The Next Great Greek Novel

Prologue

After Greece Is My Anthi, a novel about Anthi and M meeting and falling in love, and Goddess Athena and Patrick, as well as other savoury characters, it was time to continue their tale in a second novel, which follows their adventuresome love story from their one-year tree wedding anniversary (September 5, 2022) until M’s programmed demise; I mean that of his body, of course; certainly not his soul, especially that Anthi is the one carrying it with so much love. By the way, I am M, and the programming may have changed.

I will start with five mantinades. A mantinada typically consists of a Cretan 15-syllable rhyming couplet (mantinades is the plural).

O Anthi, from here to eternity, and perhaps beyond!

I wonder if the Cosmos will but benignantly respond.

-----

What did you ask of it, my M, though I may already know?

I will always be with you, as long as you want us to flow.

-----

O my Anthi Kanéna of Athens in heartwarming Greece!

I wanted to know if souls need dark matter to live in peace.

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O my dear M of Montreal and our Athena’s Athens!

Souls may also need dark energy for their levelled fashions.

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O my dearest Anthi in the sky with blue-and-white flowers!

I cannot foresee my life without you, let alone the hours.

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I will continue with five sensual mantinades.

O Anthi, from your encouraging hair to your ten long toes!

I wonder if you can, from now on, avoid wearing most clothes.

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What do you really mean, my M, although I can surely guess?

I will always keep my panties for you to bite and undress.

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O Anthi Kanéna of my chest and heart in my mind’s Greece!

You can also keep your blue bra as a persistency piece.

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O my dear M of my nous and always-loving Athena!

My soul lusts after yours and together they void Kanéna*.

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O my dearest Anthi in all I am within and without!

There is still one cute picturesque pleasure you did not lay out.

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* Kanéna means "none" in Greek.

ααααα

Part 1 - Over a Year of Bliss

To be or not to be

and (x - 2) (x + 2) = 12

appear like bizarre bedfellows

Indeed

But then

to live or to die

and x = 4 and -4

make more sense

What do I live fo(u)r

and what will I die fo(u)r

For yo(u)

my dear Anthi

Our two-month honeymoon in Portugal, Iceland, Tahiti (Pora Pora; there is no B in the Tahitian language), and Crete, two weeks each, continued in Athens to become over one year of bliss, and it is far from any finish line. Anthi agrees as far as I know.

“Come on, my M! You know beyond any doubt that I agree, my love.”

O my Anthi; I do know! But I did not want our love story to appear as perfect as it is. Our reader friends in the real world may take offense, being mostly used to tragedy befalling every love story. You are certainly not a Juliet and I am no Romeo.

“O my M; I have your soul and I will never let you go.”

Do you remember the pellucid waters of Pora Pora, which permitted us to contemplate their plenitude and expose our immemorial unimportance? I am not sure that Anthi meditated upon the latter, but yours truly was immersed in it like a ray.

“I do, my M. How could I ever forget its abundance and the feeling, although exaggerated, of our humility in comparison?”

I stand corrected, attentive reader. How could have I doubted her? She is perfect, at least in my eyes and those of all lifeforms who know her even just a little.

“She will forgive you, dear M,” our Goddess Athena told me in my mind.

I know, my Goddess, our Athena. Perfection will remain your domain, and thus Anthi must be singular in her perfection as a human.

“She may not have loved you if you did not at least approach it in her eyes, especially that she does not consider herself to be perfect, as you well know and have written about,” beautiful Athena replied.

I love you, Anthi, from every angle; at least those that I was able to trace and then contemplate.

“I saw it in your eyes and in the way your fingers caressed my skin, even in the dark, even in our dreams, my M.”

We never dreamt about fire, except when we were close to the Sun. I want us to ride in a chariot, but instead of horses, I want the chariot to be carried away by fire. We could descend into the sea and come out wet, ascending back to the sky.

“A chariot of fire and I, siting against you, to feel even warmer. It would be another first. Our Goddess will surely make it happen, my M.”

