Curiosities at Hosios Loukas

This is the last post from the monastery, I promise! There were just some curiosities that I think you would need to see:

Sometimes it's the little things that you normally overlook walking by: This platoon of ants carrying a large breadcrumb seems insignificant next to all the history around, but their strength relative to their body and flawless teamwork are amazing! You must concede to them a type of intelligence to form such complex social structures ...

Some fragments with Greek inscriptions are waiting to be deciphered by you (warning: the typography is different from the classical one, so you have to watch out for special forms). The peacock is a Christian symbol often used in early depictions.

In the souvenir shop, I found this almost homoerotic depiction of St Peter and St Paul, two extremely important figures for Christianity: One the first bishop of Rome and hence pope (Jesus said to him "You are the stone upon which I will build my church"), the other a famous convert that had formerly persecuted Christians but then became a powerful preacher in the East, also in Corinth (wait for my posts later on). However, they were against homoerotic acts and considered them sinful, as was widely thought in ancient times as aberration from God's holy and perfect plan of nature.

Then it was time to say goodbye to this important monastery that gave us so many impressions and where so many people were healed according to legend.

Let's take a break for a while in the countryside ... see you next time!

Photo gallery