Happy Easter, Kalo Pascha!!!

My Humble Greek Lean Easter
Justine Frangouli at HuffPost

Easter, 2013 in Greece: For the first time in recent memory, Greeks will celebrate Easter stripped of their annual Easter bonus which, until now, represented 50 percent of their monthly salary. The Greeks have watched in shock as their incomes are crushed under the weight of an austerity program that has tightened its grip around the country, bringing it to the brink of asphyxiation. As such, they will be looking to celebrate the most important event in the Orthodox Church's calendar with less, hoping that good weather and some form of optimism will help mask their despair. It will definitely be a lean Easter!

But what is Easter for us Greek Orthodox? It is the greatest celebration of Christianity whereby the solemn atmosphere of Holy Week is followed by the joy of the evening of the Resurrection, bringing ineffable relief and intense excitement to the Orthodox world.
And, whereas the Greek Orthodox Church gives the utmost importance to the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the non-Orthodox faith, on the other hand, emphasizes the mourning of his death.
Here-in lies one of the main differences between the two doctrines. In the Roman-
Catholic Church, Christ as God is distant, fair and a punisher, but in the Greek Orthodox
religion, Jesus takes on a more simple, human form, depicted in our icons as he who was
sacrificed and subsequently resurrected, cleansing mankind of sin.
My vivid memories of Holy Week on the Ionian island of Lefkada are a collage of colors
and fragrances.

The week begins with Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings dedicated to the bridegroom:
"Behold the bridegroom comes in the midst of the night... beware, therefore."
Later on Tuesday night, I remember always being mesmerized by the beautiful, enthralling "Hymn of Cassiane." Most likely the work of Patriarch Photius or Romanos, it relates the story of a humiliated woman in the crescendo of asking forgiveness for her sins:

"The woman who had fallen into many sins recognized the Godhead. O Lord, Woe to me, saith she, receive the sources of my tears. O thou who doth gather into clouds the water of the sea. Who can trace out the multitude of my sins and the abysses of my misdeeds? O thou whose mercy is unbounded."

Holy Thursday is the day of the twelve gospels. Written by four different evangelists but actually recounting the same facts, they describe the path taken by Jesus to the Crucifixion. Through their wonderful narratives, they delineate Christ's progression from glory to humiliation, his prayer at the Mount of Olives and his betrayal by Judas.

After the reading of the fifth gospel, the Crucifix is processed around the church with the priest chanting the 15th antiphon:
"Today is hung upon the tree. He who did hang the land in the midst of the waters... "
During the service of Holy Friday, the removal of the body of Christ from the cross is commemorated with a sense of mourning for the terrible events which have taken place. As the cleric reads the gospel, he removes the body of Christ from the cross, wraps it in a white cloth and takes it to the altar:
"... and taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in a white cloth."

He then places it on the Epitafios or Sepulcher, a carved bier which symbolizes the tomb of Jesus and we are reminded that, during Christ's entombment, he descends into Hades to free the dead of the ages before his incarnation.

All unwed girls bring violets from their gardens to the Epitaph which they proceed to adorn, praying. The smell of spring pours into the church and everyone remains transfixed by the aromatic fragrances that abound.

That same evening, the thoughtful and well-written "Odes," sung by the choir, compare the Compassion of God to the cruelty of man, the might of The Lord with the moral ineptitude of humanity. The Odes depict all creation trembling, witnessing The Creator being hung by his own creatures. Then the entire congregation joins in singing the three parts of the "Hymns of Praise" (there are approximately 300 hymns, but only a few are sung). After these hymns, the priest sprinkles the Sepulcher and the whole congregation with fragrant water.

This is followed by the procession of the Epitaphs of all the different churches of the town across the main market area with the scent of flowery perfumes spreading the joy of the coming Resurrection.
Holy Saturday commences with the breaking of clay objects, symbolizing the end of evil. Housewives awake at dawn in order to break pots and vases while the Lefkadian Philharmonic parades through the narrow streets, playing hymns from Bach and Beethoven.

