Our Symi and Συμαιων Γη
I was browsing Facebook yesterday morning and found I’d been invited to a Symi group. Unlike many of these groups set up by fans and visitors, this is a local one and is in Greek. It’s the group or page for a Blogspot site called Συμαιων Γη. You may already know of it, but if not, here’s a link: http://symaiongi.blogspot.com/
The menu covers Archaeology, History, Folklore, Environment and Arts, and there are loads of fascinating things to read. Okay, so if you don’t read Greek, you can copy and paste into an online translator, and I know they don’t always give the best results, but they are a help. For example, this page http://symaiongi.blogspot.com/2020/11/3.html is about the alleyways and tunnels of the village, and a quick translation gives us this:
STONOMYRI – STENOMYRI
In Symi, when we say “Stonomyri – Stenomyri”, we mean the narrow road, the alley, and maybe the one that is in a secluded spot, and not in a central part.
Let us see, however, what the Byzantines called the narrow streets, before the Fall and after it, in order to understand the relation of this word with the one we say on the island today.
The word “Steni – Stenon” during the Byzantine period, meant a narrow road, and then there was the word after the fall “Rimi or Rymni”, which meant the same thing. The Combination of both, therefore, became “Stenorrymin and Stenorymion”, and was formed in Symi into “Stonomyri – Stenomyri.”
So, yes, you may have to read between the lines a little, but I think you’ll find it informative. Scroll down that one page (linked above), and you will find 11 articles that range from birds to lizards, those big moths we get here, and those famous Medusa-head door knockers. In Symi we call the door ring “Groukello”, from “Krikellion” but the word “Kourkoumos” was also used on the island.
You see? Fascinating and all you need to do is copy and paste to get a decent translation. I just thought you might like to see that site if you haven’t already.
The Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/symi.dodecanese/
