Wandering through Kalambaka (the foot of the Meteora monasteries), I stumbled on a graveyard that looked more like an American one than a Greek one: neat rows of identical crosses. So naturally I investigated.
The graves were all from 1946-1949, and there were clearly titles before the names. Military.
Not World War II, of course, so must be the Greek Civil War which happened immediately after the German occupation of Greece ended. Presumably these are all from the winning side. Phil says that the area was very communist, though the winning side were the nationalists. Interestingly at one of the monasteries there was a very nationalist display about wars in Greece which neglected to mention the Greek Civil War at all.
At Barlaam Monastery, I gravitated towards the ossuary, of course. This was not bone boxes, but the older style, where the individual is completely integrated into the community.
I know it seems macabre, and Phil thinks I have an unhealthy fascination with death in Greece, but I find it tremendously comforting to find a culture that integrates death into life in so many different ways. I also learn so much about the cultural differences by exploring this central passage.
At Barlaam Monastery, I gravitated towards the ossuary, of course. This was not bone boxes, but the older style, where the individual is completely integrated into the community.
I know it seems macabre, and Phil thinks I have an unhealthy fascination with death in Greece, but I find it tremendously comforting to find a culture that integrates death into life in so many different ways. I also learn so much about the cultural differences by exploring this central passage.
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