My mother would bathe us in the afternoon and force us to take an extended nap in order for us to be able to witness the twelfth hour. I am still haunted to this day by our awakening to the smell of the slowly simmering traditional tripe soup, the magiritsa, wafting in the whole neighborhood.
Then, at precisely 11 p.m., it was off to church with our ceremonial candles, the lambades in hand. At 11:45, the priest (our Dad) would bring out the 'holy light,' originating in Jerusalem, and offer it to us. At midnight, he would chant "Christ is Risen" and everyone would join in, kissing each other and asking for forgiveness.

We would then partake in an impressive fireworks display that would light up the sky to commemorate the joy of the Resurrection and subsequently return home to devour the gut soup. After dinner, we would smack dyed eggs against one another with the lucky winner, the one with the unbroken red one, being blessed with a year of good fortune.

The following day was Easter Sunday. Bright and early, the spits would be turning and the grills would be red-hot. The customary main attraction, the lamb or goat, is usually roasted whole, in the open air, to represent the lamb of God. We would often gather round, hacking mouthwatering chunks directly off the spit and leaving little but bone by the time we were done. Undaunted, many Lefkadians would do their cooking in the oven, preferring this method as it would enable them to add all kinds of accompaniments and trimmings to the roast.

Great Greek wines, ouzo, raki, tsipouro and all kinds of drinks would flow freely and everyone would end up dancing in the streets, turning the traditional Easter meal into a memorable celebration that would last well into the night.

Predictions are that the Greeks will not be able to have a festive Easter or Pascha this year given that their austerity-slashed salaries will dampen their spirits. However, with spring in the air, with its colors and scents, optimism can not help but be the flavor of the season!
Kalo Pascha, Happy Easter!

My Big Greek Fat Easter in America

These candles, lambades, are made by Maria Nanas. You can order them in Montreal though her facebook page or by phone 438 238 3540

 

 

About.com

Easter is the most sacred observance in the Greek Orthodox faith. Preparations and customs remain some of the most traditional in modern Greek life.

(Sample traditional Easter menu)

Preparations for Easter come to a climax toward the end of Holy Week, between Palm Sunday and Easter. While there are many local customs associated with Easter, there are several observed by all.

Holy (or Great) Thursday

Easter preparations begin on Holy Thursday when the traditional Easter bread, tsoureki, is baked, and eggs are dyed red (red is the color of life as well as a representation of the blood of Christ). From ancient times, the egg has been a symbol of the renewal of life, and the message of the red eggs is victory over death. (More on the history of red eggs at Easter.)

In times gone by, superstitions grew into customs that included placing the first-dyed red egg at the home's iconostasis (place where icons are displayed) to ward off evil, and marking the heads and backs of small lambs with the red dye to protect them.

Holy Thursday evening, church services include a symbolic representation of the crucifixion, and the period of mourning begins. In many villages - and in cities as well - women will sit in church throughout the night, in traditional mourning.

Holy (or Great) Friday

The holiest day of Holy Week is Holy Friday. It is a day of mourning, not of work (including cooking). It is also the only day during the year when the Divine Liturgy is not read. Flags are hung at half-mast and church bells ring all day in a slow mournful tone.

Many devout do not cook on Holy Friday, but if they do, traditional foods are simple, perhaps boiled in water (no oil) and seasoned with vinegar - like beans - or thin soups like tahinosoupa, a soup made with tahini.

Traditionally, women and children take flowers to the church to decorate the Epitaphio (the symbolic bier of Christ). The Service of Lamentation mourns the death of Christ and the bier, decorated lavishly with flowers and bearing the image of Christ, is carried on the shoulders of the faithful in a procession through the community to the cemetery, and back. Members of the congregation follow, carrying candles.

Holy (or Great) Saturday

On Holy Saturday, the Eternal Flame is brought to Greece by military jet, and is distributed to waiting Priests who carry it to their local churches. The event is always televised and if there's a threat of bad weather or a delay, the entire country agonizes until the flame arrives safely.

On the morning of Holy Saturday, preparations begin for the next day’s Easter feast. Dishes that can be prepared in advance are made, and the traditional mayiritsa soup is prepared, which will be eaten after the midnight service, to break the fast.

