Archive-name: greek-faq/cultureăLast-modified: 1993/03/26ăăSoc.Culture.Greek Frequently Asked Questions and Answersă========================================================ă(Culture)ă=========ăLast Change: 16 March 1993ă(no time to edit it this week! Sorry!)ăăMany FAQs, including this one, are available on the archive siteăpit-manager.mit.edu (alias rtfm.mit.edu) [18.172.1.27] in the directoryăpub/usenet/news.answers. The name under which a FAQ is archived appearsăin the Archive-name line at the top of the article.ăThis FAQ is archived as greek-faq/cultureăăThere's a mail server on that machine. You send a e-mail message toămail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu containing the keyword "help" (withoutăquotes!) in the message body.ăăItems Changed:ă--------------ă--ăăLines which got changed, have the `#' character in front of them.ăAdded lines are prepended with a `+'ăRemoved lines are just removed. Use 'diff' to locate these changes.ăăI have included my comments within braces '[' and ']'.ăăNikolaos Fotisăă========================================================================ăăThis text is (C)Copyright 1992, 1993 of Nikolaos C. Fotis. You can copyăfreely this file, provided you keep this copyright notice intact.ăăCompiled by Nikolaos (Nick) C. Fotis, e-mail: nfotis@theseas.ntua.grăăPlease contact me for updates,corrections, etc.ăăDisclaimer: that's only a hasty collection of texts and information as Iă(or other people) remember it, so this file is worth only what you paidăfor it (and even less! ;-) )ăă========================================================================ăăSubjects:ă=========ă1. Bookstores that carry Greek booksă2. Greek cuisine -- recommended books??ă3. Greek wines -- reference book(s)ă4. The 12 Greek Gods : who are they?ă5. Greek Popular Musică6. Athens Restaurantsă7. Greek Mythology - Various questions, reference booksă8. Travel Information -- Greeceă9. Greek shortwave (SW) stationsă10. Greek Coffee, Reading Turkish groundsă11. Ways for a Vegan to survive in Greeceă12. What was the Mythical Labyrinth??ă13. Greek Muses (in Greek)ăăProposed future subjects:ă[ Please send me info to stuff these subjects!! -- nfotis]ăă Graduate studies in Greece that are interesting for non-Greeks?ă (eg. archaeology)ă Is there any decent backgammon program?ă[any ideas/info/... ??]ăă==========================================================================ăăI ask the people to send me stuff in order to make this file moreăcomplete. I'm just a kind of editor, and I cannot know everything.ăăYOU'll determine if this FAQ is good or not!ăă=========================================================================ăă1. Bookstores that carry Greek booksă====================================ăăHere are some addresses of stores/institutionsăselling/publishing Greek books/periodicals/newsletters, in no particularăorder:ăăUS/Canada :ă-----------ăăUniversity of Toronto Bookstoreă214 College StreetăToronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 3A1ătel.: (416) 978 7905 (ancient Greek)ă 978 7923 (modern Greek)ă(ask for the books used by the Classics departmentă ancient/modern Greek courses)ăăModern Greek Studies AssociationăBox 1826, New Haven, Connecticut 06508ăU.S.A.ă(ask for their Journal of Modern Greek Studies,ă their newsletter, bulletin, conferences, etc.)ăăPrinceton University PressăPrinceton Modern Greek Studiesă41 William StreetăPrinceton, NJ 08540ăU.S.A.ătel.: (609) 258 4900ă (800) PRS ISBN or 777 4726 (orders)ă(ask for a list of their books on modern Greek studies)ăăPella publishing company, inc.ă337 West 36th StreetăNew York, NY 10018ăU.S.A.ă(ask for a list of their books in general)ăăSchoenhof's Foreign BooksăCambridge, MA.ătel: 617-547-8855.ăăGreek books can be purchased in Montreal at the Greek Community Centre.ăFor more info. (prices, etc.) write to:ăăCommunaute Hellenique de MontrealăCentre des Etudes Helleniquesă5777, ave. Wilderton,ăMontreal (Quebec),ăCanada H3S 2V7ăăAttn. M. ChatzinikolaouăTel. (514) 738 2421 (until 17:00 EDT)ă (514) 340 3576 (after 17:00 EDT)ăăUK :ă----ăă[ Can anyone bring us the FAX/phone numbers ? - we think that the area codeă is 071, but we aren't sure ]ăăThe Hellenic Book Serviceă122 Charing Cross Road WC2ăLondonăphone 836-7071ăăZenoă6 Denmark Street WC2ăLondonăphone 836-2522ăăKimon Bookshopă87-88 Plender Street NW1ăLondonăphone 387-8809ăăăLocated in Greece:ă------------------ăOlympic Book Centeră16 Efroniouă116 34 AthensăGreeceăăAvastatikes EkdoseisăBibliopwleio Diovusiou Notn KarbiaăAsklnpiou 67ăGR-106 80 A0HNAăăEkdoseis - Palaiobibliopwleio "KOYLTOYRA"ăMavtzarou 4-(Solwnos 54)ăGR 106 72 A0HNAăăEkdoseis - Bibliopwleio Stratns G. FilippotnsăSolwnos 69 & AsklnpiouăGR 106 79 A0HNAăăEkdoseis AposperitnsăEressou 9ăA0HNAăăEkdoseis DwrikosăIppokratous 72ăA0HNAăăEkdoseis EpikairotntaăMauromixaln 60ăGR 106 80 A0HNAăFAX : 36.36.083 - 36.07.382ăăEkdoseis Pellaă0eof. Papadopoulos & Yios O.E.ăKwletth 15 & Emm. MpevaknăA0HNAăăEkdoseis StoxastnsăMauromixaln 39ăGR 106 80 A0HNAăFAX : 36.09.197ăăEkdoseis KardamitsaăIppokratous 8ăGR 106 79 A0HNAăăă2. Greek cuisine -- recommended books??ă=======================================ăăLook at gatekeeper.dec.com (anonymous ftp), under the directoryăpub/recipes (there's also a compressed tar file that contains allăthe files). Familiar names were:ă(I just did a 'dir', and these were some names I found familiar)ăăavgolemono, avgolemono-2, baklava, briami, kourabiedes, lamb-kebab,ălasagna-1..4, margarita-1, meat-kebabs, melomacarona, moussaka,ăspanakopita, spanakopita-2ăăFrom: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)ă----------------------------ăăI can't attest to their authenticity, but the recipes in Jack Santa Maria'să"Greek Vegetarian Cooking" are absolutely yummy, which is enough for me.ăIt's in print in the UK (Hutchinson, I think) and you can get it in mostălarge bookshops.ăă3. Greek wines -- reference book(s)ă=================================ăăLambert-Gocs, Miles. "The Wines of Greece". Faber & FaberăLondon, 1989(?)ăăIt contains over 2 hundred Greek wine brands, their characteristics,ăhistory of large and small producers, etc.etc.ăăă4. The 12 Greek Gods : who are they?ă======================================ăăIt's rather easy to remember most of the 12 Gods of Greek AncientăMythology. The most easy to remember are:ăăZeus, Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, Hermes,ăDemeter, ArtemisăăThe number 12 is the most troublesome:ăă> From: cla02@seq1.keele.ac.uk (Richard Wallace)ă> Newsgroups: soc.culture.greekă> Subject: Re: REQUEST: Greek GodsăăThe most usual list has Hestia as number twelve. She was the goddess ofăhearth and home, and so a rather passive figure, and from time to timeăpeople seem to have thought that she didn't really earn her place, andăput someone else in instead.ăăSo far as I know, Hades is one of the twelve only in the list in Plato'săPhaedrus (and perhaps, by implication, in the Laws),ăand there Plato makes it quite clear that HE has made theădecision to leave Hestia out. I think Hades does not figure in theănormal lists because they are the twelve OLYMPIAN gods, and Hades doesănot normally come to Olympus (though Poseidon does).ăăSometimes you get Dionysus instead of Hestia. He is a rather aberrantăgod anyway (either because he was a late-comer to Greek religion or forăsome other reason) - in any case he doesn't normally appear in the list.ăăThere is some evidence that there was a local tradition at Olympia whichăsubstituted Kronos, Rhea, and Alpheios (the local river god) forăHephaistos, Demeter, and Hestia, and there are other cases of theăinsertion of local gods into the list in particular localities,ăpresumably out of local patriotism.ăăMostly, they referred to them simply as 'the twelve', no doubt leavingăit open to each individual to write in his own list!ăă[ Personally, I feel that Dionysus was mentioned most often in theă mainland Greece mythology, at least in Attica -- nfotis ]ăăăFrom: G0900@vmcms.csuohio.eduă-----------------------------ăăTHE MAIN GODS AND GODDESSES OF THE ANCIENT GREEK RELIGIONăăGreek Latin meaningăName Nameă--------- ------ăZeus Zeus, Jupiter Master of the sky, father of theă gods and men.ăăHera Juno Wife of Zeus, protector of marriageăăPoseidon Neptune Brother of Zeus, god of the seaăăAthena Minerva Goddess of wisdom, protector of artsă and craftsăăApollo Apollo God of the sun and musicăăArtemis Diana Apollo's sister, goddess of huntingăăAphrodite Venus Goddess of beauty and loveăăHephaestus Vulcan God of fire, protector of metală workersăăAres Mars God of warăăHermes Mercury Messenger of gods and god of tradeăăDemeter Ceres Goddess of agricultureăăPersephone, Kore Proserpina Demeter's daughter, queen of theă Underworldă (Hades)ăPluton, Ades Pluton King of the UnderworldăăDionysus, Bacchos Bacchus God of wine, vegetation and fertilityăăAsklepios Aesculapius God of medicineăă5. Greek Popular Musică=======================ăă [This is from an article originally posted to soc.culture.greek byăJon Corelis.]