Lucire
The global fashion magazine October 8, 2024 
The Acropolis at night, with scaffolding to one side.The Acropolis at night.
 

Greek drama

Volante
On his maiden voyage to the heart of antiquity, George Rush witnesses first-hand the collision of ancient and modern cultures
Photographed by the author

 

 

The Temple of Hephæstus. Pillared structure at left of image, surrounded by trees. The Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion, at the Acropolis. against a blue sky. Owl from the Odeon of Perikles, carved and on display. Braided tresses of caryatid, Acropolis Museum. Descending on the Lycabettus Hill funicular, through a narrow tunnel.
Above, from top: The Temple of Hephæstus. The Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion, at the Acropolis. Owl from the Odeon of Perikles. Braided tresses of caryatid, Acropolis Museum. Descending on the Lycabettus Hill funicular.
 

Arriving in Athens for my first foray into Greece, I was glad to see the smoke from the recent wildfires in Marathon had cleared. But the sky was still ablaze. Helios’s chariot was pushing temperatures toward 38°C, prompting guardians of the Acropolis to bar tourists till 5 p.m. When I finally got in, the Parthenon stood unwilted, even grander than it looked in kitschy colour photos found in New York City’s ubiquitous Greek diners. Most of its marble deities—the ones the Earl of Elgin hadn’t filched—now dwelt in the city’s fantastic museums, alongside exquisite funerary monuments chiselled before Cleisthenes, father of Greek democracy, prohibited Athens’ competitive super-rich from extravagantly commemorating themselves in stone.

After a few days in Athens, I laid siege to the Peloponnese. Flanked by my long-time travelling compadre, Terry Ward, we obliterated 4,000 years of civilization in two days. Aided by Henry Miller’s The Colossus of Maroussi, we conquered the citadels of Tiryns, Argos, Mycenæ, and the Palamidi Fortress of Nafplio, among other dens of antiquity. For entertainment, I recommend the amphitheatre of Epidaurus, where thousands came to see a chorus of 50 actresses perform The Suppliants, written by a red-hot new playwright named Æschylus.

continued below

The Temple of Zeus at Nemea, surviving from antiquity, on a sunny day. Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenæ. Image shows a very tall walled structure. The Lion Gate at Mycenæ, with two lions carved into stone. Passage to cistern at Mycenæ. Figure standing at the doorway down a flight of steps. Epidaurus Amphitheatre, with only a few visitors seated.
Above, from top: The Temple of Zeus at Nemea. Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenæ. The Lion Gate at Mycenæ. Passage to cistern at Mycenæ. Epidaurus Amphitheatre.

 

Then it was on to Hydra: a rocky island ruled by lazy cats. All wheeled vehicles are banned, so mules and donkeys serve as bellhops. Most of the shopping, dining, and people-ogling occur around a snug port. There are a few bars and clubs, but nothing like throbbing Mykonos or Corfu. That may be why National Geographic Traveler anointed it Greece’s top isle for ‘integrity of place’. Climb upward and you’ll have the pleasure of getting lost in a maze of 19th-century mansions built by the seafaring heroes of Greece’s independence. Climb a little higher and you’ll reach the Monastery of the Prophet Elias, where the view made me briefly reconsider the priesthood. The holy retreat looks down upon the pines that survived a June fire which destroyed almost 3,000 acres of forest. Authorities have linked the inferno to fireworks shot from the superyacht of a Kazakh oligarch.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Greek painters like Nikos Ghikas and Panagiotis Tetsis and expats like Patrick Leigh Fermor and Leonard Cohen made Hydra, then down-at-the-heel, a bohemian destination. More recently, Brice Marden, Matthew Barney, and Kara Walker are among the contemporary sirens who’ve lured the Art Basel crowd to its pebbly beaches. During my week there, irritable pieces by George Condo were on display at the Deste Foundation’s Slaughterhouse, a former abattoir now crowned by Koons’s Apollo Windspinne sculpture. The twirling rays of his drowsy sun slice the light like daggers. The cliffside gallery is the creation of iconoclastic Cypriot billionaire Dakis Joannou. His 114 ft yacht, Guilty, gaily decorated by Koons, was moored in the harbour. Despite his world renowned art collection, Joannou calls himself an ‘anti-collector’, insisting that he lives to share his treasures with the public. Hmm—would Cleisthenes have allowed that? •

continued below

George Condo’s irritating paintings at Slaughterhouse. Couple in photo seems disinterested in the paintings. A yacht moored in the bay, sun setting behind it. A young boy sits on a wall in the foreground. A bright blue door. Two monks with three donkeys. Garish-painted yacht, called Guilty. Church with bay behind it. Elaborate ceiling in church with a figure of Jesus Christ. Fish being weighed on scales, at 800 g. A cat stretching on a wall with a bust of a naval hero to the left. People sitting at tables high above the water, looking out at the view. Others are down below in a flat area amongst the rocks.
At Hydra: George Condo’s irritating paintings at Slaughterhouse. Yacht at sunset. A typical azure door. Monks return home on their donkeys. Dakis Joannou’s yacht Guilty. Church of Panagia. Ceiling above the altar, Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Fish lunch at Taverna Marina. Languid cat meets naval hero. Total immersion: sunset cocktails and a dip.

 

Greco roamin’

George Rush’s insider tips for Hydra’s attractions, expeditions, libations and lodgings

 

 

George Rush has contributed pieces to Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, Men’s Journal, Departures, Travel & Leisure, and Spy, among others. He is a guest contributor to Lucire.

 

 

 

Related articles hand-picked by our editors

Seaside-based hotel, up on the hills
Santorini’s state of Grace

Indulge in luxury accommodation, fine food, and authentic experiences at the Grace Hotel in Imerovigli, Greece

 

Two deck chairs and a private pool overlooking the water.
When Greece reopens, head for the islands

Stanley Moss is looking at the top properties to head to once travel restrictions ease, and where better than two destinations in the Greek islands?

 


Foothills getaway in Asolo

Stanley Moss says heading up the hill to Asolo from Venezia reveals a more soothing, calm location, away from city noise and, at the Albergo al Sole, finds a haven at the top of the village
Photographed by Paula Sweet