Tag: Greece
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
The last inhabitant left Spinalonga in 1962. He was the father Chrisanthos a priest of the Greek Orthodox Church who spent 5 years more on Spinalonga after its abandonment to maintain the religious tradition to memorialize buried people at 3 and 5 years after their deaths. Father Chrisanthos was not a leper and never got ill from the disease during the years he spent on the island. He became a legend for the people of Spinalonga when he decided to drink last from the holy communion (this is what a priest is supposed to do) and not throw the communion away as his predecessor did before him.
Elounda Port
The first treatment for leprosy was introduced in the 1940s but it took 10 more years for a more effective drug against the Hansen disease. In 1957 Spinalonga's leprosy hospital was decided to terminate operation. The cured patients, were allowed to return to their families while some more severe cases were transferred to other hospital in Athens to continue treatment.
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
Leprosy perhaps is one of the oldest documented human diseases and references can be found in texts written thousands years ago. The disease leaves marks on the skin mostly on limps and face that give a terrifying look to people infected. For this reason, lepers were treated as unclean and became outcasts of the society. The biblical perception of leprosy was that people infected were punished by the god for their sins. Today, we know that the disease is curable, is caused by bacteria and most of people are immune to it.
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
Life on Spinalonga was far from being easy. Many times the leper patients on the island had to uprise in order to gain some basic benefits for their survival. In 1936 the 21 years old leper Epaminondas Remountakis, a law student from Crete was brought to the island. He was a very active man with strong will who was able to organize the lepers and create the 'Brotherhood of Spinalonga Patients". Very soon he managed to find lime to paint and decontaminate the houses of Spinalonga, while he fought to find and bring to the island an electricity generator to light up the streets during night.
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
Lepers were living banished from civilization for centuries. Many of them found refuge in caves. The Spinalonga leper hospital allowed them to have access to medical care, to live in a organized society while food, water and houses were provided by the state. Lepers had a social life and some of them got married on the island
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
When the lepers arrived in Spinalonga they had to go through from one of the two entrances of the fortress. This entrance was a long, wet and dark tunnel. People gave the name "The Dante's Gate" to the entrance because they didn't know what was expecting them at the other side.
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
In 1904 the first 251 leper patients originated from Crete were settled on the island of Spinalonga. After the union of Crete with Greece in 1913, lepers from all over the country start coming to the island.
Spinalónga, Lasithi, Greece
The islet morphology, its distance from the shore and the Venetian fortification structures led authorities to create on Spinalonga a leper colony. On 30 of May, 1903 a leper hospital was founded on Spinalonga and all Hansen disease patients from Crete are transferred to spend the rest of their lives on the isolated island.
