In this series of short stories about a year in a mastic village, you will get to follow the journey of Dimitris and Giannis. Together with the young Dimitris, you are invited to observe and learn the master’s craft. This is the first chapter; stay tuned for more!

Α δε λαλήσει τζίτζικας εν είναι καλοκαίρι
If the harvest fly does not sing, it is not summer
(local saying of Chios island)

It is already late June, and Giannis decided to take young Dimitris on the mastic fields with him. Dimitris was waiting anxiously to help with the ‘kendima’, which means embroidering. He has grown up around mastic and wants to become a mastic grower. The fields of Giannis are near the village of Pyrgi, where they live. From the road, they can easily see those rather short trees with deep green leaves and with interesting trunks. On the southwestern part of Chios, mastic trees line the roads on both sides. The sun has started to come up, so Giannis and Dimitris must hurry if they want to finish their work before late noon. Otherwise the Greek sun will be unbearable.

“Dimitri, go find some branches and twigs to make a broom. We need to clean the soil under the trees,” Giannis said. “Ok, I’m going. Don’t start the ‘table’ without me,” Dimitrits replied and he started running immediately to look for branches. “You don’t have to run!” Giannis shouted after him. “Have some patience. I will wait for you.”

While waiting for Dimitris, Giannis looked at one of the older mastic trees. Its branches had grown so much that you could almost stand completely under it. When he was a child, he used to think that the trees were already very big, because he himself was small. While growing up, he learned that mastic trees are actually rather short trees, and it takes specific cultivation methods to make them bigger.

His grandmother used to tell him many stories about life in the past. How back then, they used to bring their children along at the field because there was no one else to babysit at home. Their main transport were donkeys and their saddles were used as baby beds. After taking off the saddle from the donkey, the women would turn it over and place a jute bag in it. Using a rope, they would then hang the saddle-baby bed from a strong mastic tree branch and leave the baby to sleep as if in a swinging bed.

“Hey Giannis, wake up!” Dimitris called him out of his daydream. “What happened?” Giannis asked. “Come on! Let’s clean and level the soil and lay down the white soil!” Dimitris answered full of excitement. “Okay, okay.. I wish I had that enthusiasm when I was your age,” Giannis laughed. Together, they carefully cleaned the soil with the broom they made, called ‘athrimba’.

“I will show you today how to make the first incisions on the tree,” Giannis said. “Today, Kendima? But isn’t it too early? June has not even finished,” said Dimitris confused. “No, it is not too early,” Giannis explained. “We always do the first incisions right after cleaning the soil, in order to ‘wake up’  the tree and start producing mastic. But be careful, we will only make some very few incisions on the bottom of the trunk of each tree. Do you want to know how we call this first kendima?” Giannis asked. “Sure!” Dimitris was excited to learn. “It is called riniasma,” Giannis told him.

Now they were ready to start. “Which tool are you going to use?” Giannis asked. Dimitris looked at the tools in front of them. “The kenditiri or baltadaki,” he answered. “Well done, you have learned all of them!” said Giannis enthusiastically. “Now let’s get to work.”

This is a fictional story written by Danae Kaplanidi (PIOP), and is the outcome of archival and ethnographic fieldwork research in the villages of Mesta, Olimpi, Emporeios and Pyrgi. The author would like to thank the research participants for their time and willingness to share stories about life in southern Chios.
Top image: Mastic field of the Chios Mastic Museum, 2019. Photo: Danae Kaplanidi

One of Mingei’s pilot studies involves mastic; a product from the mastic tree which exclusively grows in the south-west of Chios in Greece. The craft is highly localized, and the cultivation of mastic has historically shaped the local life. The 24 villages from where mastíha is harvested are known as Mastihochoria, or Mastic Villages – their name being an indication of the importance of mastic for the region. In order to explore and illustrate how the craft practice of mastic and its community have shaped the urban context, we created 3D reconstructions of the villages. How does the practice of crafts shape its surroundings and the local life?