The midnight Service of the Resurrection is an occasion attended by everyone who is able, including children, each holding a white candle.

Special candles made for Easter are called “labatha” (lah-BAH-thah) and are often given as gifts to children from their parents or God-parents. These candles can be lavishly decorated with favorite children’s heroes or storybook characters, and may be as much as three feet tall, but the candle itself is usually white. These candles are only used for one Easter midnight service.

Crowds are so big that churches fill to overflowing as anticipation mounts. Shortly before midnight, all lights are extinguished and churches are lit only by the Eternal Flame on the altar. When the clock passes midnight, the Priest calls out "Christos Anesti" (Christ is risen), and passes the flame, the light of the Resurrection, to those nearest him. The flame is then passed from person to person, and it isn't long before the church and courtyard are filled with flickering candlelight. The night air is filled with the singing of the Byzantine Chant "Christos Anesti," and the "fili tis Agapis" (kiss of Agape) and wishes are exchanged. As is the custom, as soon as "Christos Anesti" is called out, church bells ring joyously non-stop, ships in ports all over Greece sound their horns, floodlights are lit on large buildings, and great and small displays of fireworks and noisemakers are set off.

Traditional Easter Wishes

Once the Priest has called out "Christos Anesti," friends and neighbors exchange the same, saying "Christos Anesti" and, in response, "Alithos Anesti" (truly, He is risen) or "Alithinos o Kyrios" (true is the Lord).

Christos Anesti say: khree-STOHSS ah-NES-tee
Alithos Anesti say: ah-lee-THOHSS ah-NES-tee
Alithinos o Kyrios say: ah-lee-thee-NOHSS o KEE-ree-yohss

It is the custom to carry the Eternal Flame home and use it to make the sign of the cross on the door frame in smoke. The smoke cross is left there throughout the year, symbolizing that the light of the Resurrection has blessed the home. The candles are used to light icon candelabra, and are put on the table for the midnight meal. The sight of hundreds of candle flames moving from churches to homes on that night is beautiful, indeed.

Once home, everyone gathers around the table for a traditional meal to break the fast, which includes the mayiritsa soup, tsoureki (sweet bread), and the red eggs. But before the eggs are eaten, there's a traditional challenge: "tsougrisma." Holding your egg, you tap the end against the end of your opponent's egg, trying to crack it. It's a game enjoyed by children and adults alike. Eggs are often made in very large quantities since the game continues on the next day with more friends and family.

Easter Sunday

At dawn (or earlier) on Easter Sunday, the spits are set to work, and grills are fired up. The customary main attraction of the day is whole roasted lamb or goat (kid) to represent the Lamb of God, however many prefer oven and stovetop lamb or kid dishes. Ovens are filled with traditional accompaniments and all the trimmings. Great Greek wines, ouzo, and other drinks flow freely, and preparations for the meal turn into festive celebrations even before the eating begins. These high-spirited gatherings often last long into the night.

Easter Monday

Another national holiday, Easter Monday is a day to take things slowly, and certainly a day filled with delicious leftovers!

 

C. P. Cavafy: "I know English, French and a little Italian!"

Poets.org

C. P. Cavafy

Constantine Cavafy was born Konstantínos Pétrou Kaváfis in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1863, the ninth child of Constantinopolitan parents. His father died in 1870, leaving the family poor. Cavafy's mother moved her children to England, where the two eldest sons took over their father's business. Their inexperience caused the ruin of the family fortunes, so they returned to a life of genteel poverty in Alexandria. The seven years that Constantine Cavafy spent in England—from age nine to sixteen—were important to the shaping of his poetic sensibility: he became so comfortable with English that he wrote his first verse in his second language.

After a brief education in London and Alexandria, he moved with his mother to Constantinople, where they stayed with his grandfather and two brothers. Although living in great poverty and discomfort, Cavafy wrote his first poems during this period, and had his first love affairs with other men. After briefly working for the Alexandrian newspaper and the Egyptian Stock exchange, at the age of twenty-nine Cavafy took up an appointment as a special clerk in the Irrigation Service of the Ministry of Public Works—an appointment he held for the next thirty years. Much of his ambition during these years was devoted to writing

poems and prose essays.

