Milos, as in Venus de

The last island on our six-day Greek cruise was Milos, with its rugged terrain formed from volcanic eruptions.  From the island's website:

"Milos, like many islands in the Cyclades, was born from volcanic activity. But what makes Milos special is that its landscape was largely shaped by a series of volcanic eruptions. Imagine molten lava spewing from the earth, forming the rugged terrain we see today. Over time, the cooling lava and volcanic ash created the island’s unique topography.

"The island is essentially a volcanic caldera, which is a fancy way of saying that it’s the result of a massive volcanic explosion that left behind a large crater. This explosive history is what gives Milos its incredible variety of rock formations, mineral deposits, and stunning white cliffs you see in places like Sarakiniko."

I'm getting ahead of myself.  Yet another gem in the Aegean I knew nothing about, we dropped anchor at the harbor town of Adamantas on schedule for everyone's excursions; but there was some sort of problem connecting the island-shuttle to the ship's portal, so our departure was delayed about 35 minutes.

For that reason we zipped through our first stop: the Mining Museum; but once someone asked if there was a bathroom, the 'tour' basically became a pit stop for those who shoulda gone before they left home. (Here's a miniature version of long-ago mines.)

The rest of us were shepherded through a small room, walking one-way 'round this thing (l) we've all seen in Indiana Jones. The walls held displays full of objects which were, to me, quite boring.  I dropped Geology after the first class so was unappreciative of my surroundings; however, to others, the island is considered a Geologist's Dream:

"The island is a riot of colors, thanks to the various minerals deposited by volcanic activity. In places like Firiplaka and Tsigrado, you’ll find beaches with red, yellow, and orange hues. These colors come from minerals like sulfur, iron, and manganese, which were brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions and later shaped by the elements.

"These vibrant colors aren’t just pretty to look at—they’re a geologist’s dream. The rich mineral deposits have made Milos an important site for mining since ancient times. Even today, the island’s economy benefits from the extraction of minerals like bentonite and perlite."

So there you go.  I didn't mind not spending much time at the museum but I don't like being rushed, just to have to wait for stragglers (and no, they weren't all Seniors).  Plus I had to watch my vacation pennies, so paying full price for the ever-condensing excursion was something I was learning to swallow.  Shit happens.  The streets were empty of activity, shops all closed, a few restaurants open.  It was only mid-April so the Season had not yet begun, despite all the tourists already there.

I was happy to run into a familiar face on this excursion.  'Martha' and I met the first day of the cruise, for we were part of the same muster squad (learning what to do if forced to abandon ship).  She came on the cruise courtesy of and accompanied by her two strapping sons, to celebrate her 83rd birthday, doesn't she look beautiful; plus she's in shape and doesn't need glasses, imagine.  I vowed to start wearing makeup again.

While Martha's (married) sons nimbly scurried up and down these slippery slopes of Sarakiniko, occasionally waving "they're good", she and I chit-chatted while trying not to freeze, the wind was brutal.

In no time, it seemed, it was time to say goodbye, for my group's tour was still behind schedule.  Turned out our bus driver had another gig immediately following ours; so if anyone wasn't at the designated place on time, Dimitris wasn't waiting.

Look how beautiful the water!

Here's a bit of history to accompany photos as we head into the hills:

"The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was fought betwween the Peloponnesian League, an alliance of Greek cities led by Sparta; and the Delian League, an alliance led by Athens." (You may recall the Delian League from Delos.)

Melos, a colony of Sparta, attempted to remain neutral.

"Athens invaded Melos in the summer of 416 BC and demanded that the Melians surrender and pay tribute to Athens or face annihilation."

(Photo, below right:  ruins of the ancient city of Klima, above today's picturesque fishing village.)

"The Melian Dialogue," a dramatization of the negotiations between the Athenians and the Melians before the siege, written by the classical Athenian historian Thucydides.

"In the negotiations, the Athenians offered no moral justification for their invasion, but instead bluntly told the Melians that Athens needed Melos for its own ends and that the only thing Melians stood to gain in submitting without a fight was self-preservation. The Melians refused, so the Athenians laid siege to their city.  Melos surrendered in the winter, and the Athenians executed the men of Melos and enslaved the women and children."

It is taught as a classic case study in political realism to illustrate that selfish and pragmatic concerns motivate a country to war.  Sounds like Russia and Ukraine.

Our bus pulled into the already-busy parking area and we walked along the road until we were greeted by this statue in the middle of nowhere:

Aphrodite of Melos, or
Venus de Milo

This roadside reproduction was created in 2022 by Imerys S.A., a French company specializing in the processing of industrial minerals.

