Kythera: In Search of Beauty

Aphrodite, goddess of spiritual and creative fertility, spread her grace upon Three Rooms Press staffers during our recent run-in with her on the Greek island of Kythera.

According to legend, Greek god Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and cast the severed genetials into the sea. They floated on the surface of the waters around Kythera, producing a white foam out of which Aphrodite rose. The rock you see just off the coast is the remains of the egg from which the mighty Aphrodite emerged.


"Okay, fine!" you say. "Enough of the Greek mythology. What does it have to do with the reality?" Well, my fine friends. The reality is this: Kythera is the most beautiful, unexploited place on the planet. Imagine: Pristine beaches with nobody on them. Ancient ruins, scattered between white stucco homes in beautiful villages. People as sweet as honey (of which, Kythera is known to produce the best on Earth). Just south of the Peloponnese peninsula, the island is as close to paradise as you get on this planet. Do you remember what silence sounds like? It's here. Quieter than the desert.

And caves, along the coast and hidden in valleys and gorges (which are gorgeous). There is one major highway (major meaning it has 2 lanes). Several other roads are "paved." Many more are dirt roads that are usually passable. They all lead somewhere as poetically inspiring as you can dream possible.

On Kythera, your idea of the ideal of beauty is enlarged. You become engaged in a dialogue with beauty and feel as if you're talking to your best friend. You think differently, your world slows down to allow your thoughts to linger, each having a beauty of its own.

Poets live here. Artists too. Of course, there's a few rascals in the mix to take care of the tourists. But even they have their imaginative qualities. The island is full of enough modern facilities to make it comfortable for those of us spoiled by the conveniences of modern life. It all works. "Flourish! And grow!" is the Three Rooms Press motto of the year; "Follow Your Art" is the Kytherean motto. What more do you want? As the year hits its midpoint, creativity is emerging as easily as the goddess Aphrodite emerged from that foam.