“You will dream it tonight,” Athena whispered in our minds. I had a few tears for some reason. Perhaps wishing for Athena everywhere; a real Goddess. Anthi was also touched; even feeling it in my soul.

It was strange to hold the reins of five flames of fire within a blue-and-white chariot, which seemed to hug us with warmth and comfort. I offered Anthi the reins, finding myself behind her, trying to bury my head in her hair, more in love with her, if at all attainable, and happy to be alive.

At one point, we were slowly racing on the rings of Kronos, Anthi screaming, Moses, towards each side, and I; I mean M, listening to the sound of her voice, praying that I will be always able to hear it.

I realised that I could pray to Athena. She would never ask for it, since She would never need it. But I seem to need it and want to pray to Her because I love Her; we all do. There may be a human need to adore someone or something. I adore, Anthi.

We rode in many shades of sky, from blue to space dark, in clouds and in emptiness, led all along by fiery flames, feeling our chests but not our souls. They have been together for many years. Our souls feel each other. We do too through our minds and our senses, but our souls are external; some would even say, superior. Some scales cannot be compared. A good question to entertain is whether we would prefer to be humans or souls. Humans may need souls but souls may not need humans.

Can we fall asleep within a dream? It appears to be the case, since Anthi and M; I mean me, fell asleep in the chariot, as it was flying from the Moon to Earth, as far as we could remember. We awoke a few hours after dawn, both smiling with a plan in mind. We cannot travel in space while awake, but we can travel on Earth, and much more easily in Greece. We had mentioned before our wedding that we would visit every pillar and patch of Greece, and now, we could actually live up to it.

There are many more islands than those shown on the map below, but most of them are uninhabited. We had visited Crete more than once, so we decided to follow a clockwise ellipse, starting after Crete, the big island at the bottom of the map, and ending, one eventful evening, back in Crete, where our love for each other began to bloom.

Like a Rorschach inkblot, one could perceive something else, looking at this blue map of Greece. O Greece! You were much larger before the ways of the world carved pieces out of you, as they did from your monuments. While your sculptures will be returned to you one day, your lost territories will probably not, unless Zeus also returns, with the other Gods and Goddesses, and demands their return. Goddess Athena lives with the times and her wisdom would never allow her, as far as we know, to even entertain such a thought.

Thus starts our new adventure from a chariot of fire to a car of flowers, with a boat of sea from time to time, a plane of sky occasionally, and always a dream of remaining together no matter the current ways of the world.

ααααα

Part 2 - Greece Is My Anthi

Aunt Athena, as Delphine, Anthi’s daughter and happily mine after our wedding, calls Goddess Athena, blessed our journey around Greece, promising again to take care of Delphine, with Eléni’s help, on the days that we would be away, and to both join us with Patrick on our meeting days once a week if we remained away and not back home for a short visit, Zeus willing, of course, in all directions.

Greece includes around 6,000 islands and islets stretching across the Greek seas, of which, 227 are inhabited. The Ionian Islands lie along the mainland’s western coastline, consisting of sixteen large and small islands covering an area of around 2,200 km² (847 mi²), namely, Antikythira, Kythira, Antipaxoi, Paxoi, Ereikoussa, Ithaki (Ithaca), Kalamos, Kastos, Kefalonia (Cephallonia), Kerkyra (Corfu), Lefkada (Leucas), Mathraki, Meganisi, Othonoi, Strofades, and Zakynthos (Zante).

Our journey’s clockwise ellipse, starting after Crete (the big island at the bottom of the map), led us to Antikythira Island — it was too small to visit — and then to Kythira Island (278 km² [107 mi²]; encircled on the map), our first stop following a one-hour flight from Athens. I was a little anxious knowing that Goddess Athena could not protect me from potential roaches at such a distance but somewhat relieved that it was October, the beginning of heartwarming autumn and the period during which the roaches begin to hide from the cold. Anthi smiled upon hearing my reasoning in her mind, assuring me that she would take care of any inopportune roach. I had to kiss her, of course.