Cavafy had an unusually small social circle. He lived with his mother until her death in 1899, and then with his unmarried brothers. For most of his mature years Cavafy lived alone. Influential literary relationships included a twenty-year acquaintance with E. M. Forster. The poet himself identified only two love affairs, both apparently brief. His one intimate, long-standing friendship was with Alexander Singopoulos, whom Cavafy designated as his heir and literary executor when he was sixty years old, ten years before his death.

Cavafy remained virtually unrecognized in Greece until late in his career. He never offered a volume of his poems for sale during his lifetime, instead distributing privately printed pamphlets to friends and relatives. Fourteen of Cavafy's poems appeared in a pamphlet in 1904; the edition was enlarged in 1910. Several dozens appeared in subsequent years in a number of privately printed booklets and broadsheets. These editions contained mostly the same poems, first arranged thematically, and then chronologically. Close to one-third of his poems were never printed in any form while he lived.

In book form, Cavafy's poems were first published without dates before World War II and reprinted in 1949. PÍÍMATA (The Poems of Constantine P. Cavafy) appeared posthumously in 1935 in Alexandria. The only evidence of public recognition in Greece during his later years was his receipt, in 1926, of the Order of the Phoenix from the Greek dictator Pangalos.

Perhaps the most original and influential Greek poet of the 20th century, his uncompromising distaste for the kind of rhetoric common among his contemporaries and his refusal to enter into the marketplace may have prevented him from realizing all but a few rewards for his genius. He continued to live in Alexandria until his death in 1933, from cancer of the larynx. It is recorded that his last motion before dying was to draw a circle on a sheet of blank paper, and then to place a period in the middle of it.

Demystifying the Immigration Process, recruitment of skilled workers!!!

 

 

Mr. Marc Ozgoli, Ms Selin Selin Deravedisyan-Adam and Ms Georgia Pappis

A mini conference about the immigration process in Quebec took place last Tuesday at the Hellenic Community Center of Greater Montreal.

The conference was orgagnised by the Hellenic Social Services of Quebec. The special immigration issues were presented by:
Eleni Fakotakis, directrice des Services Sociaux Helleniques du Quebec.
Marc Ozgoli, Chef d' equipe des conseillers en immigration
Selin Deravedisyan-Adam, Cap d' Ideal, specialiste en immigration et mobilite internationale
Georgia Pappis, avocate en droit de l; immigration
Denis Arvanitakis, directeur general, Carrefour d' Intercultures de Laval

Recruitment of skilled workers!

Liste des professions admissibles au traitement simplifié, en vigueur à compter du 24 février 2013 (établie par Emploi-Québec selon la Classification nationale des professions de 2006)

