Isolated Olympos

[Maik]

Inside Olympos, the isolated village in Greece where women are in charge
In a remote mountain hamlet on the Dodecanese island of Karpathos, females have for centuries challenged Greece’s traditional patriarchy

The sun rises in a fiery orange ball over the pastel-coloured façades of Olympos, a lost-in-the-past village on the slopes of Profitis Ilias, one of the highest mountains on the Greek island of Karpathos. Founded by inhabitants of the Doric city of Vrykous in the ninth century BC, this high-flung hamlet – built across the island’s mountainous spine in order to discourage incursions by Saracen pirates – is home to a matriarchal society with unique traditions that still exist to this day.

Unlike most other parts of Greece, where men generally have the upper hand, women play a leading role in local affairs, often taking vital decisions concerning the village and how it is run.

“You have to understand – this was one of the remotest villages on what is still one of Greece’s remotest islands,” says Michalis Reisis, a 40-year-old who was born on Karpathos and leads guided tours here. “Olympos was cut off from the rest of the world – and even from the rest of the island – until the late 70s, when a tarmac road was built linking the village to the tiny fishing resort of Diafani eight kilometres away. Maybe the village kept its traditions because it was so isolated.”

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/olympos-greece-isolated-greek-village-women-2261229

Interesting read (IMO).