38:57.941N 20:45.566E
24/06/24 - 03/07/24 The temple of Apollo, that is located at the very southern tip of Lefkas and now has a lighthouse built on its site , was, according to myth, built by one of Odysseus companions, a chap by the name of Leucus. Leucus was originally from nearby Zakinthos and must have had the temple built prior to heading off to fight alongside Odysseus in Troy. He unfortunately died in Troy from a spear to the groin. The temple would have had commanding views across the Ionian to the south and east and is a very beautiful spot, but, by some unfortunate quirk, it was also decided that if you jumped off this rock, you’d be cured of love. One such lover to fling herself off the cliff was Aphrodite. Aphrodite, goddess of love, had fallen madly in love with the mortal Adonis who happened to be very beautiful. In a bit of a weird aside, his mother, Myrrha had conceived him by tricking her own father into sleeping with her. After she fell pregnant her father was apoplectic and so she fled. After giving birth to Adonis, the gods took mercy on Myrrha and turned her into a tree. Despite his dysfunctional childhood, Aphrodite loved Adonis, but things ended badly when Adonis was gored by a wild boar while out hunting one day. Hearing his cries, Aphrodite ran to his aid but got to his side just in time to see him die. At the same time, she cut her foot on some thorns and her blood spilled on a white rose, thereby turning it red. This was the birth of the red rose and explains why it is a symbol of passionate love. Wild with grief, Aphrodite felt the need to go to Argos, find a rock, take it to Apoollo’s temple at Lefkas and then hurl herself off the cliff. Being an immortal goddess, the result was that she just felt a whole lot better about the situation. The problem was, she had set a bit of a trend and ever since then this beauty spot, at the tip of Lefkas has become a favoured spot for despairing lovers hoping to find a cure - often death. One such person to throw herself off the cliff to cure herself of love was Sappho. Sappho was a real woman, fragments of her poetry still exist. She lived on the island of Lesbos and for one reason or another, fell in love with the aged ferryman Phaon. According to Ovid, she then gave Phaon an ointment that turned him into an extremely beautiful and much younger man. Unfortunately Phaon eventually went off in search of a much younger companion. The upshot was that Sappho, heartbroken, headed all the way to the rocks at Lefkas to cure herself of this love. This she certainly managed, as she died. The description of this final fling inspired several Victorian painters and there are endless depictions of her looking suitably woebegone as she contemplates her fate. This is a bit odd as Sappho was a renowned lesbian as her poems related to the female form. Jefferson S (2022) In the Wake of the Gods. A Cruising companion to The World of The Greek Myths Chris and I had no intention of curing ourselves of love, therefore a leap from the beauty spot was not on our agenda. So we bypassed the cape for the time being to get to Lefkas town quay to pick up our new windlass that had been waiting for us to collect for a couple of weeks. We were going to change just the gypsy, but in the end looking at the windlass and its age we decided to get a new one. Our online chandler, that we have been using in Greece, was very effcient and got one very quickly and put it their Lefkas store waiting for our arrival. We moored up stern to on the town quay for a very moderate price of €14 for two nights. You can use the town quay between Tuesday and Friday morning, but between Friday afternoon and Monday morning, the charter yachts have priority and take over the whole area for the weekend. While we were in the Lefkas we visited Mavra Castle that is surprisingly large with a lot of architecture of the town still evident within it’s walls. We sailed to Preveza on the 29th June passing through the pontoon bridge at the north end of Lefkas. There doesn’t appear to any rules as to who goes first through the bridge, (although officially it is stated that South bound traffic have priority) but when we went through it was just a free for all. Not like Weymouth town bridge. We anchored in Preveza bay a very secure anchorage and only a short dinghy ride to the main town. After a couple of days doing jobs and looking around the town we hired bicycles for the day so we could visit the huge site of Nicopolis. In 29 BC, 2 years after his victory in the naval battle of Actium, Octavian founded a new city which he called Nicopolis (the City of Victory), located on the southernmost promontory of Epirus, and across the mouth of the harbour from the ancient town of Actium. This foundation echoed a tradition dating back to Alexander the Great, and more recently illustrated by Pompey, founder of Nicopolis in Little Armenia (63 BC). Symbolically, the new city represented one example of his successful unification of the Roman Empire under one administration. Geographically, it constituted a major transportation and communications link between the eastern and western halves of the Mediterranean. Economically, it served to reorganise and revitalise the region, which had never recovered from its destruction by Lucius Aemilius Paullus Maedonicus in the Third Macedonian War (171–167 BC), or the further destruction under Sulla 87–86 BC. It also established an important commercial centre and port at this strategic position on the Mediterranean sea routes. On a hill north of Nicopolis where his own tent had been pitched, and north of the present village of Smyrtoula, Octavian also built a monument and sanctuary to Apollo, considered his patron god, and trophies to two other gods, Neptune and Mars for their contribution to its victory. This monument was adorned with the rams of captured galleys. In further celebration of his victory he instituted the quadrennial Actian games in honour of Apollo Actius. The new Windless  Agia Mavra Fort  Agia Mavra Fort  Preveza street  Our transport for one day.   Walled City of Nicopolis  Mosaic  Wall paintings  |