Kythira Island (partly pictured below) bathes in three seas, namely the Aegean, Ionian, and Cretan, and is the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, according to Hesiod, a Greek poet who lived during Homer’s time, around 2,500 years ago. Kythira also happened to be a source of inspiration for several artists, including the French poet, Baudelaire, and the Greek filmmaker, Angelopoulos.

Did we miss the wine festival at Mitata, a village in Kythira that celebrates the beauty of fermented grapes every August? We did, but spirits are not ketogenic (keto) and Athena would not have been around to keep us sober in case we did taste some if not all of the wines, namely, Arikanas, the rosé; Kydonitsa, Petrolanos, and Roditis, the whites; and Toukoumaki, the red.

The taste of your lips is better than any wine, my Anthi.

“Which lips are you referring to?” Anthi asked with a smile that could light any darkness.

Both sets, my love, but I was referring to your mouth.

“I know that you were, my M, but I was not sure.”

It looks like we will not be seeing much of Kythira today, my Anthi.

“Let us at least see the Moudari lighthouse in Cape Spathi. It is one of the tallest in the Greek seas. It reaches 25 metres (82 feet) in height and dates back to 1857; that is unless you want us to see it in our dream tonight.”

No, my Anthi. We need as much reality as we can grasp in our lives, although I know deep within that you are the greatest reality I could have ever hoped for.

“I feel naked near you even when I am fully clothed.”

It is surely one of your countless qualities, dearest Anthi. Greece is my Anthi, and thus, so is Athens and every other part of this heaven, including this field where the lighthouse stands, overlooking many shades of blue, both without and within.

“O my loving M! You are the lighthouse in my heart where our souls live together as our bodies finally do. I carry your soul, but you carry our love around your chest, including your wooden heart that I worry may break.”

I often think that I am continuously dreaming when I see you smiling at me. I need to touch you to negate the feeling of fiction that keeps haunting me. I even asked our Athena about it, and She, of course, kissed me first before revealing that my heart had been weakened after so many years without a soul to sustain it, and that I did not die because you were the one unknowingly sustaining me. Our souls had met many years before our bodies, and the love between them must have been reflected through time and our growing minds.

A lighthouse may not be what it used to be when ships and boats ruled the seas and only birds sailed the skies. It can still guide skiffs and the like that may lack modern, almost foolproof instrumentation, but during the day, it can become an observatory for lovers in the wind and those looking for absolute blueness.

Kythira offered a lot and perhaps too much. Chora, its picture-perfect capital, presented a castle from both the Byzantine and Venetian periods, housing the island’s historical archives, coupled on its outskirts with an archaeological museum to taciturnly provide artefacts of prior lives and their living tools.

Palaiochora, a town in ruins, was once the Byzantine capital of Kythira, built on a hill and protected by cliffs, a short distance from the shore but unseen from the sea. It was blown up in 1537 by Barbarossa, the much-feared pirate who made the Mediterranean his domain.

The cave of Agia Sofia Mylopotamou, 100 metres (328 feet) long, covering an area of 2,000 m² (21,528 ft²), includes chambers with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites as well as 13th-century murals signed by Theodoros, a Byzantine painter.

Anthi’s eyes sparkled in this cavern, becoming one with the stalactites and stalagmites; a mosaic of animate-inanimate natural beauty, enchanting M; I mean me, beyond measure. I could never love anyone more than Anthi, progressed in my chest; the beginning of an alexandrine, perhaps.

Potamos, Kythira’s largest village, proposed and extended architectural and culinary feasts, including character buildings and quaint lodgings, as well as rozedes (a traditional sweet made with semolina, thyme honey, sugar, almonds, cinnamon and cloves) and shots of fatourada (a local liqueur made from tsipouro, cinnamon and cloves).

