Archaeology Magazine - December 1952 - 15

of the island and thence made his way up the eastern told all the information and legends the inhabitants of
side to Perachorio nestling among the ridges at the Perachorio knew about them. When, however, he
foot of the mountain. He hoped to be able to make his tried to turn the talk to Mount Ozia he met with no
way to the top from there. Before he left Chora he had response. All alike disclaimed any knowledge of it. No
been warned that the inhabitants of Perachorio were one had ever climbed it. Even the shepherds declared
that they never took their
the descendants of pirates
flocks up the main mounand even nowadays not
tain
with
above making away
because they said there
was
no good pasture there
travellers for the sake of
for
their
any valuables they might be
sheep and goats.
They hinted darkly of poithought to possess. The losonous herbs or savage eacal representative of the
gles that took the kids and
Ministry of Finance, a pol- f
lambs.
ished Corfiote, whispered to
This apparent mystery
Evesham that in comparaonly aroused Evesham's cutively recent times a German
traveller who had trampled
riosity and made him more
than ever anxious to ascend
heavily on some of the islanders' most cherished bethe mountain. He realized
liefs had vanished. The peothat no one from the village
would ever go up Mount
ple of Perachorio swore he
had left the village for N
Ozia with him or even tell
him the best route by which
Chora, but the inhabitants of
Chora equally firmly said
to arrive at the summit. Ache had never reached their
cordingly he started off early
town. Exactly what crime
one morning without telling
his hosts where he was goagainst island custom the
German
had
comunlucky
ing. He merely said he was
mitted the Corfiote had been
going for a walk on the hills
unable to fathom, but it was
near, but he put in his pocket
some bread and cheese. As
well known that he had accused the islanders of being
soon as he was well away
in the thrall of the basest
Perachorio he mounted
from
t*
the
to
top of the ridge and
superstitions.
The people of Perachorio,
followed its backbone right
so rar as üvesham was concerned, most worthily up- up to the base of the central mass of the mountain.
held the great Greek tradition of hospitality. He was Thence he climbed a stony slope by a zigzag track
entertained by the Zevgoles family in the four-story which led to a kind of fold in the mountain at the easttower which had once been the country residence of ern foot of the highest peak. This last stage proved
the tyrant Marcantonio. This was square with tiled no difficult climb, and thus by ten o'clock Evesham,
floors laid over solid vaulting and stood between two having started soon after six, stood on the summit.
The grandeur of the view was almost incredible. At
ridges with a fine garden round it. A terrace on the
western side of the first floor commanded a splendid his feet to the west the main peak was cut by a smooth
view of Mount Ozia. His host and his family were un- rocky precipice as though by a knife. Below this was a
tiring in showing Evesham all there was to be seen in series of jagged cliffs and at their foot lay the plain of
the neighborhood, the emery workings, an ancient Chora with the town as a white dot on its margin
marble quarry with an unfinished colossal statue of against the green blue sea. To the north the mountain
Apollo, some prehistoric graves, and a Byzantine went almost sheer down to the Aegean, and beyond in
watchtower on the coast which had served as a light- the distance Evesham could see the sacred isle of Delos.
house and as a guard against Saracen corsairs. These To the east were the marble mountains of Paros and
and other sights were shown to Evesham who was also Naxos. By degrees, as he looked, he could pick out and
Winter 1952

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Archaeology Magazine - December 1952

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