Vrykolakas [Vaguely Hawkwind]

[Chip Hart]

        Missive from a friend of mine; Hawkwind question at the end that
        I'd love to see answered.

        Thanks!


You've heard the expression "Like bringing coals to Newcastle"...
meaning an unnecessary or nonsensical (foolish) thing to do, since
Newcastle was a town that was based on coal-mining.  ("Selling snow to
Eskimos" also comes to mind).  Well, there is  a lesser-known phrase
"Like bringing vampires to Santorini" which refers to the ancient (?)
practice of peoples on mainland Greece shipping vampires (vrykolakas)
to the rocky volcanic island of Santorini whose inhabitants were said
to be particularly adept at "dealing" with them.  Thus Santorini became
known for its large population of vampires.  I am unsure of the details
but Santorini is jagged, steep-cliffed... not the most hospitable
terrain.  It makes me wonder about the natives... sounds like a good
place to lead an ascetic lifestyle... maybe they were (excommunicated)
priests or there was a monastery there or something.  maybe it was
their religious knowledge which allowed them to control the
vrykolakas.  I'm not sure.  What about the vampires?  Did they just
ship out corpses suspected of vampirism individually?  Or were there
ships which sometimes transported entire cargoes of vampires (COOL!)?
What about "living" vampires (the mentally ill?  mental illness as
demonic possession belief)?  I wonder if there was much discrimination
or were the insane and/or diseased grouped in with that other unsavory
group, the vrykolakas?  Was Santorini like Alcatraz, but worse... ?  No
prison; just the diseased, insane and undead roaming freely.  Makes for
fascinating musing.

As an aside, regarding Santorini (travelogue time):  it's rocky cliffs
are now home to a spectacular resort community.  it's geography is
peculiar and mysterious... it is basically an island with a hole in
it.  Sometime in ancient times (prehistory? i'm  bad with dates and
numbers) Santorini (which was then a complete island known as Thera)
was the victim of an enormous volcanic cataclysm that blew the center
of the island out leaving only the semi-circular rocky ridge that
survives today.  Sea-water rushed in to fill the caldera, making for
Santorini's very unique landscape.  Some theories exist that a rich
civilisation possibly similar to that of Mycenae or nearby Crete had
thrived on Santorini prior to the eruption and that this may have been
the basis for the myth of the Lost City of Atlantis.

My question is:  don't you think that Santorini is an appropriate venue
for the space-rock band Hawkwind?  Do you know of any Hawkwind concerts
staged overlooking the Santorini caldera?  I know that Hawkwind has
played at Stonehenge, since I own a rewcording of the performance.  If
they have never played Santorini, is there a club or outdoor festival
area on that island where Hawkwind might play in the future?


--
Chip Hart                           *                        chip @ pcc.com
Physician's Computer Company        *              http://www.pcc.com/~chip
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