A day before the second lockdown here in Crete in November 2020, we and some friends decided to celebrate the last day together.
First, we all shopped loads of food – so many restrictions were imposed.
Then we drove to the charming village Armenoi (Armeni), just 14km from the city of Chania.
It’s rich with springs and the Kiliaris River runs through, stunning Platanus trees offers shadows during hot summer days.
A traditional watermill, historical Venetian monument makes this village a celebrity.
On the other side of the street of the impressive and large yellow Byzantine church lies one of the wonderful local tavernas.
The food is organic and their cabbage salad is delicious and a portion can feed four.
We all felt festive and another couple joint. Then to our delightful surprise, another friend entered the taverna and sat at our table.
But he wasn’t here to stay – he was to meet two young Cretan men.
A few thousand € in cash, credit card, driving licence….these were the contents of the wallet our friend had dropped somewhere.
He wanted to be prepared for the lockdown and have extra cash at home.
And in all busyness, he didn’t notice that he had lost his wallet.
First, when he received a phone call, he grasped what had happened.
Two young Cretan men had found the wallet and tracked down its owner. (See photos of Kostas and Georgios).
We were all in tears of gratitude to know that such wonderful, honest people exist…
Later I shared this wonderful experience on Facebook and received many heart-warming testimonials about Cretan/ Greek honesty and pride.
“Philotimo, at its core, is about goodness, selflessness, giving without wanting anything in return and the force that drives individuals to think about the people and the world around them. “
It technically means “love of honour”.
A lecturer in Ancient Greek philology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, explores the word to the BBC
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“The word cannot be translated precisely to any other language. All the same, philotimo has become one of the building blocks of the Greek disposition.”
If you break the word down, ‘φίλος-filos’ means friend, and ‘τιμή-timi’ means honour.
It’s a beautiful word and wonderful to witness it’s not just a word.
It’s a way of living.
For Greeks, Philotimo essentially is a virtue and a way of life, it’s a way of describing the quality of being trustworthy and explaining decent actions and decisions.
Have you ever been in Crete and what has been your experience?