Kythira is coated with numerous windmills and watermills in midst of natural wonders, such as the Amir Ali springs and the Kakia Lagada gorge, as well as beautiful beaches like the one we basked on at the Agia Pelagia village. There is also a small, unforgettable fishing village called Avlemonas, with picturesque pieces of heaven.

It was time to leave Kythira after three nights and two days. I wonder if we will be able to see most of Greece within a year, since I need more than a lifetime to see my Anthi.

Greece is a destination for everyone. You do not have to stay forever, but you have to visit her at least once.

ααααα

Part 3 - Anthi Is My Wonder

The world has at least seven wonders; I only have one. Anthi is my wonder. She refuses to see herself as one, but I remind her that she is my wonder if no one else’s. I wonder about you all the time; I told her last night.

“I know, my M. What about the rest of the world? We have to wonder about them too,” my Anthi replied, half-smiling with her tongue out.

I think that our Athena wonders about the world more than we could ever attempt or actually manage to. I see her in tears from time to time. We are causing a true Goddess to cry. Did anyone ever see a true god or goddess weep? It would surely have suggested to more than several souls that such a deity was not omnipotent. Yet, Goddess Athena cries and is infinite in many ways.

“I think that our Athena only lets Patrick and you see her in tears. It is understandable to a certain degree, since you brought her back with your love and She cannot hide Her feelings from you. She is, as you said, a true deity, but with human traits. She may be the answer to all those praying.”

Our journey’s clockwise ellipse led us to Peloponnese, next; right above Kythira Island. Peloponnese (indicated with a P on the map) is a large piece of mainland that resembles a hand and can be considered an island, where fiction meets history, which can be fictitious as well when names have been changed and prior inhabitants have been displaced if not decimated. Fortunately, modern Greece includes many of its historic regions, and Peloponnese is jeweled with monuments and archeological sites from every period of Greece’s eventful past.

“I love you, my M.”

I adore you, my Anthi.

“I know, my M.”

Next, occurred something that cannot be easily described, except that we were sure that Goddess Athena was involved. I will try to recount it in Part 4.

Monemvasia (“only entrance”), referring to its only access point over a bridge, is a magnificent, mediaeval town located on the south-eastern coast of Peloponnese. A ferry and a car — Anthi drove — carried us there from Kythira for two wonderful half-days and a very good night between them. Its fortress, also called the Gibraltar of the East, had been occupied by the Byzantines, the Crusaders, the Venetians, and the Ottomans. Its narrow-cobbled streets and beautifully restored stone buildings appear to have captured several pasts.

Is it important for us to know about each other’s past, my Anthi?

“Only the events that each one of us considers important for the other to know, my M.”

I agree, my love. Yet, some events, however important they were, may be better left in the past.

“I know what you mean, my love. Some events may only be important to us, or they may lose their importance within a new timeframe and even under a new light.”

Yes, the love of my life. There is only now, and perhaps, a bit later.

“S’ agapó, M mou” (I love you, my M).

Monemvasia’s Kastro (“castle”) is two-storied. In the lower part, the ruins of historic buildings can be witnessed in proximity to preserved 16th-century ones, with one of them housing an archaeological museum. In the uninhabited upper part, the remains of older Byzantine buildings can by surveyed. A winding way leads to the Fortress of Youlás, presenting a pristine sight of this town.

From Monemvasia, we drove — Anthi drove — to Sparta, the long-ago kingdom of Menelaus and his stunning queen, Helen, the most beautiful of all mortal women of her time. I wonder if Anthi surpasses her. I will have to ask our Athena when we see Her soon. Aphrodite had promised Paris of Troy the most beautiful woman on Earth in return for a favour, and thus the Prince rode to Sparta to claim his prize, abducting Helen and riding with her back to Troy. Menelaus still wanted his wife, persuading the other kings of Greece to join him against Troy. A rather large wooden horse stole the show.

Spacious streets with numerous trees, vast squares and neoclassical edifices with odoriferous blossoms of olive and lemon trees from the nearby valley of the Evrotas river, enchanted us to no end, but I had my Anthi to contend with; an enchantress like no other.

