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The Isles of Greece inspired some of our oldest and most evocative myths. In an age of mass tourism, the Cyclades remain as enticing as ever.

By Barney Jeffries


It's the oldest story in the book. A wanderer sets sail across the Aegean, discovering new islands, enchantments and adventures over every horizon. Three thousand years after Homer, the lure of the Greek islands is as powerful as ever. A voyage of discovery beckons. These days, the risks of being attacked by giants or turned into swine by a sorceress are minimal. But beware: there are still those who find themselves bewitched by the islands.

From the decline of its ancient glory until the end of the 19th century, Greece was fought over constantly by various occupying powers. Venetians, Franks and Ottomans have all left their imprint. These days, there are more foreign invaders than ever, as millions of sun worshippers from all over Europe flock to the beach resorts. Yet Greece retains a proud national identity, and its culture and traditions live on.



This is a country where Orthodox priests in long beards and tall black hats drive around on mopeds, and chic young women break off their mobile phone conversations to cross themselves when they pass a church. Teenage boys while away the hours in cafes playing backgammon just as their grandfathers do, the only difference being in their choice of coffee: while the old men drink bitter Greek coffee (known as Turkish coffee in other parts of the world) the young opt for Nes frappe, iced instant whipped up with a lot of sugar and condensed milk.

Taxi drivers cover their dashboards with icons and blue beads to fend off the evil eye (apparently considered more hazardous than overtaking on a blind bend). Though some islands have cottoned onto donkey rides as another way of milking money from tourists, on others donkeys are still the main means of transport. Greek music, which bears a strong Eastern influence, is everywhere: whether traditional songs plucked out on the bazouki or the latest chart entry, the plangent chromatic tones are unmistakable.




Greece has about 1500 islands, of which over a hundred are still inhabited. They range from large, famous lands with their own histories and traditions, such as Crete and Rhodes, to remote backwaters, home to a handful of families and some wild goats, visited by few tourists. The Ionian islands, with their grand Venetian mansions, lean towards Italy. The Dodecanese and the islands of the North-East Aegean are closer to Turkey than to Athens, the dusty hills of Asia clearly visible just a short swim away. Yet every island has its own identity, its own distinctive feel. Take the time to explore, and you'll find the one for you.



The Greek islands hibernate in winter. Hotels and restaurants close and ferry services are cancelled as the gales whip their way across the Mediterranean. In the height of summer, the swarms of package tourists descend to sizzle in temperatures upward of 100F. The best times to travel are from April to June, or in September and October. The weather is warm but not so hot as to sap all your energy. The tourist infrastructure is up and running, but prices drop as supply exceeds demand. You can find deserted beaches or even have an ancient archaeological site all to yourself.



A visit to Greece is likely to begin in Athens. In preparation for the 2004 Olympics, the capital has built a much-needed new airport and an improved metro system. A trip to the peerless Acropolis, the cornerstone of Western civilisation, is essential, while the archaeological museum has one of the world's greatest collections. Sadly, modern Athens is an ugly concrete sprawl with terrible traffic congestion and pollution. After a day or two, most visitors are ready to leave the Olympic city and hop on the metro to the port of Piraeus.



Here, a bewildering array of ferries and hydrofoils await to carry you off to the island of your choice. Travel agents abound, but there's no need to use them: you can buy tickets from the booths by the boats directly before boarding. The ferries are cheap, as their prices are regulated by the government. Hydrofoils - known as Flying Dolphins - are about twice the price, and get you there in half the time.

Unless you arrive at an island in the middle of the night or the middle of winter, you're sure to be approached by a local asking if you need a room. If you'd rather check out the options for yourself, look for signs saying domatia or 'Rent Rooms'. It pays to shop around. Don't be afraid to refuse accommodation that you don't find suitable, or to haggle over the price. Domatia offer good value for money, although out of season you may find hotels are just as cheap.

Once upon a time, these domatia were simply spare rooms which families rented out in their own houses. These days, they're more likely to be purpose-built apartments with en suite bathrooms and cooking facilities. Even so, the owner may invite you into their house for a cup of coffee. It would be bad form to refuse: Greeks take their hospitality seriously.



The Cyclades:

So where to go? The Cyclades are the best place to start. There are frequent ferry connections between the 24 inhabited islands in the group, making them an ideal destination for the novice island-hopper. The Cyclades are your archetypal archipelago, wind-swept and sun-baked. Ragged cliffs give way to sandy beaches. Sugarcube houses of dazzling white are festooned with bougainvillea, while the painted woodwork and church domes try to out-blue the sky and the sea.



The islands were the cradle of the first great Greek civilisation, known as the Cycladic period. Five thousand years ago, while the rest of us had barely emerged from our caves, the people of the Cyclades were sailing all over the Mediterranean and mining the fine white marble of the island of Paros to sculpt elegant statues which anticipated Henry Moore by some 50 centuries.

Ancient mythology illuminates the Cyclades. It was on Naxos that Theseus abandoned Ariadne. She didn't pine for long though, getting together on the rebound with the god Dionysos, who found the fertile, vine-lined valleys of the group's largest island a favourable venue for his wild parties. These days, Naxos hosts the annual Big Chill, one of Europe's coolest music festivals.



For a more Bacchanalian time, neighbouring Ios is the place. The island claims to be Homer's last resting place, but few visitors come to search for the bard's tomb. It's a place to rave the night away, then sleep off the hangover on the beach.

If this isn't your scene, Anafi provides the complete antidote. The most remote island in the group, with a population of just a couple of hundred, Anafi was summoned from the waves by Apollo, when Jason and his Argonauts were caught in a storm.

