A Journey to Ancient Aexone Today

The original proposition

The first day joined a public forum on Ancient Greek gastronomy with a practical tasting programme and a theatrical concert devoted to ancient gods and heroes in opera.

The second day shifted into an active market populated by ceramics, food, baskets, sandals, instruments, jewellery, makeup and a thermopolion, with priority envisaged for local businesses.

Mythological mime, archery, hoplite interpretation, pankration and a Linear B workshop gave families multiple ways to enter the historical world. The programme was submitted to the Municipality of Glyfada as a festival proposal using ancient Aexone as the historical foundation for contemporary civic culture and local participation. It was not commissioned or implemented.

Saturday: knowledge, taste and opera

The proposed festival used ancient Aexone as a foundation for contemporary civic culture, tourism innovation and local economic participation. It was designed for Glyfada residents, families, visitors, local businesses and audiences interested in food, music and archaeology.

Sunday: the agora comes alive

Day one begins with a public forum on Ancient Greek gastronomy, moves into practical culinary interpretation and tasting, and culminates in an opera concert devoted to ancient gods and heroes.
Day two opens as an active ancient market with traders and makers, followed by workshops and physical-culture encounters for children and adults.
The festival closes at the shoreline with lyre music at sunset, joining the historical identity of Aexone with the contemporary coastal setting.

A sunset ending by the sea

A talk on practical, experiential ancient cooking for general audiences.
A buffet tasting of historically informed dishes and drinks.
An active thermopolion alongside bread, fish, meat, fruit, vegetables and other market trades.
Priority was envisaged for local businesses, with sellers integrated into the historical market environment.

Aexone as contemporary civic culture

Symphonic ensemble, lyric artists and projections in the themed opera concert.
Mythological pantomime, historical archery, hoplite encounter and pankration.
A Linear B workshop introducing Mycenaean language and writing.
Live pottery on a traditional foot wheel and a sunset lyre performance by the sea.

How Glyfada could host it now

Costumed market sellers, ceramics, baskets, sandals, instruments, jewellery and beauty materials establish the agora.
The proposed spaces were the conference/tasting setting, the Theatre of Aexone, the active market and the seafront finale.
Each space carried a distinct mode—discussion, tasting, spectacle, participation and contemplation—within one civic narrative.

Adaptation today

The format can foreground new archaeological evidence and Glyfada's present-day coastal identity.
The market can be curated around verified local makers and food businesses, with transparent distinction between ancient reference and contemporary product.
The two days can remain separate, or become a compact route from cultural forum to public agora and sunset concert.

Gastronomy in the visitor journey

From public discussion to active market

Day one moved from a gastronomy forum into practical interpretation and a buffet; day two placed food trades and a thermopolion inside the living market. The proposal did not preserve a final menu.

Act 01

Day one — Knowledge becomes tasting

Representative breads, olive and pulse preparations demonstrate how the proposed public discussion could become an immediate sensory encounter.

Bread of Pan

A bread combining red, yellow and brown lentils with hard wheat. Its mixture of grain and pulses gives the mythological menu a tangible link between pastoral imagery, staple foods and the figure of Pan.

Etnos elaion

Crushed olives with honey, olive oil and aromatic plants balance saline, sweet and fragrant notes. Served with bread, the preparation makes the olive both food and a story of cultivation, trade and hospitality.

Mithaecus chickpea spread

A chickpea preparation linked in the working dossier with Mithaecus, allowing a tasting to open a conversation about the early written record of Greek cookery.

Act 02

Day two — Food trades in the agora

Bread, fish, meat, fruit and vegetables were planned as visible market trades. These archive links show possible prepared forms, not confirmed stall menus.