We were led down an upaved, rocky path and stopped before a scraggly tree (below) marking the spot where the statue was found.

Here's the story our guide, Andreas, told us:

"One day in 1820, a local farmer was digging on his land in search of building materials for something-or-other and accidentally unearthed the statue of Aphrodite.  Discounting it for his purposes, it is theorized the farmer, during his search, may have hacked off her arms while looking for flat pieces of marble."  As we'd already learned, swiping pieces of crumbled ruins was pretty commonplace through the centuries.

"A nearby French soldier witnessed the discovery and recognized the significance of the find, and Venus de Milo was purchased from the farmer for the price of a donkey. (The farmer thought he got the better end of the deal,  Andreas, chuckled)."  Here's more detailed info, from Wikipedia:

"Olivier Voutier, a French sailor interested in archaeology, witnessed the discovery and encouraged the farmer to continue digging.  Voutier and the farmer uncovered two large pieces of the sculpture and a third, smaller piece. A fragment of an arm, a hand holding an apple, and two herms were also found alongside the statue."  (A herm is a stone pillar with a head on top.)   "Dumont D'Urville, a French naval officer who arrived on Milos shortly after the discovery,  wrote an account of the find.

"After stopping in Melos, D'Urville's ship sailed to Constantinople, where he reported the find to the Comte de Marcellus, assistant to the French ambassador, the Marquis de Rivière.  Rivière agreed that Marcellus should go to Melos to buy the statue.  By the time Marcellus arrived at Melos, the farmer who discovered the statue had already received another offer to buy it, and it had been loaded onto a ship; the French intervened and Marcellus was able to buy the Venus. It was brought to France, where Louis XVIII had it installed in the Louvre. Contrary to the usual practice at the time, the Venus was not significantly restored but was exhibited in the state in which she was discovered.  It was believed that the Venus was originally part of a group with a sculpture of Mars, and since the entire Mars was missing it was impossible to restore the sculpture."

The French government donated a reproduction to the island, housed in the Milos Archaeological Museum (we didn't go there), but the original is staying put in Paris (I have seen that one; kinda nice when things go full-circle).  Now before you begin huffing indignation at yet another un-returned piece of art to its homeland:  since the statue was purchased (fair and square, ostensibly) and not stolen outright, it is not considered the same as the Elgin Marbles, for instance.  The farmer undoubtedly had more use for the donkey than the statue.

I chose the Step Back in Time (Religious) excursion, so after this we went down into the catacombs.  When I signed up, it never occurred to me that I'd be walking down a bunch of stairs, what was I thinking?  Once again I was grateful I'd brought my traveling walking stick, since there weren't any handrails on this daunting path.

There was a limit to the number of people admitted to the actual catacombs - around 10; so the rest of us milled about until it was our turn.

'The Catacombs of Milos, in Milos Island, dating from the 1st - 5th century, are among the three most important of the 74 discovered worldwide, together with the catacombs of Rome and the Holy Land. It is possible that the Catacombs of Milos are older than the ones of Rome."

And, these catacombs are the only ones in Greece, and are the second largest catacombs of Europe, after Rome. Single-file we walked on the cordoned path, and again I had trouble seeing my feet in the dark.  

Used for the burial of early Christians, 290 tombs containing approximately 8,000 bodies have been found.  They stacked them up, using flat stones between.  Someone asked whether the small arched area was for a child but we were told no; probably for candles and offerings.  Could be either, but because of the bodies being stacked, the candle area makes more sense, to me, it's so dark.

While the catacombs are quite extensive, the tour was a small 'loop' then out the door so the next group could pass through.  Here's a link with a virtual tour, since these photos are atrocious, still learning the camera.

Here I must pause, for the thorn-in-my-side woman with abominable manners (from the House of the Virgin Mary, in Turkey) haunted most of my excursions, including this one.  After 5 days I was convinced it was a test of my patience; and another one of life's annoying learning experiences.  I made it a point to be in a different group of ten.

When we were through, I looked up the stairs and wondered if I'd make it.  When I got to the top I met Martha and her sons; one of whom asked if I was alright, since I was huffing and puffing and about to pass out.

"Yes (cough), I'm fine, thanks," wheeze wheeze.

From the catacombs, Dimitris drove us the short distance to the capitol city of Plaka, a charming town all closed up but still pretty to look at.  It sits on top of a hill with a spectacular view.

This, from the island's website:

"Plaka is one of the most picturesque places to visit on the island, with traditional Cycladic architecture. Its narrow alleys are full of whitewashed houses with brightly painted windows and balconies that are decorated with bougainvillea flowers."

