The Reading Society of Kalymnos “The Muses” and the Kalymnos Sponge Divers Maritime Museum co-organized an event on Sunday, July 28, 2024, at 8:00 PM on the ground floor of the Kalymnos Cultural Center. The theme was “Divers of the Early Minoan, Thera, and Homeric Periods.”
In his speech, Ioannis Chelas, the head of the Kalymnos Maritime Sponge Fishing Museum, highlighted the continuous tradition of diving practices throughout the centuries. We learned many interesting and lesser-known facts about the island’s marine life and place names.
Ioannis Pikramenos, a biologist and researcher of ancient folklore, proposed a re-evaluation of an ancient Thera fresco called “The Shipwreck.” He argued that the interpretation of the fresco is incorrect, suggesting that its elements point towards diving activities instead.
A video trailer about diving weights or as they are locally called, the skandalopetra, was also presented by Kalymnian filmmaker Antonis Stef. Oikonomou.
