The island of the "pink" dollar, or How to call the inhabitants of the island of Lesbos
Do you know how the inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos are called in Russian? No, not a lesbian, but a lesbian. And the man? It could be funny, but no — lesbian. But in English, it will sound funny this way and that — "lesbian". But it doesn't matter — both of them feel quite good, because the island is a major tourist and social center, attracting, first of all, the fair sex.
In antiquity, the island of Lesbos had a specific reputation. Among the ancient Greeks, who were not distinguished by particularly strict morals, it was considered a refuge of debauchery. Historians claim that two thousand years ago the island was a kind of center of sex tourism, where sailors ploughing the Aegean Sea were drawn like a magnet.
Ancient historians paid tribute to the beauty of the inhabitants of the island, who were tall, stately and friendly. It is known about the men of the island that he gave the ancient world several famous poets and writers — Alcaeus, the semi-mythical Arion and the author of the novel "Daphnis and Chloe" Long.
Francois Boucher. Daphnis and Chloe
But today few people read ancient authors, but everyone knows the word "lesbian". Edith Hall, a world—famous Hellenist, claims that this word was also in use in ancient times, but meant a woman who had promiscuous relationships with men.
The words "sapphic" and "lesbian", oddly enough, have received their modern meaning quite recently. For the first time the word "lesbian" was used as a designation of sexual orientation in the 1970s in the Oxford Dictionary. Before that, it had no sexual connotation and was used only to indicate that something had to do with the island of Lesbos.
After Oxford invented a new definition of the word "lesbian", women of non-traditional orientation from all over the world began to come to the island. The fishing village of Eresos, on the west coast, was chosen as the center of the lesbian movement.
Fishing boats near Eresos
Until the middle of the XX century, another term was used to define same—sex relationships between women - "sapphic love". According to some not too reliable ancient sources, around 620 BC in the village of Eresos or in the nearby city of Mytilene, Sappho was born, a poet whose main theme of creativity was the relationship between women.
For three millennia, historians, art historians and biographers have been breaking spears, arranging discussions about the life, work and, most importantly, the orientation of the most famous islander. Some claim that Sappho fell in love with a young fisherman and because of unrequited feelings threw herself off a cliff into the sea. Others found evidence that the poetess was married to a wealthy merchant and gave birth to his daughter Kleis.
Perhaps Sappho looked like that
There was very little information confirming that Sappho loved women, and most of the guesses about this were based on her peculiar creativity. But there are enough examples in world literature that sea novels are written by people who have never gone to sea, and adventure stories are the most inveterate stay—at-home people. Therefore, it is not a fact that the icon of the "pink" movement is chosen correctly.
Today it is not at all in the interests of Lesbos to revise the history of Sappho, because it is thanks to the fact that this woman is considered a lesbian that they make a good profit. The name of the poetess is mercilessly exploited on the island by everyone who is not lazy and it can be found both in the name of the women's festival and on the sign of a third-rate eatery on the outskirts of Mytilene.
The ancient center of Mytilene
The largest event on the island, attracting thousands of guests every year, is the International Eressos Women's Festival (International Women's Festival in Eressos), which has been held since 2000. The festival lasts for two weeks and its program can be called very intense. Seminars, lectures, discos, beach parties and exhibitions are replaced one by one. Even those who want to talk about political topics can realize themselves here — debates of this kind are held here.
Since 2012, Alpha Camp Lesvos has been held in Lesbos — a large DJ party on the seashore. And such an event as The Sappho Art Garden gathers artists, poets, musicians and simply colorful characters from different countries in the village of Eresos to participate in the creation of a unique open-air art space. Everyone can find their audience here.
Beach disco in Eresos
Tourist operators, analyzing the data available to them, claim that at least 4 thousand lesbians come to Eresos every year. For a village where only 1,500 people live, each festival is a real celebration of the "long dollar". There are 3 lesbian bars in Eresos, as well as many other entertainment venues. Some of them belong to lesbians who are not afraid to invest in this "hyped" region.
One of the master classes taking place in Eresos
Excellent conditions have been created for women of any orientation in Lesbos. Many agencies and private entrepreneurs offer walking and sea excursions, cruises and various master classes. Here you can learn to play the drums, learn to scuba dive, cook Greek cuisine, dance, sculpt from clay. It is simply impossible to list everything.
There are also screenings of LGBT-themed films, dating parties and just discos for women. Observing this, it seems quite fair that in the 1997 film "The Island of Lesbos", the main character after death did not end up anywhere, but on this Greek island.
Tourists on Lesbos are loved today
Today, when millions of dollars are swirling around LGBT topics in business, residents of Eresos and neighboring villages dote on tourists. But this was not always the case. The first Lesbian women who tried to organize something in the village met with a decisive rebuff from both the authorities and local residents.
The mayor of Eresos was offended by one of the frivolous posters advertising the first women's festival and seriously threatened to get a ban on such actions through the court both in his village and in other places on the island of Lesbos. The last serious outbreak of intolerance was seen ten years ago, when three residents of the island filed a class action lawsuit. The lesbians demanded that the court forbid the use of the word "lesbian" in relation to homosexual women.
Residents of the island protesting against the dominance of lesbians
One of these activists, Dimitris Lambru, is the editor of the popular edition of the island "Torch". His anger was directed at the largest gay and lesbian association in Greece, OLKE, to which the lawsuit was addressed. The journalist believed that the word "lesbian" shames women living on the island and forms a biased attitude towards them. Lambru wanted homosexual women to call themselves tribads and stop coming to the island of Lesbos.
Guests with money are welcome in Eresos, regardless of their orientation
But now tourists of non—traditional orientation in Eresos are happy - they willingly spend money on souvenirs and entertainment and, if you believe the words of bartenders and waiters, drink alcohol like real sailors. The taste of the "pink dollar" was to the liking of the Lesbosians.
The business of the Lesbosians was threatened several years ago, at the height of the emigration crisis. The island is flooded with refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, seeking to get to the mainland of Greece at any cost. But the fears were in vain — even the crowds of noisy refugees did not stop LGBT tourism to the island.
Syrian refugees land on Lesbos
Norwegian citizen Lilian Jensen, the owner of one of the lesbian bars in Eresos, sadly told reporters that there are many other places in Europe that attract lesbians. It is quite possible that the demand for Lesbos will soon decrease, but so far everything is in order and there is no reason to panic.