Lesvos has a legacy of continuous activity. Learned to live half in the sky and half on the earth, half in doubt and half in immortality, half in doom and half in hope. Most of the times, one cannot grasp or understand the reasons why this island has produced continuous culture samples that never stayed imprisoned on the island.
On the contrary, those samples, were exported and influenced intelligentsia in and out of Greece in every form of written language and thought from antiquity till modern days. Today, omnipresent poetry, in life, in history, in memory, in legacy, in ethics, in spirit and everyday life shows the future. Lesvos is first among Greek islands and cities in book publications (literature, historical and folklore etc).
Sixteen amateur theater groups, many art schools, musicians and many more music groups are based in this island. Moreover, many dance groups, choirs and cultural associations preserve our traditional festivals. Inspiration in this place is a state of mind. Natural scenery in one hand and the voice of Sappho that is in our hearts and minds on the other, urge us to think knowledge as memory, as Plato mentions in “Phedon”
Lesvos island is an UNESCO Global Geopark because of a) rich historic and cultural legacy and b) the diversity of the natural environment and the importance of it’s specific features (Petrified forest, wetlands, rare birds, rich flora, rich subsoil, herbs, olive cultivation, hot springs).
Unique traditional villages made by stone and wood that become one with nature and offer generous beauty and health to the local population and the visitors. Unique seaside villages with blue beaches and traditional kafeneia (café) that offer unparallel Ouzo of Mytilene, local sardines from the golfs of the island, top quality cheese, olive oil and treats of the beautiful local cuisine, which is a fusion of local and Asia Minor flavors.
It is an honor that PHILOXENIA is devoted to our island, the beautiful, the hospitable, the unique. We thank you for this honor and we believe that it is our obligation to work, together with the rest of Greece, for the revival of our country after the financial crisis and the humanitarian refugee and migrant crisis. We have to be committed and defend the universal values and ideals that this place gave birth to and we serve them continuously.