0213	Gestionnaires de systèmes informatiques
0611	Directeurs/directrices des ventes, du marketing et de la publicité
0631	Directeurs/directrices de la restauration et des services alimentaires
1111	Vérificateurs/vérificatrices et comptables
1122	Professionnels/professionnelles des services aux entreprises de gestion
1221	Agents/agentes d'administration
1222	Adjoints/adjointes de direction
2131	Ingénieurs civils/ingénieures civiles
2132	Ingénieurs mécaniciens/ingénieures mécaniciennes
2146	Ingénieurs/ingénieures en aérospatiale
2147	Ingénieurs informaticiens/ingénieures informaticiennes (sauf ingénieurs/ingénieures en logiciel)
2171	Analystes et consultants/consultantes en informatique
2173	Ingénieurs/ingénieures en logiciel
2174	Programmeurs/programmeuses et développeurs/développeuses en médias interactifs
2231	Technologues et techniciens/techniciennes en génie civil
2232	Technologues et techniciens/techniciennes en génie mécanique
2233	Technologues et techniciens/techniciennes en génie industriel et en génie de fabrication
2241	Technologues et techniciens/techniciennes en génie électronique et électrique
2253	Technologues et techniciens/techniciennes en dessin
2281	Opérateurs/opératrices en informatique, opérateurs/opératrices réseau et techniciens/techniciennes Web
3111	Médecins spécialistes
3112	Omnipraticiens/omnipraticiennes et médecins en médecine familiale
3131	Pharmaciens/pharmaciennes
3141	Audiologistes et orthophonistes
3142	Physiothérapeutes
3143	Ergothérapeutes
3152	Infirmiers autorisés/infirmières autorisées
3211	Technologues médicaux/technologues médicales et assistants/assistantes en anatomopathologie
3214	Inhalothérapeutes, perfusionnistes cardio-vasculaires et technologues cardio-pulmonaires
3215	Technologues en radiation médicale
3222	Hygiénistes et thérapeutes dentaires
3233	Infirmiers auxiliaires/infirmières auxiliaires
4131	Enseignants/enseignantes au niveau collégial et dans les écoles de formation professionnelle
4141	Enseignants/enseignantes au niveau secondaire
4152	Travailleurs sociaux/travailleuses sociales
4212	Travailleurs/travailleuses des services communautaires et sociaux
5241	Designers graphiques et illustrateurs/illustratrices
6221	Spécialistes des ventes techniques - commerce de gros
7231	Machinistes et vérificateurs/vérificatrices d'usinage et d'outillage
7311	Mécaniciens/mécaniciennes de chantier et mécaniciens industriels/mécaniciennes industrielles (sauf l'industrie du textile)
7312	Mécaniciens/mécaniciennes d'équipement lourd
7321	Mécaniciens/mécaniciennes et réparateurs/réparatrices de véhicules automobiles, de camions et d'autobus
7333	Électromécaniciens/électromécaniciennes
8231	Mineurs/mineuses d'extraction et de préparation, mines souterraines

The Boston Marathon: Who Will Be the Next Mass Killer?

Justine Frangouli-Argyris
The Huffington Post

If the Boston Marathon, the symbol of a peaceful struggle and patriotism, became a field of blood last week, who can reassure our prosperous Western societies that this will not soon happen again?
Aboard a train which thousands of commuters take every day, on the bus or in the bus station itself, riding the subway, at the market, on a rush hour packed bridge, during the St. Patrick's or Gay Pride or Rose Parades?

Who can guarantee us that a simple college boy, a seemingly very typical individual, will not detonate some homemade bomb on a university campus at its graduation ceremony, in the courtyard of an elementary school at recess or at a public park where families gather for picnics on the weekend?

No one suspected that the alleged perpetrators of the mass killings in Boston were the two Chechen Muslims who appeared, if not enamoured with America, to, at least, have benefited from American society, having integrated into the educational system and living an apparently normal life.

Who can say that the next killer will not be someone who, believing that his homeland is being persecuted or mistreated, turns his hatred on the West and plants pressure cookers laden with deadly projectiles in order to kill or maim in the most deadly way possible?

However, what if the assassin is not a religious fanatic but a purely antisocial individual who enters Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and fires on children and teachers indiscriminately or a schizophrenic character who goes to a crowded Century 16 movie theatre in Colorado and shoots at will?

How can we protect ourselves and our children whom we encourage to go to school only to be assaulted by some crazy? Whom we take pride in watching run the Marathon only to witness them fall lifeless from an improvised explosive device? Whom we drive to the movies with their friends only to have them gunned down by some nut packing an arsenal of weapons?

Having lived in North America for over 20 years now, I have noticed that what we lack is a "humanistic" education in our schools. We teach history, geography, mathematics, physics and chemistry and we encourage and value competition, success, promotion and social recognition above all else.

However, surrounded by an absurdity of prosperity and enjoying this plutocratic society of consumption, we seem to be forgetting to instruct the most basic elements of human behavior, neglecting to emphasize the value of human life.

How can we be persuasive about the value of human existence, about the concept of "love thy neighbour," when our television screens are dominated by endless police dramas full of killing and destruction, or when our daily news programs are overwhelmed with images of bombings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the world?

Perhaps, at least in part, we have no one but ourselves to blame for what is transpiring in our society. How can we expect to outline the preciousness of human life when we have totally marginalized the concepts of peace, solidarity, humanism, reconciliation, forgiveness and friendship and abandoned the idea of a "human-centered" education?

