The team says that this is the first definitive evidence that the two-metre-high sculptures were not pristine white, as they appear today, but were precisely painted, as most sculptures from antiquity once were.

The pigment, which was widely used until 800 AD, was identified on sculptures that formed parts of the decorated east and west ends of the Parthenon temple.

It has been known for more than two centuries that the Ancient Greeks and Romans painted their statues.

That paint has almost completely disappeared over time, although tiny flecks can be found on most statues on close inspection.

Unusually, no trace of paint has ever been found on the Parthenon sculptures, despite thorough analysis, including a full investigation by the renowned British physicist Michael Faraday in the 1830s.

Giovanni Verri, a physicist in the museum's department of conservation and scientific research, developed a technique to exploit the fact that Egyptian blue emits near-infrared radiation when excited by visible light.

His portable detector comprises a light-emitting diode that beams red light onto the surface being examined, and a camera that can detect the infrared light emitted by the pigment particles.

"The distribution of the pigment is also a key issue in proving that the sculptures were painted," said Verri.

For example, the pigment found on the winged messenger goddess Iris traces just the belt restraining her billowing tunic, and nowhere else on the figure.

Greek conservators have recently observed greenish flecks on remnants of the Parthenon frieze that are in Athens, but have not reported analyses of them.

"We informed our Greek colleagues of what we found and they responded warmly, saying they are interested to examine these flecks themselves," said Verri.

"I always believed the frieze must have been painted," said Ian Jenkins, senior curator in the British Museum's Department of Greece and Rome. "This new method leaves no room for doubt," he added.

According to Verri, these frieze flecks could also be Egyptian blue, and is keen to examine them with his portable detector.

It was purchased by Sapounakeika’s foreign residents – the majority of whom are European – as a way of saying thank you and expressing solidarity with their Greek neighbors, many of whom are suffering because of the crisis. According to the records of the Municipality of Southern Kynouria, foreigners have purchased 301 homes in the areas of Tyros, Sapounakeika and Melana. The highest concentration of these homes is in Sapounakeika.

This community of foreigners also includes dozens of people who have married and chosen to settle in Greece, as well as others who rent holiday homes.

As a result, this tiny region has transformed into a colorful mosaic of cultures, resembling a small European Union.

“It’s the Europe that we’ve always wanted,” Apostolos Zikoglou, who is based in Germany, told Kathimerini. Zikoglou and his wife, who have bought a house in Sapounakeika, plan to move to the village for good someday.

“Germans, Belgians, Austrians, Dutch, Italians, Danes, Norwegians, French, English and of course Greeks – we all live in harmony here and respect each others’ traditions. If only it were like this in the rest of the world,” said Zikoglou, who left Greece for Germany in 1966.

He studied, married and settled in Germany, but his dream of returning to Greece never faded.

“I wanted to enjoy my country, which remains beautiful despite the crisis. My wife and I traveled around Greece in search of a place where we could permanently settle. And we found it here.” The couple sold their apartment in the Athenian suburb of Palaio Faliro and bought an old house in Sapounakeika.

Foreigners’ sudden love of this region is what has kept the area alive.

“Greeks who went abroad have been returning to invest in the villages where they grew up since the 70s. They have built beautiful homes,” the mayor of Southern Kynouria, Yiannis Triantafilou, told Kathimerini.

The settlement of Europeans in the region provided Tyros and the surrounding area with the boost it needed to withstand the crisis.

“They either bought old houses that had been abandoned by locals – who moved to the coast or urban centers in search of work – or they built entirely new homes. Besides restoring our villages, the foreigners have created new jobs for local craftsmen and builders, and helped reduce unemployment.”

Music teachers from Heidelberg, Scandinavian architects, Dutch scientists and Mediterranean artists have made Tyros a unique and open multicultural community.

“The fact that we found so many different people here who are also incredibly hospitable and unified helped us make the decision,” said Zikoglou.

“We really like it here,” he added. “What’s left for us is to decide whether or not we want to make this our permanent home. You know, it’s strange: When we left Greece decades ago, we left our parents behind. Now we are leaving Germany and leaving our kids behind.

By Lina Giannarou

ekathimerini.com

What is Cookisto?

It's an online community that allows you to find tasty, homemade food wherever you are or enter your own homemade creations. For the more advanced, it is like the eBay of eating.

How did you get the idea?

