of copper cooking utensils. Cheeses, a wire basket for eggs and a fanári, an indispensable food-box for keeping flies away from any foodstuff during the pre-refrigerator era, are all hanging from the wooden ceiling.
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HALL V
Manuscript archives and the library
Rare editions exhibited in Hall Ι
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The books, manuscripts and printed matter contained in the Library and the Foundation’s Archives are available for scholarly research and study. Part of the collection is kept in a separate, small room by Hall I whereas the main body is now located in Hall V. Some items, including books, photographs and postcards are on display in conjunction with various exhibits around the museum. The library contains several thousand books and other publications concerning Modern Greek popular culture and its various expressions. Of particular importance is the Collection of Old Greek Publications. This includes editions produced, from the 16th to the 19th century, in the main centres of the Greek typographic industry (Venice, Central Europe and, later on, Athens, Constantinople and Syros). The oldest book in this collection is an exemplary of the first folio edition of the five Books of Medicine by the physician and philosopher Galen of Pergamos (AD 129-216), printed in Greek by Aldus Manutius (Venice, 1525). This volume, in its original binding, bearing many Greek ex-libris, is on display in Hall I, along with another edition of Galen, the second Latin edition of the previous work, with an ornate renaissance binding (H. Froben, Basel, 1538). Similar books were used as scientific manuals by generations of physicians, up until the 19th century, when the science of medicine underwent revolutionary changes. The third book on display here is the Eisagoge eis ta Geographika kai Sphairika (An Introduction to Geographical and Global Science, MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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HALL V
Manuscript archives and the library Paris, 1716), a book of special interest, an innovative work of the Age of Enlightenment by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Chrysanthos Notaras (1663-1731). The author, being an important scholar of astronomy and mathematics, produced the first ever study in Greek on matters of geography and astronomy. From the same period and in the spirit of the European Enlightenment, there is also a rare set of works by the scholar and professor Konstantinos Koumas (1777-1836). In the museum’s library, there are books by well-known modern Greek authors who were inspired by and worked in Mykonos, including Melpo Axioti (1905-1973), Andreas Karandonis (1910-1982) and Michalis Karagatsis (1908-1960). The library, recognized as one of the finest in the Aegean, has also a large collection of popular publications: all the Mykonian newspapers and several publications by various associations functioning in past years. The Archives of the Folklore Museum of Mykonos contain several hundred documents (17th-19th century). Among these are the archives and the Codex of the Monastery of St. Panteleimon in the Marathi area of Mykonos, notarial records and other administrative documents (including 600 legal notices in broadsheet format and encyclicals), evidence of the efforts made during the 19th century to organize the administration of the Modern Greek state. Other documents in the archives include ship’s logs, insurance contracts, invoices and also many maps and engravings. The classics scholar and academic Linos Politis assisted in the job of cataloguing this rich collection. Since the beginning of the 20th century, due to their particular significance relating to the history of the Cyclades, a large portion of the archival material from MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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The Codex of the Monastery of St. Panteleimon
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HALL V
Manuscript archives and the library
Mykonos has been incorporated into the General State Archives in Athens and another part is shared with the Mykonos Municipal Library and the Historical Archives of the Cyclades in Hermoupolis, Syros. More recently (2009-2010), the Mykonian Archives were located and systematically recorded by the National Hellenic Research Foundation, under the guidance of Professor D. Dimitropoulos. This task was funded by the Municipality of Mykonos and the Prefecture of Cyclades.
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Nicholas Sourmelis (1832-1898) Nicholas Sourmelis was born in Mykonos in 1832. Although he was trained in the island of Syros as a commercial seaman, he was also an outstanding marine fighter. After he was decorated for his efforts in the Crimean War in 1854, he joined the Syros Steamship Company, where he worked for over thirty years. In the two Cretan revolts against the Turks (1867-1868 and 1878), he served on various armed commercial vessels, breaking through the enemy lines time and again, in order to provide the Cretans with food and ammunition as well as to transport women and children to safety. His country home and the surrounding garden at the Vrissi area in Mykonos was famous for its beauty. His town residence houses today the Maritime Museum of the Aegean whereas there is still a stall with his name in the church of St. Kyriaki in town. Journals and logs from his days on the steamship ‘Panellinion’ can be found in the Archive Collection of the Museum.
Above: Oil painting of the merchant ship Kaloudo Below: Small merchant sailboats and caiques in the old harbor, early 20th century (Oil painting by M. Inglessis – private collection)
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HALL V
Dressing and toilette of the Mykonian woman Every item in the small space of this exhibit comes from old town households and concerns a 19th century Mykonian bourgeois lady, shown completing her toilette. On display nearby, is the Collection of Antique cast-iron Flatirons, for pressing and starching garments, household linens and lace. On the walls of Hall V are various framed illustrations, from old travel books, showing Mykonian women’s apparel from the 17th up to the 19th century, by travellers such as J. Spon and G. Wheler (1675 & 1679), O. Dapper (1688), J. P. de Tournefort (1700), ChoiseulGoufier (1776) and others. Other such gravures and original garments can also be found in Hall I and II.