The tragedy of the Boston Marathon has taught us three things:
1) That we are not safe anywhere nor at any point in the Western World no matter what precautions our authorities enact;
2) That we do not know who the next mass killer will be, whether he or she will be a schizophrenic individual or some ethnic or religious fanatic;
3) That our police forces have the necessary resources to locate and apprehend killers but only after the fact.

The events of this week have made us aware that our society and our educational system should go back to focusing on people and not only on materialistic success.

Strawberry Fields in Blood

Justine Frangouli-Argyris
The Huffington Post

I feel shame, disgust and horror for what happened in New Manolada, Greece this week. I feel I must apologize for the Greek monsters who blindly opened fire, injuring a host of migrant strawberry pickers from Pakistan and Bangladesh who had been left unpaid for months and returned to demand their dues. Instead of the landowner listening to their legitimate grievances, he, inexplicably, commanded his foremen to shoot them.

According to workers' testimonies, all began when the employer balked at paying a reported total of 150,000 euros in long overdue wages and insisted they return to work immediately. Unsurprisingly, the 200 laborers refused and were then met with gunfire that wounded 29 of them, sending seven to the hospital in serious condition.

Ironically, New Manolada, a village in Ilia prefecture, lies a few kilometers from Ancient Olympia where the Olympic Games were born and where the Ancient Greeks would gather, interrupting all wars in order to compete for the ideals of sport.

All political parties, both government and opposition alike, quickly condemned the actions of the Greek bosses but where, I wonder, has the Greek state been all these years? For stories concerning the mistreatment of foreign workers and the deplorable conditions under which they are forced to subsist have been circulating in Ilia since 2005.

Television reports have highlighted the migrants' plight on numerous occasions, depicting them crammed into makeshift homes without potable water and with rudimentary toilet facilities made from drill pipe with sewage stagnating in adjacent external tanks.

Thousands in the wider area and employed mainly in the strawberry fields are immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and the Balkans who not only live in squalid "shanties" but must hand over almost half their meager income as rent. Forced to toil for endless hours for minimum wage and to live in such an unhealthy environment, they are like helpless slaves to their Greek masters.

Pressed into action after the fact, the local police have launched a massive manhunt seeking out the perpetrators of the crime. However, where have the authorities been all this time, knowing full well the extent to which misery is pervasive in the Ilian strawberry fields? Why didn't they ever order an investigation into the inhumane treatment of the workers or indict the heartless landowners for hiring illegal aliens in the first place?

Unfortunately, for a problem that has been simmering for years, silence has been paramount in Ilia. Local authorities and church leaders have ignored the issue. Immigrants lay low in order to earn a pittance while those that witness or benefit from the labor pretend nothing is wrong.

The situation is a travesty for Greece in the 21st century. It is shameful that the government has closed its eyes shut, unwilling to do anything about this disgraceful issue of which it has long been aware, neglecting its responsibility to enact legislation or take any serious action.

The strawberry fields of Manolada are stained with blood. Even now that the gunslingers are found, even if they are punished and even if current protest movements to boycott the purchase of the bloody fruit are successful, the reality remains firmly tragic.

A stone's throw from Olympia, Ancient Greece's glory and pride, the modern Greeks  condemn their fellow men in bondage, seemingly oblivious to their ancestors' principles of equality and democracy

Athena Onassis, everything for sale!

Aristotle Onassis heir sells private island to Russian oligarch's daughter

Athina Onassis sells Skorpios, where grandfather married Jackie Kennedy, as Greek economic crisis leads to soaring costs

 

• Helena Smith in Athens
• The Guardian, Tuesday 16 April 2013 19.16 BST

Skorpios island, bought by the Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1962. Photograph: Manolis Patakakis/EPA

