Issue link: http://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25120
mun .. r ,.. .•.., ... '''" . . ,. •. century. is so resolute that it extends to both humans and animals. I'/o(:irl.>ntcl import only male livestock, save some rodent-controlling egg-bearing hens. Ironically, Mary's image is omnipresent ·nated manuscripts, ivories, frescoes, ceramics, stained monumental paintings-the very same pieces that have earned a reputation for its holdings. The fact that Athos and its world renowned collection Byzantine and post-Byzantine art is off limits to women has been matter of contention for some. Consequently a disproportionate number of female scholars recently attended the first-ever exhibi tion of art from this region when the installation traveled from Athos to mainland Thessaloniki. But there's more to Athos than art. Pi lgrims to this island of spiritualism beware-you're in for more than a couple of Hail Marys. Bring an alarm clock, some aspirin and a hollow leg. Each and every day begins at 2AM, praying in the chapel for five hours stra ight. Afterwards the monks tend gardens and make an exceed ingly potent wine. Just about everyone drinks a giant mugful throughout the day, each vessel holding the equivalent of six to eight glasses of wine. Watching drunk monks laugh is strange but infectious. Georgios Triantaphyllidis, a Greek curator and chief arch i tect of the Thessoliniki exhibit, spent months living among the monks and observing their daily routine as he catalogued their trea sures. "At fi rst these guys don't want to know you," Triantaphyllidis says, "but if you stick with them long enough and respect their culture and are interested in what they do minute-to-minute, they will open up to you. And then they will be the best friends you ever had." Of course Triantaphyllidis's female counterparts don't have such opportunities. But not all of them are up in arms. Academic Demetra Gouryioti, says she's not a bit dismayed. "We send our husbands to the island and they relax and enjoy themselves and come back to their fami- lies happy. This is the gift that we as women take from Mount Athos. " Women of the world who are disturbed by the restrictive law of the land should look at Athos from a different perspective, Gouryioti says. "It is like we have been there as women because the monks adore Mother Mary-a better representation of us." And if that take on Athos's exclusion ary edict doesn't work for you, just picture a gaggle of giggling bearded men in black robes and you might be thankful you won't ever cross that line. •