Engravings of Mykonian costumes by J. P. de Tournefort, 1700
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HALL V
Popular art and ceramics Hall V also contains two bookcases and two display cases containing a collection of pottery from the Mediterranean. There are examples of traditional ceramics from Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, (Rhodes, Crete etc.), Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, Italy, France, Spain, Majorca and Tunisia. A few locally produced items have been made in the Kaminaki area (Skalaria) in Mykonos Town. Ceramics are on display in Hall II as well. Of great interest in Hall V are a few figures from the popular Greek shadow-theatre Karaghi贸zis, characters created and made by the master artist Evgenios Spatharis. From Hall V, the stone steps lead us down to the largest hall of this museum, Hall VI.
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HALL VI
Mykonos and the sea
Mermelecha’s well in Hall VI
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Hall VI, which occupies an area of 105 square meters, contains everything that celebrates the relation of Mykonos to the sea. The hall itself has a strange history, including a legend that Professor V. Kyriazopoulos loved to narrate in the following words and which we believe is worth hearing: “I would have been very young, the right age for fairy-tales, when I heard my grandmother, Mario Malouhaina say, pointing to the plot next to her house, right by the sea, in the Kastro: ‘Right there, by the marble staircase, was the well of Mermelechas the pirate. My lord (her father, Capta-Nicholas Malouhos) filled it up with earth, after the time that Taro (her youngest sister) fell in there and almost drowned.’ For me, the history of the pirate Mermelechas made the most interesting, dream-inspiring, listening; it was my great favourite among the fables told to me, back then, by my grandmother and her good neighbour at the Kastro, Anezo Despotina. And so it was: Manolis Mermelechas was an awesome, terrifying pirate, active during the pre-revolutionary period (before 1820), who indiscriminately made his raids upon Muslims, Franks and Orthodox victims alike. The following verse about his ship, the Bella Vienna, typifies his inhuman hard-heartedness: Oh Bella Vienna full of woes An’ from the scuppers the blood flows An excellent sailor, Mermelechas always managed to evade the ships of the Ottoman fleet that pursued him during the summer months. When he ventured out of the Hellespont into the White Sea (the Aegean), he had the two-fold objective of both collecting the taxes from the islands as well as combating piracy (an activity in which, nevertheless, he was also competing relentlessly). Thus, every summer, the Turkish fleet MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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HALL VI
Mykonos and the sea anchored off Naxos or Paros, the largest of the Cycladic islands, and awaited delivery of the taxes. Things went ‘ from bad to worse’ with Mermelechas and one summer, the Kapoudan Pasha anchored his flagship in front of the Kastro of Mykonos and commanded the Mykonians to ‘…bring Mermelechas to me or I will set you all on fire!’ Terror struck the island, for the pirate was indeed on Mykonos. But who dared to lay a hand on him? Then, however, the unexpected occurred. Mermelechas, a pirate and also an intrepid man -who may have been concerned about his historical reputation- took a skiff and went alone to the Kapitana (the pasha’s flagship). As soon as word got out about this, the entire populace of Mykonos gathered on the seashore, with the priests standing in front (and there were many priests in Mykonos at that time). Naturally, they were expecting to see Mermelechas strung up, hanging from the ship’s yardarm. Much to their surprise, after a while, the pirate, all smiles, was seen returning to shore with the skiff. Instead of dirges, the priests started chanting hymns of praise and glory to God and, from then on, Mermelechas became a living legend. Precisely what the Pasha, who was more of a politician than a seafarer, and the pirate discussed was never disclosed. However, it seems they reached an agreement, something that was not at all unusual in those times. In any case, from that time on, Mermelechas never went out on a raid again. He broke up his gang, sold the Bella Vienna and became a baker. His bakery was just west of the site of today’s Folklore Museum. The well which has been associated with his name provided water and his flour was ground at the nearby Kastro windmill, the foundations of which, I remember, stood on a rocky extremity at the corner of the Kastro.” MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Wooden models of Mykonian caiques made by local artisans
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HALL VI
Mykonos and the sea According to other oral testimonies, Manolis Mermelechas started out as a pirate from the island of Psara. After the destruction of Psara 1824, he reached Mykonos, from where he continued raiding Turkish ships during the Greek Revolution. He brought along to the island his daughter Maria, who was cared for by an old local woman. Later on, Mermelechas became a baker. He has also gone down in history for his commitment to help widows and orphans, both when he was a pirate as well as during his time as a baker. The legend goes on to recount the fact that when the plague fell upon the island, Mermelechas never falling ill himself, became a grave digger for the numerous dead. He came to be known as mortis, i.e. immortal. Nevertheless, in 1854, during the second wave of the plague, he succumbed and died.
Frangias Famelis Local fighter in the Greek War of Pantalooned Aegean seaman in a color engraving of Independence against the Turks. the early 19th century In March 1821, Famelis purchased a wooden brig from a compatriot of his in Livorno. He used this boat as a commercial vessel for lees than four months after which point, he converted it into a fighting brigantine. Mykonian legend regards Frangias Famelis as an example of courage and bravery, a warrior notorious for his fighting against the Ottomans. In the Evangelistria church in Mykonos Town, there is still a silver votive offering, embossed with an image of a hand holding a dagger, a symbol of his fierce reputation. In the SE coast of the island, there is a beach bearing his name (Tou Frangia), which is believed to have been Famelis’s hide-out during the war.
