The olive tree in ancient Athens was safeguarded by strict laws, highlighting its role as a sentinel of Athenian prosperity and identity. In the 6th century BC, the revered legislator Solon, credited with laying the foundations of Athenian democracy, enacted statutes specifically designed to protect these vital trees. He recognized that the future of Athens…
Two women hug each other as a boy cries after reaching the shores of the Greek island of Lesvos, a day after the deadly wreck of October 28, 2015. [Santi Palacios/AP] He grabbed a piece of driftwood with one hand and tried to keep his son’s head above water with the other. He’d lost sight…
When you think of the great Greek philosophers, Aristotle’s name is usually at the top of the list, but what about the man Aristotle himself chose to take his place—Theophrastus? Theophrastus, Aristotle’s successor at the Lyceum, took his mentor’s groundbreaking empirical methods and pointed them in a new direction: inwards. Theophrastus was the man who…
Water scarcity is no longer a future threat for Greece; it’s a pressing reality worsening with each passing year. The nation, particularly its most populous regions, is confronting a critical shortage, driven by dwindling reserves and unsustainable practices. For the Athens metropolitan area (Attica), home to approximately half of Greece’s population, solutions have been urgently…
On July 11 and 12, Lesvos plans to host the Sappho Lesvos Festival 2025, a modern cultural institution named after the greatest lyric poet of antiquity, highlighting the island’s connection to its literary and cultural heritage. The festival aspires to act as a cultural ambassador for Lesvos and Greece, showcasing the island and the North…
Denisgo/Getty Images Everyone everywhere eats for survival, and hopefully sometimes for enjoyment. Food is universal, and it unites us. Food is part of our cultural identities, an element of religious rites, and an always significant component of celebrations. In some cases, the foods we eat today have not changed much since those their origins. Grains…
View of CCAC construction site in Vastria forest, Lesbos, Greece , 21 January 2025. Marion Bouchetel/Thomson Reuters Foundation. What’s the context? An EU-funded centre for migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos has angered locals, who fear wildfires in a protected area. LONDON/MADRID – The pristine pine forest of Vastria on the Greek island of…
Greece ranks 19th globally in terms of water scarcity risk, primarily due to climate change, according to the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct 4.0 rankings and a recent Deloitte report prepared for the Greek government. The risk stems from both supply-side challenges, like reduced rainfall, and increasing demand driven by irrigation and general consumption. The Deloitte…
A Greek prosecutor has ordered the removal of wolves from Mount Parnitha National Park near Athens and their relocation to northern Greece – a decision that has shocked scientists and conservationists, who warn it is both ecologically damaging and logistically unworkable. The directive, issued about ten days ago by the prosecutor for animal protection, instructs…
In what researchers describe as a very rare phenomenon, large numbers of fruits and seeds from Posidonia oceanica, the higher plants that are vital for the health of the seas, have been washing ashore across Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterranean, signaling that this important and endangered seagrass has been in full “bloom.”…