We followed cheerful Andreas through the narrow streets, stopping briefly at places of note.  As we politely formed a single circle around him to listen,  this is where that thorn, rather than moving elsewhere, stopped directly in front of me, blocking my line of site entirely to the guide and point of interest.  I froze so as not to cause a scene and never did hear Andreas's words since I was busy keeping Amy from knocking the woman out of the way with my cane.  We grappled inside my head with different scenarios; until finally I won out, realizing that I'd wind up looking bad no matter whose fault.  THAT's when I grew up, at least a bit more.

And the lesson?  Never again will I allow someone else's sour nature spoil my good time, from my lips to God's ears.  Perhaps I recognized a bit of the old me in her; at least enough to vow to keep my thoughts and spirits high, it's still a struggle.  Inwardly proud of myself, I did, however, keep my distance and chose to wander a bit from the group to get some unpopulated shots.

These are the places where expats come to live - cheaper than the more popular islands.  Looks tempting, no?  I really liked the stone-art incorporated into the plazas, here's some more history:  

"Milos has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (7000-2800 BC) and developed much quicker than its neighboring islands due to its hard, black, volcanic material of glass-like appearance, obsidian."  Or Dragonglass.

"The city was destroyed and rebuilt three times by its inhabitants. The Classical Period was a hard time for Milos. Its inhabitants fought on the Athenian's side during the Persian Wars. Nevertheless, during the Peloponnesian War, they tried to remain neutral to protect their independence."  And we already know how that went.

In more recent times:  "British and French forces used Milos as a naval base during the First World War. The island provided shelter for many refugees after the catastrophe of Asia Minor in 1922. The Germans invaded Milos during World War II (May 1941) and built fortifications in many villages for their safety. The people of Milos resisted the German invasion heroically and raised the Greek flag on their island on the 9th of May 1945. Many inhabitants left the island because of the harsh living conditions and moved to Athens and the United States. Nevertheless, with the appearance of tourism, Milos and its inhabitants experienced major development."  Each island seems to have some sort of Memorial to resistance fighters, and Plaka was no different.

Loved this interesting corner...what lay behind those stone walls?

There was one restaurant open so some of the group opted to remain and walk back down to the harbor, but not me.  The catacomb-climb, followed by walking the streets, did me in. I kept snapping on the way to the bus, but had difficulty getting decent shots on such narrow streets.

Like other islands, inhabitants built their homes behind stone walls to try and repel pirates.

Now here's a fun recollection:  on the ride back to Adamas, jolly Andreas entertained us with his rendition of Sean Connery reciting the poem, Ithaka, by Greek poet Constantine F. Cavafy.  I won't reprint the poem here, but the link is to a Poetry site.  In a nutshell:

"The journey to Ithaka in the poem can be seen as a metaphor for the journey of life, emphasizing the importance of enjoying the process, setting goals, overcoming challenges, and gaining wisdom along the way."

The bus was silent as Andreas spoke in a really terrible Scottish accent, timing his words precisely to fit the drive.  When he finished he bantered some more, then asked,

"So, is this the best tour you've been on during your cruise?"

The bus remained embarassingly quiet until I piped up,

"The best Guide!"  People laughed; Andreas was pleased; and I got a, "Good answer," from the back of the bus.  Everyone was in good humor.

Stepping off the bus I gladly dropped the obligatory gratuity into his hand and also into Dimitris's tip box on the dashboard; but I still need improvement, for when Andreas asked what I thought of his impression, before I knew it I blurted,

"That was really bad...but I liked it!"

What is wrong with me?!  At least I made amends when I asked whether he knew that Ithaka had been recited at the funeral of Jackie Onassis. No, I didn't, he said with happy surprise, so it's likely to become part of his repertoire down the road, pun intended.  I sure hope my thoughtless words don't stop him from enjoying his time as 007.

Those of us returning to the ship were packed into the shuttle waiting area, where I had a fun conversation about old musicals with a young man from the chorus.  He'd recently become interested, and since a good portion of Mom and Dad's vinyl collection contained lots of them, I was able to suggest a couple he hadn't heard of.  I saw Martha and sons in the distance, but we never did meet up again.

Couples were gathering on deck for a final sunset as the ship departed at seven to arrive in Athens by morning.  Me, I looked at the sunset but then turned towards Adamantas to admire the light hitting the buildings, before heading inside for the buffet.  Nice.

Up next:  Last Stop - Loutraki

To read from the beginning:  Athens and the Parthenon