“We hope to encourage the Greeks of the Diaspora to remember their history and culture, to embrace the lessons of their ancestors, and to teach their children the stories of their ancestral lands.”
Michele Kiosoglous
Creators
Michele Kiosoglous
Author
Michele Kiosoglous was raised by a close-knit Kastellorizian family who instilled a love for the far away magical island of Megisti. Stories of its colourful history fuelled her childhood imagination and she thanks her -Kiosoglou, Adgemis, Finikiotis and Exintaris grandparents for sharing the secrets of Kastellorizian customs, kitchen & dialect and for developing in her, a fondness for its storied past.
Michele is a Barrister who initially studied English Literature & History, Education and then read Law. Her legal work allows her to travel between Australia and Greece. She has successfully built a practice advising Greeks of the Diaspora about Greek legal matters. You can frequently see Michele on the Kastellorizo Limani, with her toy poodle, Baci.
Phillippa Adgemis
Author
Like her cousin Michele, Phillippa Adgemis grew up in the diaspora time bubble and learnt second-hand about Kastellorizo, the island of their heritage. She travels there whenever she can and finds the timelessness of the island intoxicating and haunting. Ironically, she is more likely to catch up with Adgemis and Georgouras cousins when holidaying on the island than she is in her busy life in Australia.
In Melbourne, Phillippa works in education and has a passion for theatre, music and the arts.
Michele Kiosoglous and Phillippa Adgemis share a heritage and a love of the tiny island of Megisti-Kastellorizo located in the south-eastern Aegean Sea. Together they have created a series of children’s stories linking the Muses with the jewel that is Megisti-Kastellorizo.
The series, Stories of Megisti Kastellorizo™, brings together the natural beauty, history, geography and mythology of Megisti. It is the hope and intention of the authors to inspire a new generation of children and Greeks of the Diaspora to visit the magical country of Greece, to see the islands, to learn about classical literature and nurture an interest in folklore.
In writing these stories, the authors are combining myth and legend in a didactic format depicting how the Muses grace the children of the island.
Vanessa Gouveia
Illustrator
Ever since she was a child Vanessa Gouveia has been fascinated by the imaginary worlds created by books. Being able to create her own magical images for children has been a wonderful obsession, which made her a perfect choice for the role of Illustrator of Kleio and Despina©.
Vanessa has loved drawing and creating since childhood. Her illustration work is colourful and highly detailed giving life to characters and stories where she creates atmospheric and emotive images with a hint of mystery and whimsy. Her illustration work ranges from children’s books and magazines to commissioned logos, portraiture and web imagery.
Vanessa’s aim in her work is to bring colour, beauty and magic into the world, creating places into which her audience can escape.
James Blake
Illustrator
James Blake has been drawing and painting from a very young age and is a freelance illustrator with degrees in English literature, writing, editing, and publishing. He has a background in classics, and cultivates a deep interest in Greek Mythology, undoubtedly owing to Ithacan and Kastellorizian heritage on his mother’s side – the Deftereos and Tringas families respectively.
James is the Illustrator of the book Melpomene and Andonis©. He continues to delight in books for children and is elated at being able to contribute, however modestly, to the proliferation of such a magical genre.
Inspiration
The Stories of Megisti Kastellorizo bring together the natural beauty, nature, history and mythology of Megisti-Kastellorizo. We hope that it will introduce a new generation to classical literature and the place we love.
The Muses graced the literature and imagination of the Classical World and have continued to entertain mankind with their music, dance, love, poetry and song. The Stories of Megisti – Kastellorizo bring the Muses to life for a new generation.
Megisti-Kastellorizo is an ancient place that has been inhabited since Neolithic times. The stretch of civilization can be seen in the scattered inscriptions on the ruins of countless tombs and walls across the island.
The Romans and Byzantines occupied the island and 1306 the Knights of the Order of St. John built a Castle fortresses overlooking the Aegean Sea. At this time, Megisti became known by its Venetian-Italian name of Kastellorizo, which derives from the words Castello-Rosso or Red-Castle.
Today Kastellorizo is a magical and isolated place with the permanent population of 250 swelling to over 1000 in the summer. The Kastellorizian diaspora and other lovers of the island return year after year bringing new life and colour to this ancient place.
In writing these stories, the creators are combining myth and legend in a didactic format depicting how the muses grace the children of the island.
Muses
The nine muses are deities that gifted to humanity the inspiration for creation. The word ‘muse’ originates from the Greek word ‘mosis’, meaning to desire and wish. The modern words ‘museum’ and ‘music’ originate from muses.
The nine muses are the divine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who were borne of their great passion in the following order: Kalliope, Kleio, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato, Terpsichore, Ourania, Thalia and Polymnia. The ethereal beauties normally reside above the golden clouds that cover the Greek mountain peaks of sacred Olympus and Helicon.
Every now and then, they are sent to Earth to teach lessons and to grace a select few. Blessed be the mortal whom the muses happen to favour.
The muse who chose to favour a specific child would secretly pour a delicate dew drop onto the babe’s tongue at birth, so that their gentle words and song could be heard by the child. When the child reached a specific age, the muse would appear and grace them with the gifts of kindness, honour, respect and duty. The muse would also protect them.
Gallery
Images special to us
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- Traditional May Day Wreath from Kastellorizo
News
Art Competition – Environmental Awareness Campaign Megisti 2021
STORIES OF MEGISTI is excited to announce the overall winner of the Artwork for their Environmental Awareness Competition is: WINNER: Manos, Athens with his EUROPEAN BEE-EATER. The European Bee-Eater is a spring and summer visitor to the island. You can often see them swooping as they hunt for insects, near St George of the Mountain. […]
Kleio and Despina is now in stock
The creators are proud to announce that the second book in the series Stories of Megisti Kastellorizo™, Kleio and Despina© has been delivered and is now available for purchase online. The book will also be available for purchase at the Kastellorizian Council of Australia conference in Sydney, to be held on the 2019 Australia Day long […]
Our new book Kleio and Despina is now available
The creators are proud to announce that the second book in the series Stories of Megisti Kastellorizo™, Kleio and Despina© is now available. This story has been illustrated by Adelaide children’s book illustrator, Vanessa Gouveia©. Kleio and Despina© is now available for purchase online and will be available for sale at the Kastellorizian Council of […]