How Eugia Started
Eugia emerged as an idea on a scorching summer day. One of those days when the heat is unbearable, when it creates tension and nerves, when you long for a swim in the sea... but you can’t reach it, because those managing the "development" of the place have reserved it exclusively for their clients. And you, as a "non-client," are unwelcome.
You can’t swim in the sea, can’t walk along the beach, can’t breathe clean air — only the scent of sewage plants. You return to your village. The neighborhood is deserted. "Clients" drag suitcases. "Clients" shout by the pools. Real estate agents search for opportunities for their clients.
"I’ll put a sign outside the house, addressed to the 'client' walking by," is the first thought.
"Every time you come, you take a piece of my space away," it will say.
And it feels like John Calhoun’s disturbing Universe 25 experiment has already begun.
"But what if this 'client' came not just as a tourist, but as a guest?" A second thought crosses the mind and heart. We've always loved guests — especially the unexpected ones. Guests who respect the host's space and don't trample on it.
Maybe if there were a way for them to know the neighborhood better — the place that hosts them. And if the neighborhood’s residents could get to know the visitors a little better?
Eugia started as an initiative to reflect on our place. Not just to remember, but to come together again — residents, visitors, friends, relatives, young and old.
There is no organization, no funding. Only the desire to restore meaning to words like "neighborhood," "sharing," and "meeting."
Each page, video, photo, and evening is a seed. It may fall into the soil and stay there. It may sprout. We don’t control it, nor do we need to. What matters is the intention and the freedom with which we cultivate it.
We are inspired by those who learned to keep moving without needing approval, without clinging to results.
"Never stoop to ask: 'Will we win? Will we lose?' Just fight!" — Nikos Kazantzakis
If you’d like to participate, organize your own veggera or get in touch with us. There are no invitations here; the door is open.
Where is Eugia
Eugia is located in Kournas — a neighborhood with history and soul. Here, yards used to smell of lime and indigo. Neighbors greeted each other by first name, and in summer they gathered for veggeres (evening gatherings).
Its streets have heard thousands of stories — and we’re still searching for some of them.
Eugia is a knot between then and now. Between what’s forgotten and what deserves to remain.
And why "Eugia"?
Because “efgiasene” (the sky cleared)!
The word "eugia" is a Cretan variant of the ancient Greek word "eudia."
A word from deep in the centuries. It transmits brightness through the poets' rhymes and the daily language of people.
< ευ-διF-ᾱComposed from "eu" and the weak stem of the ancient word for “day.”
Cf. Zeus → DiFos and the adjective "dios" (< diFios).
Similarity with ancient Indic "sudiv, su-divam" – “beautiful day.”
It contains "εὖ" (good, noble) and "día" (day, daylight).
Literally and metaphorically: fair weather, bright sky, inner peace, physical health.
Examples from ancient Greek texts:
- "From storm to eudia (calm)" — Pindar
- "For I see you in eudia" — Aeschylus
- "eudia of the flesh", "in my calm state"
“efgiasene, let’s go pick the olives”
“tomorrow will be eugia”
“it’s not clearing up yet”
“we’ve had a couple days of eugia…”
Expressions that are heard less and less — but are etched in memory.
“The shoulders of the day lean into the eudia of the sun”
“In the sun’s grace” — Odysseas Elytis
🌿 Efgiasene
Eugia is not just a space. It’s an intention. A selfish intention.
To become a companion to the thoughts, emotions, doubts, objections, insights, humor, and talents of the people around it.
And for these, as a mirror, to reflect back into her soul.
There’s no program.
There’s no “right way.”
Only a cheerful disposition to share,
and the gentle strength of wondering.
The Gift of Participation
An inner smile and a lump in the throat or heart —
sometimes they bring fear, sometimes they bring newfound strength.
They’ve made you a painter, rhymester, musician, teacher, secretary, philosopher of the vine.
(Humor and self-deprecation always help…)
They brought you from far places to live here — between Saint Barbara and Saint George.
They brought you back after life’s labyrinthine journeys.
Eugia does not aspire to change the world.
It silently stands for:
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
It embraces the temperament of each of us,
and believes in miracles —
in small, unexpected realizations deep within our souls.