When you're literally hungry, you become inventive. The idea was born when we realized how easy it is for someone who cooks for himself or his family, to increase the number of portions and share them with other people. The occasion for its implementation was Michalis' thesis. Panagiotis Paradellis undertook the technical part, and soon John Asimakopoulos (Community Manager) and Demosthenes Nikoudis (programmer) joined the team. The crisis was a positive factor for the success of Cookisto, since now people are looking for new innovative alternatives even in food!

Who is your target?

Cooks (people who cook at home) and foodies (people who love homemade food). A cook can be anyone loves cooking, is passionate and wants to share their passion. Do celebrity chefs also cook for us? Sure! In Cookisto.com you will find cooks from talented housewives to professional chefs. From stuffed gemista to sushi! The truth is that the gemista are currently ranked higher in popularity so far ...

Give us some reasons for us to become members as well.

Only in Cookisto can you find delicious, healthy meals from talented cooks at cost prices! Finally people who love to cook are given the opportunity to show off their talent through our community.

How can we verify if the Mrs. Maria from Kipseli has not put parathion in the spinach or simply does not respect the basic rules of hygiene?

Such ventures are feasible because technology now allows us to trust strangers. This is the power that Cookisto utilises as do other similar platforms, such as Ebay and Airbnb. Now you can stay in the home of a stranger for a night, rent the car of your neighbor, choose someone to help with your small daily chores and the list goes on ... So by connecting your Cookisto accounts to other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, it adds an extra level of trust towards you. Of course, the main role reflection of trust can be found in the reviews and ratings of other users that are also a strong indicator of future quality of the service of the chefs.

Do you make any profits?

Currently, we do not. Our priority is to create an active community and for people to love our application. In the future, each user will be able to buy cookisto credits, use them for transactions, and we will retain a very small commission.

How do you imagine Cookisto after 10 years?

It is difficult to plan ahead for 10 years... However, we have dreams and aspirations. We have now started with Athens as our focus. In the future we plan to expand to other Mediterranean countries, as we believe that both the cultural significance around homemade food and the economic crisis are favorable factors.

How have people reacted in this short amount of time you've been online?

Results so far have exceeded our expectations. After one month of effective functioning, we have 240 cooks and more than 1,700 foodies and already through our platform have delivered almost 400 servings!

Author: Nenela Georgele

Near the village Vourgareli, is the village Skiadades, the birthplace of Professor Christos Lambrakis, founder of the Modern Language headquarters in Geneva.
The Red Church of 1821, located in the village Paleochori of Vourgareli, known as Panagia Vella, a leading Tzoumerka Byzantine monument, which dates to the late 12th century and its name is probably from the red and black bricks that decorate the exterior walls of the monument. It is an exquisite specimen of art; it is a cross-shaped church with no dome on the type of ministry with diverse housing, and at the east it ends in a three-sided apse.

The Monastery of St. George of 1974. During the Turkish occupation, it was a spiritual and religious center, home supply and support of the population throughout the region Tzoumerka. In the spring of 1821, the chieftains of Tzoumerka, of Rodovizio and Xiromero were gathered in the monastery, in order to coordinate the fight and declare a revolution in the region of Arta. Vourgareliotes also found the monastery as a shelter when the Germans bombed and burned their village in 1943.

Notable points of interest:

1. the stone arch bridges "Neradogefyro" in Vourgareli, located beneath the playground in Bardis,
2. the bridge near the large fountain on the way to Athamanio,
3. the study of the library in Igglesio with rare books,
4. the taps in the village square called Archonto, Crystallo and Leptokaria down at the health center.

Participate in events:

1. Mountain Festival in June
2. Cultural events in 4 to 12 August in Vourgareli Square
3. At local festivals of the Prophet Elias on July 20 in Vourgareli and in the Red Church at 7 to 8 September in Paleochori.

Source: Xenion.gr

New Rhodes Town

The New Town of Rhodes shapes a triangle on the northern part of the island and offers everything a contemporary big city can offer. In the market you shall find expensive boutiques, numerous clothes, shoes, home appliances and umbrella stores, restaurants, bars and clubs. The port of Mandraki, just across the great Castle’s main gate, used to be the naval hub of the district during ancestry.

The mosques, the Muslim cemetery, the Italian neoclassical buildings, the fortress of Agios Nikolaos and the medieval towers will always remind us that Rhodes was indeed in the crossroad of many civilizations, each one leaving on the island its own mark. Don’t forget to visit the lovely garden Rodini, Monte Smith, where the Temple of Apollo is, the Aquarium and the new Casino.

