Thodoris K. Kokkoris, in an original ethnographic narrative, unfolds the customs and traditions of a rural wedding in the mountainous Eastern Laconia, from 1860 to the late 20th century. The book is not a historical document but a vivid ethnographic fresco of the agricultural—and partly urban—society of a time when rural areas began to come into contact with the city. Real stories of everyday life are intertwined with myths, legends, superstitions, fairy tales, proverbs, and folk wisdom of an entire region.
Structured like a theatrical play, with fifteen "Scenes" opening with the Family and closing with the Curtain, the narration unfolds topics such as matchmaking, engagements, dowries, the control of the bride's purity, wine and honey of the wedding, as well as darker aspects of tradition, like domestic violence and deeply rooted inequalities between men and women. At the same time, the author connects modern customs with wedding traditions from ancient Athens and Sparta, concluding with a symbolic reference to Iphigenia.
A tender yet sincere look at a world that is disappearing, written with respect for memory and a sober view of the shadows of tradition—a narrative that will move those who remember and surprise those discovering this world for the first time.
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