1988 Essays

Aegina: A Place of Return

Anghelaki-Rooke, Katerina; Van Dyck, Karen

Aegina is a place of return. It is a place that opens, receives, consoles and heals. Other islands are points of departure; you leave them behind and set off on expeditions, exploits, conquests. Dry, arid islands like Hydra, Ios, Mykonos and Santorin inspire action. Aegina, on the other hand. is a feminine island; as the boat turns the corner, the horse-shoe shaped harbor-the church of the little Virgin on the one side and the old yellow house on the other-provides the perfect enclosure for an aching heart. When I was small I thought the yellow house had become yellow from the passing of time, like an old photograph.