[sound of waves]
[birdsong]
[music playing]
I am well-prepared for all of you and I
have all the answers you may seek
because all those things that you have
learned by studying texts, I have already
seen them with my own eyes:
magnificent theatres, bustling markets,
ornate temples, sacred dramatic plays... The gods have blessed me to be born in
Greece, the birth land of Homer, Pindar,
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Socrates
who was my teacher, and Aristotle, who was
my student. I grew up in Athens.
When my teacher drank the hemlock, I traveled like Ulysses has done before.
And many cities did I visit and many were the
people with whose customs and thinking
I was acquainted. People call me the healer
of the immortal souls.
Yet the immortal soul lives in a
perishable body and what springs from it
is the appetite for food. So I have
prepared a banquet. This time it is not
about love, but it is about flavors and
celebration.
[music playing]
Naxos is a large island of the Cyclades
with high mountains, fertile valleys, and
endless beache.  Herodotus calls the
island prosperous because of the
drinking water, the wonderful climate, the
fertile land and the Naxian marble.
[music playing]
[man speaking Greek] [music playing]
Naxos is a very important island since antiquity.
[man speaking Greek] [music playing]
When the Persians came to invade Greece the satraps characterised Naxos as a small island
but very beautiful and strong.
[music playing]
First we will visit the village Koromos
 where we will find Matina's tavern.
She will make us breakfast: a traditional
breakfast from Naxos Island.
[music playing]
[Matina speaking Greek]
Now we will talk about breakfast.
Our grandfathers made this breakfast;
goat cheese made here in Naxos Island.
We will be cut into
small pieces, combined with sage,
fresh with a full aroma [Marina talking Greek]
take a tablespoon of honey, stir...
[music playing]
[Marina speaking Greek]
...figs...
...walnuts  and bread!
[music playing]
A full breakfast!
[music playing]
The Dionysian cult, which was present
from the Mycenaen times dominated
the island. The young God was born in
Naxos and gave her, along with other gifts,
a wonderful wine.
[music playing]
[man speaking Greek] The Dionysian cult which was present from the Mycenean times
dominated the island. The young God was
born in Naxos and gave her along with
other gifts a wonderful wine. Dionysus
was living there. There was also a river
which is still here today.
[music playing]
The plant called Byblos grows in the area
and people said that the river had wine
instead of water.
[music playing]
One of the most important sanctuaries of
ancient Naxos, dedicated to the god
Dionysus, is found at Iria, south of Naxos
town and in the middle of the fertile
valley of Livadi. We will now visit Iria.
We will wander around the temple and find
out everything about goats and the
famous cheese made in Naxos!
[music playing]
[music playing]
[man speaking Greek]
[man speaking Greek]As we all know Naxos is famous for its cheeses.
From ancient times until today,  the island's
products are very popular. For example
the wine, the olive oil, but mostly the
cheese.  We have the famous
arseniko cheese, then kefalotyri cheese
and of course graviera (gruyiere) which is a PDO product i.e. it has Protected Designation of Origin.
[music playing]
We will now visit Matina and she will
cook for us a very tasty dish.
[music playing]
[Matina speaking Greek] Now we will boil the goat.  We usually have this dish during the winter.
[music playing]
We will add carrots, shallots ,potatoes and celery...
[music playing]
[Matina speaking Greek] We will serve it with salt and pepper on a very old dish.
[music playing]
Naxos' temple of Apollo, called  Portara, a huge marble gate and the single
remaining part of an unfinished temple
of Apollo of 530 BC, is the island's
emblem and main landmark.
[music playing]
Naxos' temple of Apollo, Portara, is
connected with the Naxos mainland via a
paved footpath. It is an amazing spot. It
offers one of the most enchanting
sunsets you have ever seen.
[music playing]
[music playing][birdsong]
Now we will taste a traditional pie with
herbs, the famous sefouklioti.
[music playing]
[Marina speaking Greek]
Now we will make a sefoukloti pie. It is a very traditional recipe.
We need herbs, fennel, parsley, chives and olive oil.
We cut the herbs, which are called sefoukla
and then we add the olive oil, rice, and
salt.
[music playing]
Now we will leave the mixture to make our dough
[music playing]
We need a cup of olive
oil
[music playing]
two cups of water
[music playing]
salt
[music playing]
sugar
and finally the flour...
[music playing]
Lay one sheet of filo pastry and spread
the mixture, lay another sheet of filo
dough on top.
[music playing]
Brush lightly with olive oil.
[music playing]
Here is our pie! Enjoy!
[music playing]
We are now heading towards a unique
museum that gives visitors the
opportunity to see archaeological finds
precisely on the spot they were found.
It is located in Mitropoleos Square, in
Chora on Naxos, where excavations
unveiled important traces for the
Mycenaean city of Grotta one of the most
important in the Aegean Sea region
during prehistoric times.
[music playing]
We used to call Kitra golden
apples and according to myth
Hercules brought them to Greece.
[music playing]
Pomegranate and quince were very popular in ancient Greece. We will learn now how
to make pomegranate and quince jam from
an old traditional recipe.
[music playing] [woman speaking Greek]
I will make for you a jam
made of pomegranate and quince from Naxos.
It is a very old recipe coming
from ancient times. It's really tasty.
[music playing]
We have
made some changes to make it modern.
So we need a large quince, an
orange, an apple, half of pomegranate, the
juice of a one lemon and the juice of
two oranges. The jam does not have any
water so it will last longer .We will use
700 grams of white sugar.
Now we have cut the
quince and we have here
pomegranate juice, sugar and cinnamon.
[woman speaking Greek] [music playing]
We add some of the pomegranate juice
[music playing] [woman speaking Greek]
[pot making noise]
and then the sugar
[music playing] [cooking sounds]
[Woman speaking Greek]
It combines very well with our cheese from Naxos. [woman speaking Greek]
[music playing]
Now transfer it to hot sterile jars,
leaving a quarter to half an inch of
space and now we seal it and the jam is
ready.
[music playing]
We traveled to Naxos accompanied by the
Greek gods. We tasted traditional recipes
and drank a splendid wine. Let's sing and
dance now!
[music playing]