The Island of Chios

The Island of Chios is situated opposite of the large natural bay of Smyrna, Asia Minor on the seaway from the exit of Dardanelles to the island of Rhodes or Alexandria. In 1571, the island passed from the Genoese under the rule of Ottoman domination. Both until 16th and the beginning of the 20th century, many visitors and navigators stayed on the island and passed down important texts and pictorial material over many generations. On the one hand, the rare product mastic, which can only be extracted from a common kind of a tree called “Skinos” on southern Chios. And on the other hand, the beauty and courtesy of women as well as their lavish costumes inspired foreign visitors to describe and represent the Island’s uniqueness.

At the beginning of the 15th century, Chios Island is mapped in “Liber Insularum Archipelagi” by Cr. Buondelmonti, which became a standard for the later maps of islands, such as those of B. Dalli Sonetti (1485) and B. Bordone (1547).

Nowadays, Chios is one of the largest islands in the Aegean Sea and is famous for the mild climate, the beautiful beaches and the variety of historical monuments. First and foremost, Chios has been well known throughout the world for the cultivation of mastic trees since ancient times. Mastic (μαστίχα) is a natural product collected from the bark of mastic trees, which exclusively flourish in the southern part of the island and due to this fact, the medieval settlements in that area are called “Mastichochoria”, as from mastic villages (χωριά).

The development of mastic villages

These settlements date back to the Byzantine Era and they are still Cultural Heritage monuments, although they have suffered disasters over the centuries. During the Genoese occupation (1346–1566), the mastic cultivation becomes progressively systematic and 22 mastic villages are founded in the southern part of the island aiming mainly at exploiting mastic, as a monopolistic product. Τhe geographical position of the villages was not visible from the sea and their layout reminds of a fortress, of which the aim was to protect the inhabitants from the frequent incursions in the Aegean Sea.

Latin architects, engineers and contractors oppressively had local farmers build the villages, according to the Italian architectural model of that era. In the center of each settlement, there was a tall rectangular tower, around of which there were houses very close to each other. The walls of the houses located circumferentially of the village formed an external wall with a cylindrical turret with crenellations on each corner to avoid invaders who tried to approach the center of the village by confusing them. This architectural draft gave masters the opportunity to close the gates in order for protection.

The houses of Mastic Villages follow the same architecture. They are stone-built, consisting of ground and first floor and are covered by semicircular domes called “Germata”. On the ground floor were stables and a storage room for agricultural products. On the first floor were the other rooms, which spread around a central outdoor space, the “Poundi”, which served to illuminate and ventilate the floor. The roofs of all the houses were about the same height, making it easy for residents to escape from the top of them in case of threat.

Τhe best preserved Mastic Villages are those that did not suffer major damage in the disastrous earthquake of 1881: Pyrgi, Mesta, Olympoi and less Vessa, Kalamoti and Elata.

To illustrate craft practice and community needs shaped the urban context we used aerial images of the Pyrgi, Mesta, Olympoi and Elata villages to show the densely-constructed houses which formed continuous external walls and the location of maximum security: the central tower in the village where mastic was stored and guarded during day and night. The 3D reconstructions of these villages are shown to illustrate and understand these architectural structures. It ought to be noted, that in later years, the towers in Mesta and Elata were replaced by churches. The location of the central tower for our four villages and the wall perimeter is shown. Can you find them in the 3D reconstructions?

Pyrgi Village

Pyrgi is a rich village for its folklore, archaeological and linguistic importance. The village is surrounded by a medieval fence that is formed by the external walls of the houses. There were only two exits from the village, which used to be sealed with two iron gates. The roads are narrow and the two or three storey houses are tall. The name of the village comes from the tall tower around of which the rest settlement was built. The Byzantine temple of Holy Apostles, with the well-preserved frescoes inspired from the Old and the New Testament, is situated at the village square. The existence of this church proves that the village was not constructed by Genoese for the first time, but several nearby settlements merged with the existing village during the Genoese occupation.

