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Makronisos (Greek: Μακρόνησος, lit. Long
Island), is an elongated arid island located in between the east coast of
Attica, facing the port of Lavrio and the island of Kea. The round the buoy
sailboat races sponsored by Lavreotiki Yacht Club (NOCL) take place in the strait between Lavrio and Macronesos and
the offshore races to the Cycladic islands the sailboats round the island’s
southernmost promontory.
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In ancient
times the island was called Helena for it was the place the beautiful Helen of Troy, the
daughter of Zeus and Leda, made a stopover on her way to Troy or on her return trip to Sparta.
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Two millennia after the Trojan War Germany occupied
Greece during WWII. Resistance fighters harassed the occupation forces from
their camps in the mountains.
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When WW II ended in 1945 the leaders of the USA,
Great Britain and The Soviet Union divided the world at Yalta. Greece fell in
the western sphere of influence.
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When the German army retreated from Greece in
1944, parties from the entire political spectrum formed a government. The first elections were held in March of 1946 but were boycotted
by the communist party, a serious mistake because from that point on the communist party of Greece (KKE) was excluded
from the political system.
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While the rest of Europe was celebrating the end of the catastrophic
WWII and trying to get back on its feet, Greece entered another period of
misery as Civil War erupted in 1946 and lasted till 1949 when the insurgents were defeated by the government forces which were assisted by the UK and the U.S.
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During the civil war members of the communist party were sent to the barren island of Makronisos. The plan was to rehabilitate them into model citizens. In this
picture exiles attend a theatrical production they themselves produced. Two
decades later the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974
repopulated the island with leftist sympathizers.
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Today Macronesos is
uninhabited but because of its past, is considered a civil war era historical site; on certain days visits and events are scheduled at
it to commemorate the period of cruelty that brothers imposed upon brothers that is now almost forgotten.
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Η νικη ωστοσο ανηκει στο γενναιο Μενελαο
ειναι λοιπον δικο μας χρεος να σκεφθουμε το πως
το πραγμα αυτο θα φθασει σ ενα τελος
η θα σηκωσουμε ξανα αγριο πολεμο και την ολεθρεια μαχη
η την φιλιοτητα να βαλουμε αναμεσα στους δυο
If the victory belongs to
Menelaus
It behooves us to work out
how to finish this conflict
and instead of starting the
warfare anew
kinship to bring among the
warring factions
Like the
Olympian Gods, in Homer’s Iliad (Rhapsody
IV 14-18), want to bring the Trojan War to an end, it is my wish that civil wars and the atrocities
that follow cease from happening, as the misery that occur to combatants and non-combatants alike is unimaginable.
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