| BELIEFS OF MODERN GREECE: A TRANSLATION OF LEO ALLATIUS’ DE GRAECORUM HODIE QUORUNDAM OPINATIONIBUS |
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The following is also a tradition which the citizens of Chios do not take lightly. They believe that before St. Isidore was martyred, the resinous paste which they call mastic used to be liquid and runny. It hardened into a solid substance with the blood of such an important martyr, whose body was dragged and scattered all over their island. One can read a written version of this tradition in Nicholas Pepagomenus’ Praise of St. Isidore, A legend is still circulating today about the liquid which oozes from lentiscs and solidifies into mastic. Mastic, you should know, is found in great quantities only on the island of Chios, and is especially useful, among other things, for the cure of illness, either by itself or mixed with other ingredients. In the past, it did not use to solidify and was washed away and destroyed by excessive rain. This martyr’s triumph, splendid struggles against his adversaries, the strength of his will, which would yield before nothing, and the toughness of his endurance gave mastic the rock-solid consistency which we see today. They also made it abundant, so that it could be available to anyone, anywhere in the great wide world. |
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