Wooden model of a brigantine of the 19th century 64
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HALL VI
Mykonos and the sea In the summer of 1977, during the excavation for the construction of Hall VI, the foreman came upon a buried building. As the removal of soil progressed, a constructed vault was discovered, which led on down below, through walls carved out of rock, to the well at the back of the site. This is how the ‘Well of Mermelechas’ was revealed, still containing fresh water, even though situated so close to the sea. A huge broken storage jar was found nearby, stuck in beside the well. As soon as Mermelechas’s well was discovered, the plans for the new museum hall immediately changed and it was decided to preserve the well as an exhibition of living history. Since for centuries the wells near the shores of the island supplied fresh water for both the local and the pirate ships, it seemed fitting to bring back to life the water-supply process by setting up a ship opposite the well; a vessel from the Greek Revolution era, similar to those of Mando Mavrogenous and Frangias Famelis.
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Beloú model, Hall VI The Beloú was a type of small craft used in the central Aegean and especially in Mykonos since the 17th century. Made of wood, with a capacity of 10-15 tons, these boats were employed in commerce between the islands of the Aegean up until the World War II. They were double-ended boats with one mast, a sakoléva (type of spritsail) and a jib. Often, the Beloú is shown with extra sails (a small cross-sail at the masthead and another small sail on the bow).
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HALL VI
Mykonos and the sea
The Mykonian pre-revolutionary brig Panagia Trouliani, built in 1814.
This early 19th century brig is life-size, although only an 8-meter section of the ship is on display, as long as the available space permitted. The hull is a reproduction whereas all the other parts and equipment are original, in the exact working positions on the boat. Visitors of the Museum may walk up on the deck. There, projecting from the trapdoors are the old front-loading cannons, with their knotted rope safety harnesses. Alongside, there is a box full of cannonballs, the ships’ rudder, the winch which draws up the old anchor, a part of the ships’ mast, the pulleys, the oil lantern and the bell from the ships’ bow and much more. The research concerning the details of the ships’ design went on for almost three years although it obviously presented a number of problems. Stavros Kocheilas (d. 1988), the veteran ship-builder from the island of Ikaria, was responsible for the actual construction of the boat. In a showcase in the same hall, a number of models of Mykonian fishing caiques are shown togeth-
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19th century life-size brig
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Mando Mavrogenous (1796/7-1840) Mando Mavrogenous, a heroine of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829), was born in Trieste in 1796 to a very wealthy Greek family. She was the daughter of the merchant Nicholas Mavrogenes and of the Mykonian noble woman Zacharati Chatzi Bati. Her father was a member of the Filiki Eteria, a secret society of the 19th century, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule and to establish an independent Greek state. Mando herself became an active member of this Society on 1820. After the Greek Revolution broke out in 1821, she moved to Mykonos in the Cyclades where she actively encouraged the locals to take part in the revolt. She proceeded to outfit two war ships, thus spending her entire fortune in the cause of the war. Later on, she fought in several battles all over mainland Greece. For her involvement in the war effort, she was commended by Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of the newly formed Greek state. She was given the honorary rank of General –her being the only woman to achieve such a status- and was offered a residence in the first capital of Greece, Nafplio. After the unfortunate break-up of her romantic affair with the army official Dimitrios Ypsilantis during the revolution, Mando returned disappointed to Mykonos. She died in 1840 on the island of Paros, alone and impoverished.
er, while in another, there are models of 19th century ships from Mykonos. These wooden replicas constitute a first-hand historical source, as they were all made by local craftsmen and by sailors who had served on the very same ships, which they immortalised by their craftsmanship. Antique watercolors of 19th century Mykonian ships and old merchant ships of local ownership are displayed on the walls along with a series of maps and plans of Mykonos as it was recorded by sightseers and geographers who visited the island during the last six centuries. Framed pictures, watercolors and photographs of the first merchant steamships of Mykonos and passenger boats serving Mykonos and the Cyclades till the 1930s, are also on display. More front-loading cannons are located in the middle of the hall as well as large sailor’s sea chests and three display cases with navigational instruments: binoculars, sextant, barometer etc. There are also large replicas (2-3.5 meters) of small craft of the Aegean such as the beloú and the tráta, old fishing equipment, as well as tools used for ships’ carpentry. All of these exhibits create an atmosphere which recalls the bygone days of seafaring Mykonos. MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Annex 1
Lena’s House
LENA’S HOUSE
A typical 19th century Mykonian town house One of the annexes of the Mykonos Folklore Museum is Lena’s House. In 1970, George and Ioanna Drakopoulos, residents of Mykonos, donated to the Foundation a single-story building at the center of Mykonos Town, complete with its antique furnishings. Open to the public, Lena’s House functions as an autonomous museum unit where visitors can explore a 19th century middle-class Mykonian home. The floor plan of this house, in the Tria Pigadia neighbourhood, is typical of the period in which it was built. At the front, there is a large main room with a wide arch at the centre supporting the roof. Leading further in, there are two smaller rooms. At the back of the house there are two small courtyards, with a replica of a dovecote and a service room. The annex is named after its last occupant, Lena Skrivanou (d. 1968). The original furnishings of the house, all 19th century or older, have been enriched by the donors and the Folklore Museum itself with the addition of several items from the same period. The living room An antique three-leaf table, Cycladic-style chairs as well as some from former periods, are set under the ornate oil-lamp hanging from the centre of the main sitting room. This room is also furnished with a living-room suite, a low skrínio, a chest of drawers, a console table, a brazier, a clothes rack and a lovely carved wooden trunk. On the walls, one can admire framed embroideries and antique mirrors, a series of large French prints, 19th century decorative plates and a watercolor of the ship ‘Otto’, a work by A. Kriezi. 70
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LENA’S HOUSE
A typical 19th century Mykonian town house The bedrooms An ornate gilded bed, made in Vienna, reigns supreme in the bedroom on the left. Other furnishings include the washstand set, complete with basin, pitcher and mirror, a closet, a couch, a trunk dated 1836, a traditional built-in wardrobe and a shelf with various household items. There are frames on the wall, one portable icon and a wedding-wreath preserved in its case. A walnut double bed, a wardrobe with a mirror, a dressing table, delicate chairs and armchairs -authentic Thonet of Vienna- plus a large chest and a bidet are grouped in the bedroom on the right. There is also a built-in wardrobe and old prints decorating the walls.