Apollo and his sister Artemis were born on the isle of Delos, and were worshipped there from the 8th century BC onwards. The tiny island became a leading religious and commercial centre thanks to its sacred status and strategic central position. But in 88BC it was ransacked by the invading King Mithridates, and 10,000 inhabitants were massacred. Delos is now uninhabited, and it's impossible to imagine so many people once lived there. But they've left an impressive legacy of temples, theatres and luxurious houses - the most important archaeological site in the Cyclades.

Day trips to Delos are available from several islands, but the most convenient is Mykonos. This is the place to come for cosmopolitan nightlife, expensive hotels and restaurants, trendy shopping and pretending to be a film star. It's also Greece's number one gay venue. The labyrinthine town, with its distinctive windmills and the waterfront houses of 'Little Venice', is one of the most beautiful in the islands. Travellers looking for the "real" Greece - and to save money - might want to steer clear, though.



Also expensive and overrun with tourists is Santorini (also known as Thira). But this shouldn't put you off: Santorini is unlike anywhere else in the world, and it's no surprise that it's the top destination on everybody's itinerary. If you've been in Greece for a while, you'll already have seen its cliff-top houses, pastel churches and celebrated sunsets on countless postcards. But nothing prepares you for the wonder of sailing into the island for the first time.

Santorini's extraordinary landscape is the result of a massive volcanic eruption in 1450BC - one of the most cataclysmic in history - which destroyed most of the island, leaving a narrow crescent of land with steep cliffs and beaches of black and red sand. The vast submerged crater, or caldera, is still active, so much so that new islands have sprung up literally overnight. It's tempting to believe the legend that the city of Atlantis is to be found down in these depths.

While some boutiques in Santorini practically demand you use your American Express card, you need to make sure you have euros in hand when you visit the smaller islands, where you won't find a bank. You might find you stay for longer than you expected as the meltemi wind, which can pick up at any time, leaves them cut off from the rest of the world for days at a time.

To be isolated - in the original sense of the word - in a gale is to appreciate the other side of the island idyll. At these times, the islands seem little more than rocks in the middle of the ocean, their human habitation a foolhardy mistake. In Greek mythology, and The Odyssey in particular, the god of the sea, Poseidon, is an angry foe. Throughout history, the islanders have had to battle against the same sea which provides their livelihood.



Island life has never been easy. On Folegandros, the most ruggedly beautiful island in the archipelago, it's easy to imagine the day-to-day struggle for existence. The steep, barren hillsides have been carved into rocky terraces - years of painstaking, backbreaking labour to provide a little poor land for cultivation. You can understand why thousands of people left the islands through the last century to seek an easier life on the mainland, or in Melbourne or Chicago. Tourism, for all its discontents, has done much to improve the quality of life for the islanders.

The people of the Cyclades haven't only had to battle against the elements. The dramatic hilltop capitals of Folegandros, Amorgos and Serifos were built as refuges from the pirates who used to ravish the islands. The narrow cobbled streets of these and other old island villages, with their overhanging archways and winding stone steps, are a delight to wander around. But don't be surprised if you soon lose your bearings: the streets were laid out in this maze-like way in order to confuse invaders.



Despite, or perhaps because of, the hardships they have had to face, the Greek people are devoted to the pleasures of life. On national holidays (of which there are many), saints' days, and especially at Easter, the streets come alive with dancing, processions in traditional costume, and even more eating and drinking than usual. But the islanders need no excuse to take the time to enjoy themselves. Siga, siga is the mantra: slowly, slowly.

Eating out in Greece is considered a part of everyday social life, not a luxury for special occasions, so tavernas are friendly, cheap and unpretentious. Avoid the tourist places with their fading photos of pizza and chips, and go where the Greeks go. For the full experience, arrive late - the tavernas don't start filling up until ten or eleven, and it could be well after midnight when somebody gets out a bazouki and people start singing. The retsina flows freely, and meals may last for several hours.

Greek food is best shared. The practice is to order a selection of different appetizers, or mezedes: the ubiquitous tzatziki (a yoghurt, cucumber and garlic dip), grilled feta cheese, fresh vegetables fried in olive oil, stuffed vine leaves, salads, mashed fava beans... Main courses - if you still have room - include freshly caught fish or meat cooked over a charcoal grill. You may even be invited into the kitchen to see what's cooking. If you're serious about food, then Sifnos is the place to go. This lovely island has the reputation of producing the finest chefs in all of Greece and, not unconnected, some of the best olive oil.



If the Cyclades have whetted your appetite, there are ferry connections with the other island groups. To the north, excellent beaches and a warm welcome await on the pine-covered Sporades. South is Crete, Greece's largest and, in the eyes of many, most beautiful island, and the last stop before Africa. East towards Asia are Rhodes and the Dodecanese, and the mountainous, rarely visited islands of the North-East Aegean.

The last ferry you'll want to catch is the one back to Athens. Odysseus' journey home from Troy took over ten years. It's easy to understand why.

A few final thoughts:

Prices in Greece have risen sharply since the introduction of the euro in 2002. However, accommodation, eating out and public transport remain cheap by European standards. In most areas, you should be able to find a decent double room for 25 euros a night, and two people can be well wined-and-dined for less than that.

Part of the fun of island hopping is that it requires very little planning - you can stay or move on wherever and whenever you feel like it. Still, a good guide book is a valuable companion. Lonely Planet and Rough Guides each publish excellent books on both Greece and the Greek Islands. There's little to choose between them: the Rough Guide has the more encyclopaedic information, while Lonely Planet probably shades it for witty and evocative writing.

Photo Credits: Barney Jeffries; and contributed.


© 2004 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES