Aegean Memories – Η μνήμη του Αιγαίου

Bilingual edition (Greek – English)

A landmark coffee-table book that brings the memory of the Aegean to life through the lens of internationally acclaimed photographer Robert McCabe and the writings of archaeologist Dimitris Athanasoulis. Since the 1950s, McCabe has photographed the islands, harbors, villages, people, and landscapes of the Aegean, capturing a world that has since undergone profound change. His photographs—some in black and white, others in color—enter into a compelling dialogue with the historical and archaeological narrative, creating a moving chronicle of the cultural, maritime, and everyday life of the Greek archipelago.

«I can close my eyes anywhere in the world, any time of day or night, and evoke vivid memories from the Aegean Sea. Some are visual, and some recreate events of all kinds, often related to the extraordinary hospitality we were shown. It is a wonderful cache to have handy. Thank you for joining us on this journey of memories from the Aegean — memories in images recorded by me and memories in words by friends who love the Aegean. We present this volume as a tribute to the Sea and its people. The visual memories presented were created largely in black and white with a Rolleiflex and Plus-X f ilm and in color with a Nikon and Kodachrome film. They are based on travels that started in the islands in 1954. You will meet many people who work with the sea including fishermen, shipbuilders, ship crews, and dock workers. And you will meet the women keep households operating, caring for children, carrying heavy vessels of water, cooking, spinning, knitting; and the children—sometimes at work and sometimes at play, and workmen and bakers and farmers. You will visit villages and join celebrations in the Cyclades and Dodecanese. I hope you enjoy the trip! We are proud to present the evocative poem “Greek Archipelagoes” by Patrick Leigh Fermor and are deeply grateful to Artemis Cooper for permission to publish it. In 1993 we made a pilgrimage by caique to visit Paddy and Joan at Kardamyli and he gave a copy of the poem to my daughter because of their shared delight at the story of the magus transformed by St. John into a rock at the bottom of the harbor of Patmos. Our warmest thanks to Yassonas Megoulas a.k.a. Cacao Rocks for his dazzling cover for the book, depicting the arrival of caiques at Geranos, Patmos, for the August 15 celebrations at the church above. Margarita Pournara had a key role in the genesis of this book. After we completed our book about Santorini she asked me “What about the Aegean?” I understood, and I set up a file tagged “Scenes from the Greek Seas for Margarita”. She arranged a meeting for me with Kostas Vidakis, one of Greece’s great photographers. Soon he had selected 80 of the photos and arranged an exhibition, “Memories from the Aegean,” at the Cyclops Cultural Centre in Drama. The warm reception of that exhibition and many years of encouragement from George Hatzimarkos led to the creation of this book. My profound gratitude to George Hatzimarkos, Kostas Vidakis, Dimitris Athanasoulis, Eleni Farmakidou, Nikolaos Stampolidis, Stratos Efthymiou, Kassandra Marinopoulou, Aris Theodoridis, Rod Heikell, Rita Wilson, Nikos Petrou, Katerina Katopis-Lykiardopulo, Ourania Vizyinou, Nikos Mastropavlos, Andreas Georgiadis, Johanna Hanink, Anna Patakis, Anne McCabe, Kostas Simos, Kostas Giannopoulos, Massimo and Anna Tonolli, the production team at Trifolio, Sylvia Zanetti, Sophie and George Marinos, the Cyclops Cultural Centre of Drama, Kiriakos Sifiltzoglou, Krystalli Glyniadakis, Maria Somaripa, Evgenia Troullou, Maria Alexiou, Kostas Karasavvidis, Aris Bilalis, Kostas Thoktaridis, Lefteris Zorzos». Robert A. McCabe