Treasures of the Aegean - Day 6, June 8 - A Lesson in Greek Orthodox Iconography

The day was a travel day, as we traveled back to Athens.  In the morning we made a stop at a workshop that makes religious (Greek Orthodox) icons.   I wasn't the least bit interested at the time and I had actually considered staying in the bus to nap.  But it was too hot, so I joined the group inside the workshop.  In what was another startling discovery, I found the demonstration fascinating.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the process.  I don't know why.  We saw how they make the backing for the icon by processing paper and different woods, how the paint was laid on in layers and we saw an artist painting one.  He paints inside a mold-like pattern.  The faces of the icons are pre-determined, and they all have the same face.  The rules were quite strict.  For instance, notice in the picture below how all the faces are the same.  Icons are not meant to be realistic. .

   

And Jesus does not have the face of a baby.  He's more of a man-boy in a small body.

I have put together a short video of the workshop.  It's less than 2 minutes long, but it's got music: Just click on:


GREEK ORTHODOX ICONOGRAPHY


The worskhop was very close to Meteora.  When we left we had to face a 6 hour bus ride back to Athens, where we get on our small ship, the Artemis.  Thus, the day was spent getting there as opposed to being there.  Riding on a bus through a few parts of rural Greece that were not always so pretty and picturesque.   It made napping more appealing since we weren't missing much.  Then out of nowhere there is the Aegean, popping in and out of the hills.

 Katia took the opportunity to discuss with us the Greek Crisis and Austerity measures being taken, from her perspective as a younger person living under these austerity measures.   I knew very little about the subject, and what little I did know was wrong.  Katia certainly showed from a different perspective. She sparked my interest in learning more about what really happened with Greece, and I've been doing some research on the subject.  I'd like to understand more than just the sound bytes we get on the news here.