‘Pompei’, oil painting by M. Inglessis
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Annex 2
The Agricultural Museum at Bonis Windmill
AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
An outdoor agricultural setting
The Agricultural Museum of Mykonos was established subsequently to the 1st Symposium of the Folklore Museums of Greece (held in Mykonos in September 1984). Bonis Windmill, one of the Upper Mills (Apano Myli), located on a hill on the edge of town, dates most likely from the 16th century. This mill, with its surrounding plot of land, originally belonged to the old Mykonian family of Bonis and was acquired by the Folklore Collection of Mykonos in 1962. The presentday installations (threshing floor, oven, dovecote) of the Agricultural Museum next to the mill are related to the traditional activities and way of life of the island’s farmers. The windmill, the threshing floor and the oven are the three rural installations comprising the links in the essential process of wheat-flourbread, which for centuries has provided the locals with bread, the staple part of their everyday diet. Apparently in Mykonos there have not been any large estates since the Byzantine era, the Venetian domination or even later, under the Ottoman rule. Due to the relatively insignificant financial interest to its captors as well as to the specific economic and social structure of the island, land was -and still iscut up in small allotments, defined by bordering stone walls (xerolithiÊs). Within the framework of direct or indirect ownership, the complex of the Mykonian 74
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An outdoor agricultural setting farmhouse, along with its neighbouring supporting rural installations, was established as an autonomous economic unit. The intention of the Agricultural Museum is to preserve this ‘nucleus of productivity’, typical of what once was such a vital aspect of rural life in the Greek islands. This autonomous rural farmhouse (horió) is seemingly not very different from the equivalent unit of the Hellenistic era. (See A brief history of Mykonos, p. 8) At the Agricultural Museum of Mykonos, tools and machines from the pre-industrial and early industrial eras can be seen; some of these, such as the drawwell mechanism are in functional positions. There is a special collection of objects used in the past for the production and processing of agricultural products. These tools and machines were powered by various types of energy: either by manpower (hand and foot-operated), by draught animals (harnessed for transport, ploughing fields, threshing grain and also for powering oilpresses, sesame mills, waterwheels etc.), or by primary exploitation of natural energy sources (windmills and water mills).
Yeronymos Mill in operation (1950s)
Bonis Mill and Pendaras Mill in a colorized postcard of the fifties
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AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
Bonis Windmill For centuries, man has exploited the power of the wind for marine navigation. Wind-driven mechanical systems were gradually developed on land and resulted in increased agricultural productivity. In the East, mills and waterpumps utilizing near-ground wind mechanisms were in use by Persians and Arabs long before the appearance of the windmill in Europe. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, during the late Byzantine era, wooden mechanisms with similar functions were still powered manually or by draught animals. There is historical evidence that water mills were commonly used in water-rich areas. Researchers are not exactly certain who invented the first windmills with an upright sail-wheel. Where and when they were first used is also unproven; this revolutionary invention was introduced to Europe from the Middle East during, or immediately after, the Crusades (12th-13th century). The Knights of St. John, established in Rhodes (14th-16th century) probably played a significant role in its dispersal throughout the windswept South Aegean. The presence of windmills in insular Greece is documented in the Buondelmonti manuscript of 1421. During the extremely insecure centuries following the decline and fall of Byzantium, the windmills became for the islanders as much of a necessity as cisterns, granaries and bakeries. During the 18th century, navigation had resumed in the Mediterranean and commerce flourished along the sea routes between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. The favourable for the Greek trade, Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji (1774) between the 76
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Bonis Windmill Turks and the Russian Empire, resulted in greater expansion of marine commerce. The financial profits invested in acquisition of windmills, generated the launch of a small-scale preindustrial unit. In the past, the single windmill was a labourefficient machine and timesaving method of grinding cereals such as wheat and barley. At the windmill complexes, much larger quantities of imported grain could be processed rather than just the locally produced cereals, thus bringing prosperity to Mykonos and the other islands, which were used as ports-of-call or were developing their own merchant fleet. As a consequence, the interests of the existing commercial network between the islands of the Aegean were furthered. In the 18th century, during a period of relative peace in the area of the Archipelago, the presence of windmills, in groups of four up to ten, becomes the norm on the islands. From the late 18th until the mid-19th century, there were twenty-eight working windmills in Mykonos, in the town as well as in Ano Mera.
