Englishman Edward Lear made 50 works (paintings and drawings) on Athos in 1856. He didn’t have much with the orthodox religion.
Here is what he wrote to his sister Ann:
I always asked to see the churches – more to please my hosts than myself, – for I can assure you 20 Greek churches – one just like another – are a task – & I listened meekly to the dreadful nonsense stories they told me of this or that picture. One floated from Jerusalem by sea; – one cried when the Turks came; another bled at some apropos time; a 4th – a Pagan having poked his finger at him, held the finger so tight it was obliged to be cut off – & a 5th has a picture which they declare to have been painted by the Almighty himself!!! As it is about only 8 or 900 years old & very ill done – the blasphemy is almost lost in the absurdity of the matter. Oh those candles! & ostrich eggs! – & silver and paintings!! – oh Holy Mountain! what have I not suffered to get drawings of you! -…
View on the mountain from above Iscoro.
Simonos Petras 1856
hv
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Athos – Agion Oros
Guten Morgen,
handelt es sich bei der Abbildung wirklich um das I.M. Grigoriou? Ich meine darauf das serbische Kloster I.M. Chilandariou zu erkennen.
Freundliche Grxfcsse
Rainer Ludwig
Rainer is right, on the right of the medal you can read “Moni ???????????” = Chilandariou. And the name Sweta Chora is Serbian for Holy mountain/Athos !
Although the Greek text on the medal leaves no doubt that this is about the Holy Monastery of Hilandar, the text “?wi?ta Góra” and the explanation on the paper are not Serbian but Polish! Unfortunately, I don’t understand the Polish explanation. Perhaps it is coined at Szczecin/Stettin?
Bertinos, indeed it is a Polish medal. The idea is from Franciszek Luczko and the design and production is by Alfred Kozka. You could order the medal in Szczecin.
The icon on the front side is from Ag.Gregoriou, this is the reason of the misunderstanding by Herman and Ebay.
Greetings, Wim
Dear Wim, I even don’t think that the icon is Agios Grigorios. It is for me impossible to read from the picture and difficult to see, but the icon should rather be one of the saints of Chilandaríou, Ag. Simeón maybe.