In Pyrgi the façades of the buildings have been decorated in a different and unique way throughout Greece. More precisely, this technique is based on the black sand of the roughcast, which is painted with white color and then it is scratched diligently. In that way, a variety of black patterns can be created on a white background, such as triangles, circles, semicircles, or rhombus. This technique is called “Xysta” and many walls of houses and churches have been decorated in this manner, giving an outstanding impression to the village. At last Pyrgi is a village of folklore interest and the only one of several villages that maintains many customs and traditions till today.

Mesta Village

Mesta is the most typical sample of fortification and the most well-preserved of the rest mastic villages, in the south of Chios. The village was built in a pentagonal form, which is perhaps unique in Greece, during the Byzantine Era, while later Genoases improved its fortification. Each house is built next to the other, without gaps but only two entrances to the interior of the village. The alleys are narrow and most of them are covered with arches, on which some residences are built. The layout of the village reminds of a labyrinth, aiming at preventing pirates from easily approaching the center of it.

The oldest monument of Mesta is the church of Old Taxiarches. It is a single-aisled Basilica, built during the Byzantine period. In the interior of which there are traces of frescoes, although most have been destroyed. The largest church in the village is the newest church of Taxiarches, built in 1868 on the site of the old circular castle tower. Next to it, there is the central, traditional village square with taverns and cafes. Nowadays, Mesta is a major attraction for many tourists, both for its unique architecture and the natural beauty of the area. The main occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture.

Olympoi Village

Olympoi Village lies in a small, treeless valley far from the sea. It is a medieval village of the 14^th century and has been declared a listed monument. The village maintains the form of the medieval “castle-village” quite well, enclosed by the exterior walls of the houses, which joined together. Those residences had no doors or windows, so as to deter their owners from seeing the outside of the village. The stone-paved streets of the village are narrow and lead to the main square. The functional character of the houses supports the village’s defense against pirate raids. The church of St. Paraskevi with its wood-carved iconostasis and the Trapeza of Olympoi, a two-storey building with long hallways preserved in a good condition since the Middle Ages, are of noteworthy interest. Just outside the village, near the beach of St. Dinami with the homonymous church, there is a cavern with remarkable natural decoration of stalactites. It was first visited in 2000.

Elata Village

Elata Village is located in a semi-mountain area, on a rocky hill in the southern part of the village where three windmills were built and are preserved to date. The position of the village is away from the sea, although there is a clear view of the Aegean Sea. The position and the architecture of Elata illustrate the dread of the inhabitants due to the frequent raids of the pirates from the Middle Ages till the Turkish Occupation. The “village-castle” architecture of Elata is still preserved to a certain extent. Seven older Byzantine settlements united to build the castle of Elata, probably around 1300 AD. At that time, the inhabitants of the village were engaged in the farming of a wild bird called partridge, which is not the case nowadays. The name of the village is thought to come from the Greek phrase “elate, elate” (=come, come) which was shouted at the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements to enter the castle when they were informed about the arrival of pirate ships.

To sum up, Chios island is a destination that invites visitors to discover it. Apart from beautiful beaches with clear waters, Chios stands out for the medieval villages in the southern part of the island, which are famous throughout the world for the production of mastic. This natural product is cultivated entirely by hand and is nowadays used in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and cosmetics. Mastic villages also display exquisite architecture and unique decorative elements on the facades of the houses, offering visitors the opportunity to travel back in time.

Want to learn more about the mastic villages? Go visit The Chios Mastic Museum! The museum is situated in the wider area of Pyrgi Village and aims at presenting the history of mastic cultivation and the processing of its resin, which integrates into the cultural landscape of Chios. The permanent exhibition of the museum lies emphasis on the mastic as a unique natural product. The first module presents the traditional know-how of mastic cultivation. The second module focuses on how managing the cultivation and its produce shaped the agricultural landscape and the settlements of southern Chios and the Mastic Villages historically. The third module is dedicated to mastic resin’s cooperative exploitation and processing in modern times, which marks an important chapter in the productive history of Chios. The museum guidance is completed with an outdoor experience, since the public comes into contact with the mastic trees and the natural habitat, where they prosper.