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Mill dating back to 1870 at Bassoulas, Ano Mera (owned by Spyros Papoutsas)
Dilapidated mills at Pyrgos, Ano Mera
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Bonis Windmill
Preparing the jib sails before grinding
Brushwood, used as fuel for wood burning ovens, was carried by animals (1955).
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The ownership of the windmill was co-operative and was divided in equal parts, usually as many as the number of the mill’s spokes (ten or twelve). The windmills’ proprietors were merchants, seamen and prosperous figures of the local society. Some were involved in agriculture or were owners of wheat warehouses or bakeries. Monasteries also owned windmills, an occasional effect of religious donations. The miller who, in return, got 10% of the produced flour operated the windmill. During the 20th century, the latter and final phase of the windmill history, it is quite common for the miller himself to be the owner of the mill. The steady winds favoured the business of grinding cereals (brought to the island by ship, from other, less windy areas) and the commercial development of the wheat-f lour-bread manufacturing chain. The town bakers produced paximádi (double-baked bread rusk), in their large, brushwood-fired, professional ovens, utilizing the available, abundant surplus of flour. These durable baked goods were in great demand by ships provisioning in Mykonos, passing on the busy shipping route between the Western Mediterranean, Smyrna, Constantinople and the Black Sea. Evidently, this exploitation of Aeolian power and the use of wild brushwood fuel were both essential components of the local economy. There are many reasons for the windmill’s popularity in the Greek islands. Using this new technology, people were able to exploit the most abundant MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Bonis Windmill power source available and to improve the extremely difficult living conditions in their small and remote island communities. The Cyclades is one of the windiest areas of the Mediterranean. Mykonos is especially windy as there are no more than ten windless days per year, on average. For example, during the month of July, at the Armenistis Lighthouse of Mykonos, there is an average 86% occurrence of northerly winds. The lack of water as source of power, the low humidity that can destroy the cloth of the sails and the wooden parts of the mechanism as well as the fine quality of millstone are the basic conditions for the expansion of the use of the windmill in the Cyclades. Moreover, during times when wheat and barley were the basic ingredients of the local diet, the windmill served as a time and labour-saving machine. The Mykonian windmill is a threestory, cylindrical, stone structure. Every windmill has four openings. The entrance, a heavy gate with a small wicket, is on the ground floor and there are two small windows, one above the entrance and another one, directly opposite, on the second floor. There is also the ‘cat hole’ in the wall for the small feline that hunts the scavenging mice as well as the nesting birds that destroy the toúrla, (the mill’s roofing: wooden beams, covered by a bamboo grid overlapped with bundles of dried bulrushes). MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Bonis Windmill
Pendaras Mill, just below Bonis Mill (1960s)
Weighing the flour after it’s been ground.
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The elevated ground floor is used for the collection and weighing of the grain. Narrow stone steps that project from the wall enable the loaded miller to reach the upper floor. The milling machine is on the second floor. The flour, falling from the revolving millstones, is collected in the patári (loft) on the middle floor. The sail-wheel of Bonis Windmill has twelve wooden spokes with the same number of triangular sails; this is typical, although there has been at least one example on Mykonos of a windmill with ten spokes. The horizontal axle, made out of one single piece of wood, about 8 meters long and 35 cm thick, rotates the large vertical wheel which in turn rotates a smaller gear which finally moves the millstone into grinding the seeds. The wheat or barley grains are held in a leather sack above the millstone. The rotation of the sailwheel regulates the rate at which the grain pours onto the stones and the speed of the milling itself. The flour produced by the grinding, due to the centrifugal power, gathers at the sides of the mechanism, from where it falls to the floor below (patári) and is packed into linen sacks. When the mill is in operation, the sails are adjusted in size according to the wind’s force, working safely at wind speeds measured between 2 and 6 degrees on the Beaufort scale. There is danger of damage to the mill’s mechanism if the wind is stronger (8 Beaufort is gale force). In conjunction with the rooftop of the mill, the entire weighty system of mastwheel-axle-wheel may be turned, on the vertical axis of the mill, in order to orient it towards the wind’s breath. The miller accomplished this laborious rotation by MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Bonis Windmill means of a large iron lever, utilizing the series of holes cut in the fixed, wooden, guide-rail on the inside wall of the mill’s upper section. The lubricant used for the rotation of the wheel was thick soap solution. In Mykonos, the prevailing northerly winds were a distinct advantage for the miller: the sail-wheel’s orientation did not need to be adjusted very often. The extraordinary quality of craft and design in building and operating the windmills of the Aegean signifies the remarkable popular expertise in mechanics which evolved through the centuries.
The grinding mechanism inside the windmill
Professor Soichi Hata’s Study Group, 1990
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The miller’s house The little house of the miller is very close to the windmill (SW), although built on a lower level. This is a typical Cycladic style farm building, cubeshaped, f lat-roofed, probably built at the same period as the windmill itself. It has been preserved just as it was at the time when it sheltered its owners, whose occupations were both farming and milling. The whole family used to sleep on an elevated wooden loft whereas the cooking took place in the maerghiós, a built-in fireplace which also heated the small room. An important Collection of Antique Farming Tools (temporarily stored in the miller’s house) includes wooden Hesiodic ploughs, svárnes (harrows), as well as both manually driven and foot-powered machines used in agricultural production in days gone-by.