Ancient Kameiros

Ancient Kameiros is a place of great archeological history and features many archeological findings: temples, the ancient agora and the acropolis. Ancient Kameiros is located at approximately 30km west of Rhodes Town and is dated back to the 3rd century BC.

Kameiros was once united with two equally important cities of the island, Ialysos and Lindos, on the 5th century BC in order to form the big city-state of Rhodes. This city was named the Pompeii of Greece, because no one really knows why it was totally abandoned, living behind only remnants of the Ancient Agora, a Doric temple and few still-standing arches.

Filerimos

The hill of Filerimos can be reached from the village of Trianta and after crossing a lovely pine forest. The area got its name during the 13th century from a monk that came from Jerusalem and brought a miraculous icon of Virgin Mary with him. On the top of the evergreen hill he built a small chapel dedicated to Virgin Mary. Later on, the Knights of Saint John constructed a big monastery.

The Acropolis of Ancient Ialyssos is on the hill of Filerimos, as well. Visit the church of Virgin Mary and admire the amazing natural beauty and serenity of this place.

Source: Cycladia.com

The photo is of Perivoli. This is just a rough start to the presentation of a huge Greek region, Pindos, which extends from Northern Greece down to Attiki. To this region belong many of the high mountains of the Greek mainland, such as Smolikas. The reason for this introduction is that Pindos was my first mountaineering-trekking experience, some 10 years ago - and a revelation, since I have always been a "person of the sea-side". It is needless to mention the beauty of Pindos. No-one can understand this beauty, except if one gets there - which we wish to everyone.

Flora - Fauna - Climate

The landscape is on a grand scale with peaks of limestone and serpentine rock rising to 8200 ft from an extensive region of natural beech and pine forest at the headwaters of the Vikos and Aoos rivers. Although the climate is warm in summer, the Pindos mountains remain green long after the winter snows have thawed. In spring and early summer meadows are ablaze with alpine and other wild flowers, including an amazing abundance and variety of orchids. Towards autumn as the leaves begin to turn, just as colorful are the forests of beech and hornbeam. Overall, perhaps the greatest attraction of the Pindos mountains is that one can find a greater solitude here than in many other mountainous areas of Europe. Our route on this part of the trek followed shepherds' and muleteers' footpaths, ancient tracks and some newer Forestry Service access roads.

The Pindos region is thinly populated and much of the lower ground is still covered by dense forest within which live wolves, bears and lynx. Griffon vultures soar above the peaks, while Egyptian vultures haunt the gorges.

The high alpine pastures are grazed in summer by flocks of sheep, which are milked to produce the many excellent local cheeses such as kefalotiri.

Level of difficulty:

This trek is designed for those who are in good physical condition, take regular exercise and enjoy hill-walking. It will be necessary to carry usual day-sack contents, minimum overnight requirements and some food.

Equipment and clothing:

If you are already a hillwalker you will probably have all the clothing and equipment you need. The climate is warm at low altitude and light clothing should be brought, as well as warm, and stormproof clothing for high-level walking. A sheet liner is needed for the nights in huts and a sleeping bag of about 3 season warmth is needed for camping on Smolikas.

A tomb complex dating back to the Iron Era was found in the area of Drama's Industrial Zone. A Macedonian tomb of Hellenistic times which was found in the city, close to Dikastiria square, proves that the city has been inhabited since the historic times.

During the middle Byzantine era (9th-13th century) Drama was fortified with a castle and was commercial and a military junction. By the end of 19th century, the tobacco production and trade, the operation of the railway (1895) and the improvement of the road network towards Kavala port led to the increase of the city population and the boost of its commercial activity. In the beginning of the 20th century, Drama was under Bulgarian occupation and participated in the Macedonian War of Independence. It was liberated on 1st of July, 1913 by the Greek army. Drama is located 688km NE of Athens and 175km NE of Thessaloniki.

The rich forests of the prefecture, which is made up of mountain slopes, rivers and caves, churches, monasteries, castles and bridges come together to make up a unique area in terms of prosperity while at the same time offering a variety of things for a tourist to do. Such a wealth of natural and manmade beauty and history throughout the whole Prefecture calls upon us to explore it and get to know it better.

To read more, please visit drama.gr