Written by Argyro, Polykarpos and Xenophon from FORTH, photography and video by Thodoris Evdaimon (FORTH)

Chinese silk has a history of five thousand years. The unique techniques used, the vivid colours and its fascinating history have all contributed to the fact that silk occupies a very significant chapter in the history of Chinese – but also global – culture.

From 20 September until 20 October 2019, the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) and the China National Silk Museum presented the exhibition “Tradition Meets Trend” at the Foundation’s Silk Museum in Soufli, Greece. The exhibition included modern clothes and accessories of silk from the collections of the China National Silk Museum.

The exhibition used silk apparel to recreate the charm of silk craftsmanship via four sections: embroidery, silk-screen printing, weaving, dyeing. Both tradition and modern design trends are applied to create objects – works of art that showcase the inexhaustible vitality of Chinese silk.

The exhibition highlighted the greatness of silk culture and functions as a bridge between the two civilisations, Chinese and Greek. An embroidered coat of red satin with flower and bird patterns, the qipao brocade, blue-dyed silk scarves and many other spectacular creations, offered visitors the opportunity to “travel” to distant China.

The exhibition, which was under the auspices of the Culture & Tourism Department of the province of Zhejiang and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Greece, came under the framework of the co-operation agreement signed between PIOP and the China National Silk Museum in October 2017. In the same context, providing for cultural exchanges between the two entities, PIOP will lend artefacts from its collections to be displayed at the China National Silk Museum in 2020.

Written by PIOP

Man is constantly striving to seek beauty and incorporate it into his everyday life. Beauty is represented in works of art, ornaments and implements of daily use. This ongoing search for beauty is on show at “The Countless Aspects of Beauty” as of Wednesday June 18, 2019 at the Chios Mastic Museum in Greece, which will be the last stop of this touring exhibition.

Visitors will have the opportunity to admire fifty antiquities from the collections of the National Archaeological Museum, dating from prehistoric times to the Roman era. Several items, referring to some of the aspects of Beauty, are being exhibited for the first time.

A separate section, which however is not unrelated to the collection of antiquities, highlights the beauty of the women of Chios as seen through the eyes of travellers (16th-19th century), with exhibits and photographic material derived from the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece / National Historical Museum and the Travelogues section of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, respectively. Also on display are the multiple properties and uses of the unique product mastic, which is one of Mingei’s pilots.

Exhibition on tour

The major exhibition “The Countless Aspects of Beauty” of the National Archaeological Museum (NAM), was designed in collaboration with the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) to tour its thematic museums. It has been presented since May 2018 in the venues of the National Archaeological Museum’s touring exhibitions, a smaller version with the same title, presenting antiquities from the top museum of the country. The exhibition was presented successively at the Museum of the Olive and Olive-Oil in Sparta, the Silversmithing Museum in Ioannina, and the Museum of Marble Crafts in Tinos; it was visited by approx. 46,000 people.

The selection of the ancient artefacts was based on the themes of the PIOP museums to which they travelled. Thus, in the Museum of the Olive and Olive-Oil the focus was on body-care items such as oils and perfumes, in the Silversmithing Museum on fine jewellery, and in the Museum of Marble Crafts on marble figurines representative of the Cycladic culture.

The touring exhibition “The Countless Aspects of Beauty” is part of the policy of the National Archaeological Museum to create, in Greece and beyond, parallel versions, linked thematically to its central touring exhibitions. The ultimate aim of the collaboration between the two entities is that these exhibitions will function as satellites of the top museum in Greece in the various regions of the country, offering to local communities the opportunity to examine at first hand fine artefacts of great historical value derived from the unique collections of the National Archaeological Museum. Another aim of this two-year collaboration (2018-2019) is to link the cultural imprint of modern times with that of the past, showcasing the vitality of Greek culture in all of its expressions across time.

The exhibition runs from June 19 to September 8, 2019 at the Chios Mastic Museum, Rachi site (Tepeki), Chios 821 02. 
Opening hours: Daily except Tuesdays, 10:00-18:00
Closed on July 22 (local fair) and August 15

With the kind support of the Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association. 

Written by PIOP