ăă Greece has an exceptionally rich and varied musical tradition, soăthat it's difficult to know where to start. But the most popular Greekămusic, both in the country and with foreigners, is probably music of theătwo types called "rebetika" and "laika."ăă Rebetika music has sometimes been called the Greek blues, andăalthough musically it's not like the blues at all, the comparison is anăapt one in that like the blues, rebetika music grew out of a specificăurban subculture and was associated with a certain type of life-style,ăin which poverty, oppression, sex, alcohol, drugs, and violence playedăprominent roles. Rebetika music basically grew out of the culture ofăthe Greek refugees from Asia Minor in the early 1920's. These peopleăwere settled in Athens and other areas and continued to live for theămost part in their own communities, usually under conditions of greatăhardship. They created through the fusion of the Anatolian musicalămodes they brought with them with native mainland Greek musicalătraditions a unique new type of music called rebetika (no one reallyăknows where the name came from) which reflected both the rough,ăoppressed condition of their lives and the resilience, toughness, andăgood humor which enabled them to survive.ăă Rebetika is also similar to the blues in the development of itsăsocial position. In the twenties and thirties it was popular with theăurban poor who created it, later it became scorned as "low-class" music,ăand then in the sixties it experienced a revival, becoming immenselyăpopular among young people, some of whom formed their own rebetika bandsăto revive the music of the great rebetika artists of the past.ăă Giving a discography for Greek music is always a bit difficult, sinceărecords tend to rapidly go in and out of print. But I'll give the namesăof a few popular records which are probably still available. Perhapsăthe best place to start is with the soundtrack album from the filmă"Rebetiko," issued in Greece by CBS records. This film, which told theălife story of a typical rebetika singer, included numerous musicalănumbers, some of which were old rebetika songs, others of which wereăespecially written for the film in rebetika style. Rebetiko is one ofăthe very best Greek records ever, and remains immensely popular inăGreece.ăă For the real thing -- collections of rebetika taken from the originalărecordings of the 1920-1950 period -- an excellent series is the sixăvolume Rebetiki Istoria, issued in Greece by EMI. If you can find allăsix of these, you'll have about the best introduction to rebetika youăcould hope for. A very interesting record issued in the U.S. isăGreek-Oriental Smyrnaic-Rebetic Songs and Dances (Arhoolie/Folklorică9033,) which concentrates on the early rebetika style which stillăretained much of its Eastern flavor.ăă As for other records, it's probably better to give the names of someăof the better artists rather than listing individual records that mayăno longer be in print. So look for the names Toundas, Tsitsanis, MarkosăVamvakaris, Rosa Eskanazi, Sotiria Bellou, Papaiouannou, and RitaăAbatsi.ăă Fortunately for us English speakers, there exists a very good book inăEnglish on rebetika: Road to Rebetika by Gail Holst (Third ed., 1983,ăAthens, Harvey.) This book is sometimes found in university librariesăin the U.S., and can probably be obtained by your local library viaăinterlibrary loan service. You could also try writing the publisher atăDenise Harvey & Company, Lambrou Fotiadis 6, Mets, Athens 407, Greece,ăand see if you get a response. It may be a bit of trouble to track thisăbook down, but it's absolutely worth it if you want to investigate thisătype of music.ăă The other type of music is a looser category sometimes calledă"laika," which basically means just "popular music." This is the musică"everyone" listens to -- sort of like rock music in the U.S. And likeărock it includes music of many different subtypes. Again, it willăprobably be better to give names rather than individual recordings.ăOne of the best, and probably the most popular, of the artists in thisăfield is George Dalaras, who has worked in a wide range of genres --ărecently he has branched out to include Spanish music in hisărepertoire. Another good artist, who has often worked with Dalaras, isăHaris Alexiou. These two are perhaps the best introduction to laikaămusic at its best. A singer with a smaller but devoted following isăArleta (she goes by her first name only,) who tends to do relaxed butăoften very beautiful folk-type songs, with minimal acousticăaccompaniment. The composers Hadjidakis and Theoradakis haveăinnumerable records and have to some extent become popular outside ofăGreece.ăă Perhaps I should also note that there is a certain amount of overlapăbetween rebetika and laika: Dalaras has recorded several rebetikaăalbums, Alexiou usually includes some rebetika songs on her records, andăHadjidakis frequently uses rebetika songs as the basis for hisăorchestral arrangements.ăă A final note for anyone who plans a trip to Greece: the best placeăI've found to buy Greek music is the record shop Pop 11, at Pindarou 38ă(corner of Tsakalof) in the Kolonaki section of Athens. They have aăhuge selection, the staff are knowledgable and speak English, and theyătake credit cards. The staff will also be able to advise you on placesăto hear rebetica and other Greek music in Athens.ăă6. Athens Restaurantsă=====================ăăFrom: jon@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jon Corelis)ăSubject: Some Athens restaurantsăDate: 28 Jun 92 17:58:44 GMTăă Here are some notes on Athens restaurants, resulting from a recentătrip there. These restaurants are all in central Athens, and inăeach case I give the neighborhood or district where the restaurant isălocated (most maps of Athens will indicate where these districts are.)ăExcept where otherwise noted, all the restaurants mentioned areămoderately priced. Most are open only for dinner unless otherwiseănoted. Many Athens restaurants are closed Sundays, so if you want toătry one on that day you should check by phone (your hotel can usuallyăhelp you do this.) I've visited all of these places within the lastătwo months.ăă Almost all visitors to Athens find themselves spending some time inăPlaka, the old neighborhood at the foot of the Acropolis. Plaka isăfilled with restaurants, most of them serving bad, overpriced food toăcrowds of tourists. There are some worthwhile establishments, though.ăOne of them is Zeus (in Modern Greek pronounced 'Zefs,') a pleasantăsmall restaurant high on the slope of the Acropolis which despite theăfact that it caters very much to tourists serves excellent, simple Greekăfood at reasonable prices. Tables are all outdoors, and the placeăusually isn't very crowded, probably because it's something of a climbăto get to it, and you have to pass a number of other eateries on the wayăwhose touts tend to rope in most tourists before they get to this one.ăThere are nice views from some of the tables. Try their gigantes (giantăbeans,) a traditional Greek appetizer which is better here than anywhereăelse I've had it. Open for lunch, and I assume dinner too, though I'veănever been there at night. To get there from Plaka, find MnesikleousăStreet and follow it uphill until you can't go any farther.ăă Another touristy but good place, which is at Hadrian and Kydathinaionăstreets right in the middle of Plaka, is Costi's, which servesătraditional, somewhat elaborate taverna food. Most tables are outdoors,ăand it's open for lunch and dinner.ăă Sigalas, at 2 Monastiraki Square on the edge of Plaka, servesăauthentic taverna food of the simpler kind in a colorful, bustlingăatmosphere at lunch and dinner. They have good barrel retsina.ăă Karavitis, at Pafsaniou and Arktinou in the Pangrati district,ăremains one of the best traditional tavernas. Open nightly includingăSunday.ăă The following restaurants are all in the Kolonaki area:ăă Demokritos, at number 23 on the street of the same name, is anăaltogether excellent taverna with particularly good barrel retsina.ăă Rodhia, at 44 Aristippou near the base of the Lykavettos funicular,ăis an upscale taverna with a limited menu -- almost everyone orders theăappetizers and the lamb with oregano -- and a very good red barrel wine.ăTry to get a table in the garden. Somewhat expensive, but worth it.ăă A long-time popular Kolonaki restaurant, Rouga, has closed. Someoneăin the neighborhood told us they thought it would be closed permanently.ăAnother old Kolonaki place, Jimmy's Cooking, has turned itself into aăsort of snack bar; I didn't try it, but it doesn't look very promisingăany more.ăă Okio, on Haritos Street, remains the best restaurant I have been toăin Greece. It's expensive, not much English is spoken, and shorts orăother very informal attire will not be in place.ăă7. Greek Mythology - Various questions, reference booksă=======================================================ăăFrom: ccc@cs.toronto.edu ("Christina C. Christara")ăSubject: Re: Mythology questionsăDate: 16 Oct 92 01:12:28 GMTăăkambizm@fidibus.uio.no (Kambiz Iranpour Mobarekeh) writes:ă>I am looking for the names of some mythological personalitiesă>whom I read about once. One is the guy who still rollsă>a stone up the hill again and again.ăăThis is Sisyphos (Sisufos) who tried several times to avoidădeath; he actually succeded many times. He visited Hades (Adns)ăand he found some tricks to come back to life. In ceramicăpaintings, he is depicted pushing a stone towards the topăof a mountain, and when he is almost at the end, the stoneăslips and rolls down fast. He was from Korinthos.ăHis struggle symbolises people's struggle against death,ăsomething he did not eventually avoid himself.ăă> The other is one who isă>thirsty standing in a river in Hades trying to drink water bută>the water disappears each time. What was his name?ăăThis is probably Tantalos, the king of Ludia (part of Asia Minor,ăeast of Smyrna). He was invited to dinner by the Gods,ăbut he could not reach anything, neither food, nor drink.ăHe was punished so, because when he invited the Gods to dinnerăinstead of sacrificing an animal for them, he sacrificedăhis son, Pelops (Pelopas), whose name is the first partăof the name "Peloponnese." Tantalos was also punished,ăbecause he gave the recipe of ambrosia and nectară(the food and drink of the Gods) to the people.ă(This story is similar to that of Prometheus, who gaveăfire to people).ăă> Third questionă>is was it Ogyas (or Ogias) barns which were cleaned by Hercul?ăăThis must be the Avgias barns (stauloi Augeiou). Hercules (Hraklns)ăwas supposed to clean the barns of Augeias, king of Helis (Hlis),ăin western Peloponnese. This was necessary, because the dirt (shit)ăof the cows of Augeias was so much that deseases would spread to theăpeople. Hercules had 1 day to complete the job, otherwise he wouldăbe a slave (doulos) for the rest of his life. Would he completeăthe job, he would get a part of the kingdom and the daughterăof the king as his wife. Hercules did clean the barns (accordingăto some mythology version, he turned 2 rivers towards the barnsăand all dirt was gone by the water), but then Augeias did notăkeep his promise and Hercules fought against him. I don'tăremember if he won (I wasn't there, anyway :-)).ăăFrom: nwbernst@unix.amherst.edu (Neil Bernstein)ă-------------------------------ă[regarding the last question]ăă Herakles (Latinized to Hercules) cleaned the stables of King Augeas.ăYou may be thinking of the island of Ogygia, where Odysseus was restrainedăby the nymph Kalypso after his Great Wanderings and before he returns toăIthaka.ăă[ nfotis: we could continue ad infinitum with Greek Mythology, whichă is *very* rich and engaging, IMHO. You're advised to read some goodă books about Greek Mythology. cla04@seq1.keele.ac.uk (A.T. Fear)ă suggests these two books:ăă> A good reference book for Greek mythology is Robert Graves' book the Greekă> Myths which has copious references to the original sources. Don't believe hisă> personal commentaries however as they are idiosyncratic to put ită> mildly. Another book that might interest you is H.J.Rose's A Handbook ofă> Greek Mythology.ăăNote: I didn't read those books, so don't sue me it these aren't good forăyour tastes! ]ăăăă8. Travel Information -- Greeceă===============================ăă[ Note: that's a time limited subject. The time you read this, it mayă be already out-of-date, so *please* check with the respective embassies/ă consulates before starting to prepare for a travel to Greece. Thisă information has a U.S. bias (of course!) ]ăăNewsgroup: rec.travelăFrom: 76702.1202@CompuServe.COM (Charlie Smith)ă-------------------------------ăăSubject: *NEW* TRAVEL INFORMATION -- GreeceăăSTATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL INFORMATION - Greeceă============================================================ăGreece - Consular Information Sheetă October 7, 1992ăăEmbassy and Consulate Locations: The U.S. Embassy in Athens isălocated at 91 Vasilissis Sophias Boulevard; telephone (30) (1)ă721-2951. There is also a consulate in Thessaloniki at 59 LeoforosăNikis; telephone (30) (31) 266-121.ăăCountry Description: Greece is a developed and stable democracyăwith a modern economy. Tourist facilities are widely available.ăăEntry Requirements: A visa is not required for tourist or businessăstays up to three months. An AIDS test is required for performingăartists and students on Greek scholarships; U.S. test results areănot accepted. For further information concerning entry requirementsăto Greece, travelers can contact the Embassy of Greece at 2221ăMassachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20008, tel: (202)ă939-5800, or the nearest Consulate General in Atlanta, Boston,ăChicago, Houston, New Orleans, New York, or San Francisco.ăăMedical Facilities: Medical facilities are available. U.S.ămedical insurance is not always valid outside the United States.ăTravelers have found that in some cases, supplemental medicalăinsurance with specific overseas coverage has proved to be useful.ăFurther information on health matters can be obtained from theăCenters for Disease Control's international travelers hotline onă(404) 332-4559.ăăCrime Information: Greece has a low rate of crime, but someăpickpocketing, purse-snatching, and luggage theft does occur inăGreece at popular tourist areas. The Department of State's pamphletă"A Safe Trip Abroad" is availableKWARDăIN from the Superintendent ofăDocuments, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.ăIt provides useful information on guarding valuables and protectingăpersonal security while traveling abroad.ăăTerrorist Activities: Civil disorder is rare. However, there areăseveral active terrorist groups, including the "17 November"ăorganization, which at times has targeted U.S. government and U.S.ăcommercial interests. Between 1975 and 1991, "17 November"ăassassinated four Americans assigned to U.S. diplomatic or militaryăinstallations in Greece. Terrorists in Greece have seldom targetedătourists.ăăDrug Penalties: Penalties for possession, use, and trafficking inăillegal drugs are strict, and convicted offenders can expect jailăsentences and fines. Arrestees may spend up to 18 months inăpretrial confinement.ăăDual Nationality: U.S. citizens who are also considered to beăGreek citizens could be subject to compulsory military service andăother aspects of Greek law while in Greece. Those who may byăaffected can inquire at a Greek Embassy or consulate to determineăstatus. In some instances, dual nationality may hamper U.S.ăgovernment efforts to provide protection abroad.ăăRegistration: Americans who register in the Consular Section ofăthe Embassy or Consulate can obtain updated information on travelăand security within the country.ăăă9. Greek shortwave (SW) stationsă================================ăăFrom: pef@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Panayotis Fouliras; TA PhD)ăSubject: Re: Need Help finding SW stations!ăăTry (around midnight UTC) 9.395MHz and 9.420MHz.ăăOther frequencies (time is important) are 9.425MHz, 11.595MHzăand 11.645MHz (one of the last two is not the Voice of Greece,ăbut the Radio Station of Macedonia, from the city ofăThessaloniki, which simply relays the local program; can beăheard clearly in London after 1pm UTC).ăă[ Anyone who can add more?? -- nfotis ]ăă10. Greek Coffee, Reading Turkish groundsă=========================================ăăwfk@cellar.org (William F. Kershner) writes:ă--------------ăă>Can anyone explain the art of fortune-telling by reading Turkish coffeeă>grounds? I enjoy my coffee metrio and would like to know more about it.ăăFrom: ccc@cs.toronto.edu ("Christina C. Christara")ă------------------------ăăFirst, all what you are going to read after this line is a fraud!ăăThe part of the coffee cup which is positioned closest to the personădrinking it is the part of the heart. There all the sentimentalăissues are depicted... The opposite part of the cup describes theă"professional" issues. In general it is good for the grounds not toăbe very dark. So when you drink your coffee, before it ends, shakeăit a bit, then turn it upside down, so that most grounds go away.ăYou make your future better!ăăIf you have a lot of imagination you look at the shapes the groundsăhave done and talk about roads, houses, airplanes, trees, etc.ăăThe bottom of the cup is the deep part of the heart... You makeăa wish and put your finger there. If the finger leaves a clear markăthen the wish will come true. If the finger does not catch all theăgrounds, then the wish will not become true ... So twist your fingerăa bit, when you put in the bottom of the cup. But do this withoutăthe person telling you your fortune to know about it!ăăWell, the fraud is over.ăăFrom kk@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Konstantinos Konstantinides)ăand jyc@leo.Stanford.EDU (Jon Corelis):ă------------------------ăăThere is a monograph on the topic (in Greek) by Elias Petropoulos,ăO tourkikos kafes en elladi (Athens, Ekdoseis Grammata, 1979).ăăThe monograph has lots of figures and discusses the art ofăcoffee reading in Greek prisons.ăăA very interesting book, with many illustrations, including some ofăcoffee-grounds patterns with their supposed meanings. The title, ofăcourse, is deliberately provocative. In case anyone wasn't upset enoughăby it, Petropoulous makes a point of beginning his book by saying, "OiăTourkoi, opou deon na thewrountai paterades twn neoellinwn, metaksuăallwn agathwn kai deinwn pou mas eklirodotisan einai kai o kafes."ăăă11. Ways for a Vegan to survive in Greeceă=========================================ăăFor Vegans (NOT vegetarians - they eat cheese and eggs and milk etc.), whoăare people who don't eat animal products at all, there are some resources:ăăFrom: cpbuehrer@miavx1.acs.muohio.eduă-------------------------------------ăăWell...I just spent three weeks in Greece...most of that was spent in Athens.ăAnd I'm a vegetarian. I remember a restaurant in Plaka in Athens called Eden.ăIt's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant...priced pretty decently. They had a tonăof bizarre dishes that I'm not going to even attempt to start listing them.ăSuffice it to say that I could have eaten three meals a day there for thoseăthree weeks and never would have had to eat the same thing twice. There'săalso a fast food restaurant chain called "Goody's"...it's alot like Wendy'săor BK in the states. They had alot of different types of salads available.ăI usually got this one called Mexican salad...which was beans, lettuce, corn,ăradishes, and some other veggies. Anyway, those salads were completely freeăof animal products (don't order the salad dressing though!).ăăAnd then you can always go to the marketplaces or supermarkets and stock upăon fresh fruits, veggies, breads, etc...those sorts of things are also readilyăavailable. Probably the only problem your students will have (and personallyăI don't consider this a problem) is that they'll have to eat a lot of rawăuncooked things...if they don't care about that though then they won't everăgo hungry!ăăFrom: trevore@vast.unsw.edu.au (Trevor Elbourne (Supr. Hell) BE)ă------------------------------ăăWell Greeks have an intresting custom that might help. On relegeousăocasions they faast. When I mean Greeks honestly faast I mean all products thatăcome from animals with blood are excluded. A possible exception were the foodăfor fasting would not be OK is some sea food. Like kalamari or octupous. Butăthat would be obvious. So there is a range off food set up for the fasting thatăwould fit very well. I don't live in Greece now but I am sure if you askăfor food for the fasting then you should have no problem. There is quite a bităof it.ăă12. What was the Mythical Labyrinth??ă=====================================ăăFrom: nextug@ac.dal.caă----------------------ăăThere seem to be two schools of thought:ăăOne is that the palace at Knossos was itself also referred to as The Labyrinth.ăGerhard Sasse in his book "Crete" (APA Publications, 1990) writes:ăă"The Greek designation of part of the palace, if not the whole of it, asăthe Labyrinth, could also mean "House of the Double Axe", if the derivationăof the word labyrinth from the Anatolian word 'Labrys' (double axe) isăaccepted.ăă"In Knossos several of these artifacts were found, in the so-calledă"Shrine of the Double Axe", and the holy sign of the double axe was scored intoăpillars and on votive objects -- as in other Cretan palaces."ăăOn the other hand The Labyrinth may have actually been a passageway of cavesăin close proximity to Knossos. Lawrence Durrell in his book "The Greek Islands"ă(Vicking Press, New York, 1978) writes:ăă"To revert for a moment to the vexing question of the labyrinth, it isăimportant to make a distinction between a man-made maze and a labyrinthăconstructed by nature; and the natural geological labyrinth situated nearăGortyna has for long been a candidate for the honours of being the originalălair of the Minotaur. Sceptics have declared that it is simply an abandonedăquarry with a few corridors but, while I have not completely explored itămyself -- for lack of an Ariadne and a ball of thread -- I think it is moreăsuggestive than that.