“S’ agapó, M mou” (I love you, my M).

I know, my Anthi.

“I love you even more, my love.”

I can feel my wooden heart expanding.

The Archaeological Museum of Sparta uncovers a very long period spanning the Neolithic to the Late Roman epochs. As lovers of art — Anthi is my art — we visited the Koumantarios art gallery to experience oil paintings of impressive European artists comprising art from the 16th to the 20th centuries. In turn, the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil presented a special savour for each sight, informing about the culture, history and technology involving this tree of life and light, which Goddess Athena had created for us thousands of years ago.

Sparta can be felt within and without. Not too far outside the city, the caves of Diros constituted a stimulating trek into the eonian spell of patterns and colours. The lake cave of Vlyhada presents several halls that were appropriately named, Poseidon’s Palace, Sea of Wrecks, and White Chambers. A less-than-an-hour boat tour in the cave can do wonders within. Alepotripa, the next cave, had housed a community during the Late Neolithic epoch (5,200-6,800 years ago), whereas Katafygi, the following cave, aroused the senses with its stalactites and stalagmites, as well as superb acoustics in the Hall of Apotheosis.

Was Spartacus named

after your fall, O Sparta?

Greece always remained.

Anthi, my everything!

“Yes, my loving M!”

The sky has never been as blue as after I had been blessed to find myself with you.

“Your mind is mesmerised, my M. It seems that I am really your Greece.”

I would not want it any other way, my Anthi, my Anthoula. When I see you, I also perceive a field of flowers. Most of them are blue and white, but a few are purple and one is red. I suppose that the different ones represent my heart.

“I can feel your soul in my heart. It seems to be moving. You returned it to me at our wedding, but it may want to be in you again, my M.”

My soul is yours, my love. I have no use for it as it well knows. Perhaps it liked my words, or simply stretched its atavistic soma.

“You make me happy, my M,” my Anthi said and kissed me.

Several tears appeared somehow, as they tend to do when Anthi is happy.

Greece is a destination for every body and soul. They do not have to stay forever, but they have to visit it at least twice. My body visited Greece first. My soul followed soon after. Together, they refuse to leave. Greece is home.

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Part 4 - Kiss Me Anthi

When Anthi drives, I hold her hand, when she gives it to me, knowing that I will feel better touching a part of her. I kiss it, thinking of her lips, and when I see her eyes, I am glad that I am not the one driving.

From Sparta, we headed west to Kalamata, the capital of Messinia, a region in Peloponnese known for its olive oil, Kalamata olives (the most nutritious olives on Earth), figs, as well as black raisins (from the Sultana variety). Anthi drove, of course. Kalamata is a lively city that was shortlisted in 2021 for the title of the European Capital of Culture. Its Modern Greek Art Gallery illuminates most hearts with its paintings and sculptures, its Benakeion Archaeological Museum presents pieces from the Bronze Age to the Roman period, and its Folklore and History Museum features time-honoured objects and relics from Greece’s 1821 War of Independence.

Kalamata (“good eyes”) — kala-Anthi (good Anthi) — also beautifully features the Museum of Traditional Greek Costumes, which lays out the history of local folk attire spanning from the mid-18th to the early-20th centuries, marrying modern stage design with sounds and lights. Signs that commonly inform simply with words have been replaced by touchscreens that render the experience even more gratifying.

O Anthi!

“Yes, M.”

I could never love anyone more than Anthi.

I love to hear you repeat it but are you sure?

Of your love even my soul is the sole grantee

And for every anxiety you are my cure.

O my M from back then until the conclusion

I will treasure you and never forsake your touch.

I was hoping you were going to cue our fusion

In which tactility never offers too much.

You make me happy even in our patterned dreams

Where we can walk on Kronos and make love on rings.

My love for you progresses within flights and streams.

Perhaps we could ask Goddess Athena for wings.

My M began this alexandrine in Part 2.

My dear Anthi means me and it is surely true.