The threshing floor
Winnowing with a pitchfork in the area of Mourzika (1994)
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The alóni (threshing floor) is a spacious circular structure about 5-6 meters in diameter, a stone-paved or plastered floor, 3-4 cm thick. It stands lower than the ground level, with upright, f lat stones set edge-to-edge around its perimeter. Threshing is the first stage in the processing of harvested grain (wheat or barley): work animals (mules, donkeys), under their owner’s careful guidance, trample the ears of grain on the threshing floor and the valuable seeds are separated from the straw. This dried hay will be used for fodder. The next step is winnowing: using a pitchfork (dekriáni), the crushed stalks MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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The threshing floor are tossed up in the air and the straw is blown away, leaving the grain to be collected from the threshing floor and stored in sacks in a dry place. The production of cereals in Mykonos (mainly barley) has decreased during the last decades. Many unused threshing floors may be seen near old farmhouses on the island.
Threshing in the area of Mourzika (1994)
The oven The last and most important stage in the wheat-flour-bread chain is the oven. On Mykonos, each large farm had its own outdoor oven. In small rural settlements there even used to be communal ovens, run by bakers, for the use of the surrounding community. From the beginning of the 18th century, in Mykonos Town, large bakeries (at certain periods, up to 20-25) supplied not only bread for the locals but also paximádi (barley rusks). During the Russian-Turkish War (1770-1774), it was these bakeries that provided the Russian fleet with rusks. In the past, all the ovens were fuelled mainly with frýana (brushwood) found in abundance on the island. In the wood-burning oven of the Yioras bakery, an old cavernous building in the Niohori neighbourhood in Town by the windmills (Kato Myli), delicious bread and rusks are still produced every day.
The oven at the Agricultural Museum Yiora’s traditional bakery in Hóra
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The winepress
Mavri Askatharia
Another processing installation is located nearby. The patitíri (winepress) is a traditional agricultural construction, which is still used in Mykonos. The island’s formerly significant production of wine decreased dramatically during the 1920s and 30s due mainly to emigration and, later in the 1970s and 80s, due to the advent of mass tourism. The winepress is still adequate for the needs of an average family production, a few hundred kilos of wine, made in the traditional method. It is an open square-shaped tank, plastered in the interior with kourassáni (a special impenetrable plaster, containing quantity of finely ground baked clay). In this tank, the vintners skilfully press the grapes with their feet and the moústos (grape juice) is collected in the podohári, an adjoining smaller, shal-
Mykonian Viniculture On behalf of the Amateur Vine and Olive Association of Mykonos (EROS), George Gal. Xydakis, member and viniculturist himself, has gathered substantial information indicating that chiefly local (Cycladic) varieties of vines thrive on the island. In the white wine category, varieties such as Askathari, Kouforogo, Aspri Xeromaherou, Pariano as well as Aspro Potamissi are predominant. A common rosé variety is the Serfiotiko whereas in the red wines, one comes upon Koudoura, Agianiotiko, Mavro Askathari, Mavri Xeromaherou and Mavro Potamissi varieties. Several more Greek varieties found their way to the Mykonian vineyards, as many islanders brought them back to Mykonos, impressed by their characteristics. A few examples are the Roditis, Savatiano, Moschato, Malagouzia, Sideritis, Assirtiko etc. In more recent years, the increased cultivation of imported varieties such as Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon etc. is evident. Since 2004, EROS has managed to distribute about 20.000 vines to the local viniculturists, with the support of the Municipality of Mykonos. The Association has also organised educational seminars on agricultural and vinicultural subjects, thus achieving a significant revival of vine cultivation and production on the island.
Mavri Potamisia vine at Halara
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The winepress low tank, positioned slightly below the ground level. Age-old traditions of viniculture and winemaking remain alive along with other local customs such as the hirosfágia (hog-butchering) and a number of other celebrations and rites. Mykonos wine was renowned in ancient times. Today there is still the placename Lino, deriving from the ancient Greek word linós which means winepress. Also strong evidence indicates that the ancient Greek god Dionysus -the god of the vines- was especially worshipped on Mykonos, as recorded on coins from the Hellenistic period, found on the island. (See A brief history of Mykonos, p. 8)
Aspri Xeromaherou white grape variety
Old wine press at Marathi
Serfiotiko white grape variety
Koudoura grapes drying on a rack
Water wells and reservoirs Mykonos is a treeless and dry environment, with low rainfall. There are no notable amounts of surface water, except for some rain-fed streams and small ravines, which hold water during wintertime, as well as a few wetlands which all dry up in summertime. The granite subsoil, in places where it has been eroded, ensures the underground storage of significant quantities of water, accessible by shallow wells, water which in turn supplies the stérnes (open-air reservoirs). These waterMYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Water wells and reservoirs
Draw-well in operation