ăă"I can vouch ... for the fact that the place is known as "TheăLabyrinth" in the local speech. To the best of my knowledge the whole of ităhas never been explored, though the villagers thereabouts claim the internalănetwork of corridors span an area of some ten kilometers. One must, as always,ăsubtract a bit of peasant exaggeration, but nevertheless the place isăimpressive ..."ăăA certain Reverend Tozer who wrote a travel book in the 19th century (haven'tăthe reference at hand) wrote:ăă"Our host, Captain George, undertook to be our guide and accordinglyănext morning we started in his company and, fording the stream closeăunder the Acropolis of Gortyna, ascended the hills towards the north-westăand in an hour's time reached the place ... It is entered by an aperture ofăno great size in the mountainside, where the rocks are of clayey limestone,ăforming horizontal layers; and inside we found what looks almost like aăflat roof, while chambers and passages run off from the entrance in variousădirections ... We were furnished each with a taper and descended by aăpassage on both sides of which the fallen stones had been piled up; the roofăabove us varies from four to sixteen feet in height. Winding about, weăcame to an upright stone, the work of a modern Ariadne, set there to showăthe way, for at intervals other passages branched off the main one, andăanyone who entered without a light would be hopelessly lost. CaptainăGeorge described to us how for three years during the late war (1867-9)ăthe Christian inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, to the number ofăfive hundred, and he among them, had lived there as their predecessorsăhad done during the former insurrection, to escape the Turks who hadăburned their homes and carried off their flocks and herds ..."ăăIf you wish to pursue this issue seriously I would reccommend you go to yourălocal library and do some research. A couple of books that might get youăstartedă (in addition to the ones already cited):ăăAUTHOR: Bord, Janet, fl. 1972-ăTITLE: Mazes and labyrinths of the world /ăIMPRINT: London : Latimer New Dimensions, 1976.ăăAUTHOR: Matthews, William Henry, 1882-ăTITLE: Mazes and labyrinths : their history and development /ăIMPRINT: New York : Dover Publications, 1970.ăăAUTHOR: Doob, Penelope Reed.ăTITLE: The idea of the labyrinth from classical antiquity through the Middle A>ăIMPRINT: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1990.ăăI don't know anything about the "Cave of the Cyclops" near Sougia. Are youăcertain that it exists? I'd be surprised if there were any pictures of ităeven if it does exist, let alone ones available via ftp.ăăNot far away (a few km from Asogires, to the west of Sougia) is the well knownăCăave of Soure in which the 99 Holy Fathers lived. Also east of Rodovani (alsoăwest of Sougia) is the Cave of Skotini in which ceramic remains from theăClassical epoch (550-67 B.C.) have been found. To the east is the world famousăSamaria Gorge and en route is the Tzanis Cave where legend has it that onămoonless nights a shepherd, enchanted by a water sprite, plays his lyre andăsings of sorrow ...ăăGood luck!ăăChristopher Majka.ăă13. Greek Muses (in Greek)ă==========================ă[ Can anyoe make an acceptable translation?? - nfotis ]ăăFrom: peter@ENGR.TRINITY.EDU (Peter Vafeades)ă-----------------------------ăăMouses, oi: 0ugateres tns Mvnmosuvns kai tou Dia n' tns Armovias n' tou Ouravouăkai tns Gaias, 0eotntes tns poinsns, tns mousikns, tou xorou, tns astrovomiasăkai gevika twv texvwv kai twv epistnmwv. O ari0mos tous poikillei: alloteătreis, allote efta kai telika oi e3ns evvia:ăăKalliopn, n spoudaiotern apo oles, prostatria tns epikns poinsnsăKleiw tns Istorias,ăEUTERPH tns mousikns,ăPolumvia twv umvwv kai tns mimikns,ăTeryixorn tou xorou kai tns xorikns poinsns,ăEratw tns lurikns poinsns,ăMelpwmevn tns tragwdias,ă0aleia tns kwmwdias kaiăOuravia tns astrovomias.ăăArxngos tous 0ewrouvtav o Apollwvas (Mousngetns). Topos latreias tous ntavăektos apo tov omwvumo lofo stnv A0nva kuriws o Elikwvas stn Boiwtia. OiăarxaioiăEllnves tous eixav afierwsei tis pnges Agavippn kai Ippokrnvn. Agapnmevoi tousătopoi e3allou ntav o Parvassos kai oi Delfoi (0eog. 1 k. e3. 52.75 k.a. Om Um.ă25. Apollod. A13)ăă======================================================================ăăEnd of Cultural Part of the FAQă-- ăNick (Nikolaos) Fotis National Technical Univ. of Athens, GreeceăHOME: 16 Esperidon St., InterNet : nfotis@theseas.ntua.gră Halandri, GR - 152 32 UUCP: mcsun!ariadne!theseas!nfotisă Athens, GREECE FAX: (+30 1) 77 84 578ă