Kalamata’s seaside street, in front of the city’s biggish beach (4 km [2.5 miles] long), pleases beyond measure with glazing see-through water awarded the Blue Flag for its quality. While its port is a major stopover for cruise ships, its extensive network of cycling lanes renders bicycles a good option for moving around. Moreover, the luxurious resort complex, Costa Navarino, carries Kalamata forward for those who require catering more than natural splendour.

Anthi and M; I mean me, loved the stairway pictured below; a small heaven in Kalamata. I preferred going down than up, but it was magical both ways during the day and just before nightfall. There were no olive trees along the stairs, but lemons were as abundant as the days in a lifetime of breaths. At one point, while going up for the second time — I guess that I needed the exercise — I stopped and hugged my Anthi as if she was going to disappear. She hugged me back and whispered to the trees in Greek that I loved them all but that she carried my soul. The people ascending behind us must have understood her words, since they remained where they were and hugged each other as well.

These stairs also lead to the legendary Castle of Isabeau, which is reputed to represent the key point of reference of Kalamata and where the famous International Dance Festival is choreographed annually. Amphitheatrically constructed on the site of the Farai acropolis, it provides a bird’s-eye view of the city. We missed the festival, of course, given that it took place in July, but here are some highlights.

As mentioned in Part 3, something that cannot be easily described suddenly occurred after we had declared to each other, surely for the thousandth time, our love (Anthi to M in that instance) and adoration (M to Anthi in that instance). We were certain that Goddess Athena was involved, but She later intimated to us in our minds that She had nothing to do with it.

We were suddenly standing in a rather dark place. We did not feel fear. We felt peaceful. A voice spoke to us in two languages. Anthi heard Greek and I heard French. It seems that one’s first language always counts somewhere and sometime. It was a strange voice — in both languages — that intimated to us not to worry about the future or the past and live fully in the present. By harnessing a hidden part in our minds, we would understand to a greater degree the meaning of life and our world within it. Regrettably, we would take this journey alone within our minds. We would eventually be able to merge, but the process preceding it would have to be undertaken alone.

We can already communicate with each other in our minds, we said almost simultaneously in both languages. We were told that it surpassed our ability to connect with one another but that it would probably help us to reach an understanding of the whole. Future meetings were mentioned before we suddenly found ourselves back where we were at about the same time. We cannot be sure about the latter.

Goddess Athena communicated with our minds as soon as we told Her about this curious contact. “I am glad that you have reached this point in your lives, dear M and dear Anthi. Many humans never do and consequently suffer more than they normally would. I may talk to you about it later in your timeline. Others will guide you, and you will remain together all the time, except during those short or long moments of enlightenment.”

How long is long, my Goddess? I almost screamed.

“I should have specified the time in order not to worry you, dear M, but even I am not perfect. I am sorry. It will be a maximum of two hours, which is long for you without Anthi, I know, dear M. But remember, that you too, would be guided to enlightenment. However, it was arranged that you two would be enlightened at the same time.

I love You, dear Athena.

“I love you, dear M,” replied our Goddess.

It is highly intriguing, dear Athena. I trust that it will be beneficial. I also have what may seem like a curious question. I was wondering if Anthi could have surpassed Helen in beauty.

“You mentioned, dear M, that no one surpasses my beauty in your world. It is possible that no other human surpasses Helen in beauty. Nevertheless, knowing you, dear M, you would have found Anthi more beautiful.”

I know, my Goddess. Even my soul must agree.

Greece is like a kiss, and one is never enough. You may need to visit Greece every year, or move there one day, the Gods and Goddesses willing. Kiss me, Anthi, again and again! You are my Greece, after all.

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Please note that this novel will have 83 parts, including the prologue, an interlude, and the epilogue. This prologue and four first parts can be considered a long chapter, although only due to the 5,000-word limit. While not Greek, I have lived in Athens for over 18 months, learning to read and write the language, and hoping to receive a honorary citizenship before my demise.