Paula Garrett — Playing Goddesses

As a young Kalymnian, Eutelistrate performed for other children nearby. Songs and dances from her cliff-side village sparked her imagination as did her Yaya who told her stories featuring goddesses and magical powers.

 Her friends would gather to hear her sing and tell tales of snakes charmed by the young women of her grandmother’s time and follow epic journeys from the heavens to the underworld riding chariots pulled by creatures they’d never heard of.

Mountain herbs, Kalymnos

As her audience grew, Eutelistrate began casting roles. Some of the girls played goddesses of various elements - the sea, glittering turquoise meters and meters below them, the mountain herbs of oregano, musky sage, and thyme smelling of sun, and the fire that kept them fed and warmed and stoked their longings for what lay beyond.