Indeed, despite the image of elegant kôre conveyed to us by painting on ceramics as well as statuary, complaints about the lack of attraction offered by [Hecate] were not lacking in antiquity, starting with Aristophanes*.
A satirical epigram makes the monstrous character of Hecate's appearance the measure of extreme ugliness : "Bitô has a face three times more grimacing than a monkey ! At the sight of her, Hecate herself, I am sure, would hang herself ! _"I am chaste, Lucillius," she asserts, "_and I lie alone!"
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* The comic effect of the alternation of Aphrodite-Hecate in the theater of Aristophanes, doubtless rests on this anerotic character of Hecate ; this aspect of the [goddess] does not, however, prevent her from being evoked in the formulas of love charms.
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"Paths of Hecate - Doors, roads, crossroads and other figures of the in-between" A. Zografou, p153
Introduced during Ottoman times, the kafeneion – the old-fashioned kind of coffee house – has long been a fixture in Greece. By 1860, Athens already had more than 100 establishments that were serving what has been called both Greek coffee and Turkish coffee (name debates aside, we can all agree that it’s more or less the same thing, a small cup of strong coffee with a thick sludge at the bottom).
They were (and still are) the domain of men, who would congregate there to talk politics and socialize over coffee as well as more substantial fare, usually simple meze and ouzo or tsipouro. Although the traditional Greek kafeneion still exists in many Athenian neighborhoods, it’s slowly dying out.
Sure, we could blame their demise on the rise of hipster coffee shops with cold-brewed single-origin coffee and gluten-free desserts. But the underlying issue is that old-school coffee houses don’t appeal to a wide base – young people, women in particular, are not as interested in frequenting run-down establishments where old men can smoke freely and play cards or watch games all night.
That’s why Agriolouloudo (which means “wild flower” in Greek), a tiny family-run kafeneion in Zografou, a neighborhood popular with students, is so special. It has managed to keep its traditional character while bridging the age gap, making the coffee house accessible to everyone: men, women, families of all ages and styles, and even espresso drinkers.