tight constructions, built at ground level near the rural settlement, provide the water for all agricultural needs, through an irrigation system. Water holes, wells and draw-wells still supply some of the water necessary for the existing agriculture and animal husbandry. During the last twenty years, common practice led to deeper drillings (80-150 meters) in order to cover increased water consumption both at home as well as in the hotel and tourist industry. The Municipality has also constructed two water dams, operating as reservoirs, which can hold up to 4.000.000 m 3 of rain water. Water management issues are today of major concern, regarding long-term planning and the conservation of natural resources. In the island’s urban settlements (Mykonos Town & Ano Mera), the wells were the only source of fresh water in the period previous to the operation of the municipal water supply system. People used to carry water from the well to their homes in clay pots (ståmnes). From the 18th century up to the 1950s, the
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A natural rain reservoir in the area of Livadakia, Ano Mera
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Water wells and reservoirs Hóra was supplied by the Tria Pigadia (Three Wells), which are still visible today in the area by the same name but not in use any longer as well as from the other 7-8 wells in the town. The most primitive mechanism for pumping water from a well is called geranós and consists of a simple wooden construction operating as a crane. Such mechanisms eventually became extinct and were occasionally used only for wells in remote rural areas. The geranós was gradually replaced by another wooden mechanism called mágganos, which consists of a wheel with a number of clay pots (siggliá) hanging from it used to collect the water and bring it up to the surface. At the end of the 19th century, the components of this mechanism were replaced by cast iron ones and the clay buckets were made from metal, produced in the foundries of Syros or Piraeus. Such a contraption is on display at the Agricultural Museum. In the past, a donkey turned the waterwheel at the well, drawing up fresh water for the vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Today such gardens continue to supply the town with vegetable produce and flowers, sold by local greengrocers with their pannier-laden donkeys. Lákkes (water holes) are shallow depressions dug on sloping ground, resembling ancient wells typical of the region. They are made in such a way as to MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Cast-iron draw-well mechanism at the Agricultural Museum
Covered water hole at Varouhas
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Water wells and reservoirs
Trough in a pigpen
allow animals to approach and drink water from the open side, whereas the vertical gradient on the other sides is reinforced and supported by stonework. Such water holes can still be seen today in remote fields, although in simpler forms. In Mykonos Town, there is a neighbourhood called Lakka, named after the fact that there was a natural concentration of rainwater in the area. In t he Agricultura l Museum, the indispensable small water tank is next to the well and the fowls’ little water basin is carved in the rock nearby. In Mykonos, the stérnes or smaller sternákia (reservoirs and cisterns), located always next to the well, were used to store water temporarily. A small basin outdoors, such as the one seen at the museum, was used for laundry. Both portable and fixed ghoúrnes (the smallest-size basins) were used for watering domestic animals. These were carved out of hard stone (even marble) or made of clay. On rural settlements, cisterns of a much larger capacity, fed, through clay water pipes (loúkia), the irrigation system of surface water canals, dug on the ground. Some communal cisterns can still be found in town, including double basins that could be used simultaneously. Nowadays, new houses in rural areas are being built with enclosed underground cisterns of large capacity in order to cover their domestic needs, as they are not connected to the municipal water supply network.
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The dovecote The little dovecote next to the windmill has been built for the needs of the Agricultura l Museum. In original settings, dovecotes were never placed next to windmills, as pigeons tend to soil extensively the area they live in. This small dovecote is complete with rows of nests inside and provides hospitality to its winged occupants. The unusual design of the island pigeon-houses charms visitors and inspires artists. This kind of building is characteristic of the architecture of Andros, Tinos (in the Northern Cyclades) and Mykonos, but also of that of Sifnos and some regions of continental Greece (Arcadia, Mantinia and Mani in the Peloponnese). Le droit de pigeonnier, a medieval privilege of the European nobility, was the origin of the pigeon-house building tradition, which was widely adopted by the islanders in the Cyclades, after the Venetian rule ended gradually during the 16th century. Dovecotes are freestanding or -in the form of a small tower- part of a building complex such as a large farmhouse or a monastery. The small openings used by the birds are both functional and decorative: using thin flat stones, such as slate, the local craftsmen made marvellous compositions of geometrical shapes, exploiting areas of light and shade, often creating abstract floral motifs such as stylised trees, helixes and tendrils. The overall shape of the dovecote resembles the medieval towers built in the Cyclades. In the interior, a typical dovecote is divided in two levels. In the upper part, there are nests for the pigeons whose droppings are collected and used as a fertiliser in the fields. The bottom part is used as MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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The dovecote at the Agricultural Museum
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The dovecote
A dovecote at the Monastery of St. Panteleimon at Marathi Old dovecote in Mykonos (photo by Aris Konstantinidis)
a storehouse for equipment and animal fodder. The walls, both in the interior and the exterior are frequently whitewashed in order to preserve a hygienic environment. Peristéri, the Greek word for pigeon, is of ancient Semitic origin and means ‘bird of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar’, the equivalent to the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite. Pigeons were traditionally esteemed as symbols of purity and freedom as well as being a welcome addition to the basic diet of the locals as they were considered to be very nutritious and of delicate taste.