It was the ultimate symbol of status and celebrity for Greece's most famous dynasty – a private island playground for the legendary shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis and the location of his wedding to Jackie Kennedy.
But soaring taxes and maintenance costs – largely as a result of the Greek economic crisis – have prompted Athina Onassis, heir to the oil tanker and business empire built by her grandfather and the sole surviving inheritor of one of the world's biggest shipping fortunes, to sell the family's private island, Skorpios, to the daughter of a Russian oligarch.
Ekaterina Rybolovleva, whose father has substantial shares in the Bank of Cyprus, has picked up the idyllic isle for €117m — and in effect cut the last remaining ties of the House of Onassis with Greece.
"This is the end of an era, the end of the Onassis myth as Greeks have known it," said Alexis Mantheakis, author of Athina Onassis: In the Eye of the Storm. "Skorpios was the iconic symbol of the Onassis legend and family."
Athina Onassis in São Paulo, Brazil. Photograph: Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images Purchased by the late magnate in 1962 for 3.5m drachmas – the equivalent of $10,000 – the Ionian isle was where Onassis entertained his opera singer lover Maria Callas. It was also the setting for the tycoon's marriage to Jackie Kennedy in 1968 and the location of lavish parties that helped give birth to the concept of celebrity.
Establishing the rich man's trend of owning island paradises, the tycoon shipped hundreds of plants and trees to the isle, turning it from a barren outcrop into a green resort almost overnight. Sand was also transported to create his own private beach.
Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, and the pop star Madonna had both sought to buy the isle in the past.
An avid equestrian, now based mostly in Brazil, the 28-year-old Onassis heir is only known to have visited the island once, to pay her respects at the tomb of her mother Christina, who died of a drugs overdose and is buried on Skorpios along with her grandfather and uncle Alexandros.
"The last time she was there was in November 1998 to attend her mother's 10-year memorial," said Mantheakis, a former adviser to her French father, Thierry Roussel. "The three of us spent the night there but after that she never went back again."
Another view of Skorpios island. Photograph: Manolis Patakakis/EPA The young Onassis is believed to have paid around €35m in inheritance taxes and maintenance costs since inheriting the isle. Hefty levies slapped on real estate by the Greek government in a bid to reduce the country's debt pile are also thought to have contributed to her decision to sell.
The tycoon's only descendant, Athina came into her wealth at the age of 18. Her fabled fortune included hundreds of priceless works of art, properties and companies spanning three continents.
If she wanted to, Onassis could dip into her 217 bank accounts to pay off the debts of most third world countries and still live comfortably. Although once known as the "poor little rich girl", the heir in recent years has also sold off a considerable number of Greek assets. To the surprise of friends and family, she recently auctioned the entire collection of her mother's jewellery and a plot of land on the Athenian Riviera where the dynasty's ancestral home once stood.
"In one sense she has been a true Onassis in being totally unsentimental about financial matters," said Mantheakis. "From what I know, all her cash is still in a trust formed by her father, which may also explain why she is selling assets."
While partly attributed to the Greek crisis, her decision to distance herself from her roots may also have as much to do with the notoriously bad relations she has with officials who run the Onassis Foundation – the other half of her grandfather's legendary estate in Athens.
A charitable organisation bequeathed by the shipowner to commemorate his son Alexandros, who died in a helicopter crash, the foundation cut ties with Athina after its board slammed her for not speaking Greek and for her poor knowledge of the country and its customs. She was raised speaking Swedish to her stepmother and French to her father Roussel, the heir to a pharmaceutical empire.
Famously reclusive, the heir has remained tight-lipped about the latest sale. But 24-year-old Rybolovleva, whose father Dmitry is the owner of the AS Monaco football club and has a history of snapping up trophy properties, says she regards her latest prized possession, which also includes the adjacent islet of Sparti, "as a long-term financial investment". A spokesman for the Harvard-trained Russian said she saw "significant potential for further improvement of the islands using environmentally friendly technology".
That, at least, has been music to the ears of locals now ruing the demise of the Onassis dynasty in Greece. "None of us know what tomorrow will bring," said Gerasimos Staurakis, a taverna owner on the nearby island of Lefkada who once worked on Onassis's super yacht Christina.
"We are all praying that we will eat a crumb or two … Onassis was a wonderful man and we would have liked other Onassises to be like him, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case."