The pigsty
A pigpen, located outside the village for reasons of hygiene. 90
The large, half-roofed, pit of the pigsty is in another corner of the museum grounds. Every miller was able, with the surplus flour from the milling, to raise pigs as well as chickens. The breeding of domestic pigs contributed significantly to the nutrition of the islanders by providing large rural families with the necessary supplies of preserved meat
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The pigsty and fat to be consumed during the winter months. Hogs are butchered on Mykonos when the weather gets cool and windy, from late October until Christmas, as the cold, dry wind and the sun cure the meat products. Friends and relatives all lend a hand at the family hirosfágia (hog-slaughtering festivities); for both expertise and cooperation are required for the butchering and the preparation of a variety of pork products. Combining teamwork with fun, these gatherings, mark the beginning of winter and bear great social and ritual significance. Stewed organ meats and savoury herbs boiled with part of the hog’s head are among the fresh pork delicacies, consumed with gusto by the celebrants. The mixture of herbs and spices used to cure all these delicacies consists of wild oregano, thyme, allspice, salt and pepper. From the coarsely cut mincemeat used in the sausages, keftédes (meat balls) will be fried and served during the festivity along with increased consumption of local wine. The rest of the animal is preserved in the form of loukánika (sausages), loúzes (sun-dried salted filet), síssera & síglina (remains of meat fried and preserved in lard) and paídhes (sun-dried salted and peppered ribs). Large chunks of fat and meat are also preserved in salt and stored in clay containers. These are favourite items on the Mykonian festive table, where dishes such as boiled cabbage or provássia (wild greens abundant in wintertime) with lard are usually served, especially on New Year’s Eve.
Loúzes drying in the sun. In the old days, a loúza consisted of an entire pork fillets. Today, in order to be more marketable, they are smaller in size. MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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The twin chapels This rural setting is enhanced by the picturesque twin-chapels, St. Anthony and St. Nicholas, which constituted the old Bonis family altar. Every homestead had its own chapel; the plethora of votive chapels is a characteristic of the Mykonian landscape. After World War II, it was said that these chapels were as numerous as the days of the year. The locals continue the tradition of building chapels as an act of devotion. It is estimated that there are close to 800 chapels on the island today, among them some very old ones that have been designated as historical monuments by the Greek Ministry of Culture. The majority however have been built during the last two or three centuries. Ornamenting the Mykonian countryside, these charming simple constructions, with a (usually) red arched roof, are a vital component of the island’s spiritual and social life. The family responsible for each chapel makes sure that the fitting religious ceremonies as well as the proper festivities take place on the day of the Saint of the church in question.
Prof. Soichi Hata’s Study Group, 1990
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The feast of the vintage Each year, on the second Sunday in September, the islanders of Mykonos revive the old Feast of the Vintage, gathering with their families and livestock to celebrate all day long with food and wine at the site of the Agricultural Museum. The twin chapels are decorated with flags, clouds of pigeons f ly overhead, a little donkey turns the waterwheel and the windmill, its wooden framework creaking, spreads out its wings. Baking in the blazing ovens are kouvarotés (barley round bread) and poúlos (a type of loaf) as well as krommidópites (cheese and onion pies) and melópites (cheese and honey pies), all local specialities. In the winepress, youths crush grapes with their feet, the rhythm of their dance steps measured by the continuous music of the accompanying traditional music instruments, the saboúna and the toumbáki. The Feast of the Vintage, from the standpoint of ethnographic museology, is a diorama brought to life with the active participation of the descendants of the rural labour force of the recent past. The popularity of these festivities, gathering locals as well as visitors of every age and origin, reveals the need for old habits and customs to be kept alive. The Agricultural Museum of Mykonos is proud to be constructive towards this important achievement.
A baker and local musicians at the feast of the Agricultural Museum
Bonis windmill and the twin chapels (Lithograph by R. Tourte, 1950s) MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Activities of the Museum
Model of a loom, a dovecote and the ship of the pirate Mermelechas (opposite) from the Folklore Museum’s Children’s Art Workshop
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Every summer since 1995, the museum organizes the Arts & Crafts Class for Children, a project led by the former museum curator, Mrs. Dimitra Nazou. It is part of the Museum’s activities, allowing it to be a lively and expanding cultural organization within the island community. In this workshop, the children express themselves and acquire knowledge and skills through various craft techniques, wit hin the folklore context of the museum. Subjects such as ‘The pigeonhouse’, ‘Little boats’, ‘Pirates of the Aegean’, ‘Nymphs & Mermaids’, ‘Scarecrows’ etc., enable the children to pursuit their imagination as well as their abilities, being part of an unforgettable learning experience. At the end of the summer, the exhibition of the children’s achievements in this workshop is a living proof of the Museum’s contribution to the local historic and folklore awareness of the younger generations. Every year on Palm Sunday, from the courtyard of St. Helen’s opposite the Museum, a procession of children holding the Váyia (palm leaves decorated with flowers) starts walking towards the centre of the town, chanting hymns. The Folklore Museum is always open on this day, assisting in the organization of the festivities. During the Easter week, on Good Friday, while the ‘Epitaph’ of each town parish is being carried through the narrow streets of the Hóra, Lena’s House is open to the public, offering Lenten local delicacies. MYKONOS FOLKLORE MUSEUM
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Activities of the Museum On September 14th, the day of the Holy Cross, a religious service takes place at St. Helen’s, during which the priests bless the first seeds to be planted in the ground. The Museum is open, offering tea and coffee to the members of the congregation. Each year, on the second Sunday in September, the Museum organises the ‘Feast of the Vintage’ on the grounds of the Agricultural Museum, at Bonis Windmill. Islanders of Mykonos, as well as visitors, gather with their families to celebrate all day long with food and wine. Traditional music and dancing turn the day into a memorable folklore experience. Finally, the Mykonos Folklore Museum organizes or occasionally participates in exhibitions, group discussions and conferences about various aspects of the local history and tradition.
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