Proteus

The Old Man of the Sea

Mutable Water God

The Greek god Proteus was a shape shifter, a prophet, and god of the water. Known as the old man of the sea, he could foresee the future. He knew all things past, present and future, but disliked divulging his knowledge. It was said that he was born on the island of Karpathos.

Carl Jung likened him to a representation of the unconscious mind, always changing, mysterious, never completely knowable, holding the truth but difficult to retrieve it.

He would emerge from the sea to sleep with a colony of seals and if captured he could be compelled to tell the future.

 – Homer

Crystalline Empty Waters

Traveling around the island of Karpathos it was easy to see how the myth of such a god would have originated there. The water surrounding the island is among the clearest and most beautiful I have ever seen. It changes from a glassy turquoise near the shore to a deep pure blue further away.

Each day we’d go to a beach and snorkel around. The water was very salty, stronger than I had experienced before. Sadly, there wasn’t much to see in terms of aquatic life. I never saw a fish bigger than my hand. Most were the size of my fingers. Marine populations in the Aegean have plummeted due to overfishing and the climate crisis.

As with most areas where overfishing has occurred the bottom of the ocean has been scraped clean of life and habitat. Boats with big nets, bottom trawlers, are used to drag along the bottom scooping up everything they encounter indiscriminately. Over half of everything caught by a bottom trawler is considered by-catch and tossed back dead into the sea. These kinds of practices are destructive and need to be outlawed.

Creating a Sea Sanctuary

There are some groups working to monitor and improve the health of the sea. Reintroducing sea grass and seaweed is important to restoring health and encouraging the return of life. They seek to increase fish populations and bring about the regeneration of marine mammals like dolphins, monk seals, and whales, key top species that indicate overall health of the ecosystem.

Exploring the Sea

As we traveled around, it was easy to see how different the water was at each beach. One afternoon, I taught the girls to body surf in gentle waves on the western side of the island. The water was clear but stirred up from the constant churning. We played all afternoon until we tired ourselves out and got hungry for dinner.

On the eastern side, the beaches were more rocky and the water was crystalline. Visibility was tens of meters. There were no waves, and lots of rocky crevices to explore.

Boat Journey to Saria Island

On our final day on Karpathos, we took a boat ride up the coast to Saria Island. Divided by a narrow straight they were once one island until split apart by a violent earthquake. Now uninhabited, except for goats and donkeys, at one time it was part of the Delian League and the site of a city-state. If you hike around you can explore the ruins. Some Greek Orthodox chapels are still maintained.

The first stop was Palatia Beach. It was known as a Pirate’s Cove, as the pirates who raided Vrykous would stay there between launching attacks. The water there was exquisite and magical in the way it moved. Pure and clear, the wind would pick up from over the mountain and swoop down in quick gusts, making the water dance around and seem alive itself. Never had I seen anything as captivating as the way the water moved there.

We swam around, exploring the little coves. The energy of the place was really special. Like a visit to a more ancient time and a place relieved of human interference on the landscape. It felt peaceful and a bit wild, just the kind of place that I like.

Skipping Rocks and Rescuing Snacks

The beach was covered with copious amounts of flat rocks and I used the opportunity to teach my daughters how to skip them. At first they were frustrated but in no time at all, and with minimal coaching from me, they ended up better at it than I am. They clearly get this gift from their grandpa who was a master at skipping rocks.

I rescued a woman’s bag filled with treats from a donkey looking for a snack. She was scared to go near it, so I jumped in to help. We didn’t speak the same language but she noted her gratitude.

The crew called us back for lunch time. I prepared ahead and brought my own, being vegan and all, but did parttake of the salad and bread.

“If you want to learn to swim jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you.”” 
– Bruce Lee

Jumping off the Boat

From there we went on to the next beach. This one was less enclosed. The captain tied the boat in place and we were invited to jump into the water and swim to the beach. There were three ways to get down. Walk off onto the rocky edge of the beach, take an easy five foot jump into the water, or you could go up a level higher and jump from the upper deck around 15 feet above. At first we all went down the five foot jump.

Cecilia was curious about the big jump and went up there staring down and hemmed and hawed for a little while. Then she convinced her sister to come up there with her. They both spent a lot of time thinking about it. Eventually, Cecilia took the big leap. Lucia was still uncertain. Kiko, the girls’ dad, went up and jumped in. Cecilia convinced me to try it. So I went up.

When you stand up there high above the water, it’s a little scary. Logically, you know you’re going to land in the water and are going to be fine, but it’s the sensation of flying through the air that is the thrilling part, and the anticipation before you commit to the decision of doing it. Looking down was unnerving, but I had come up to try it and I decided that the only way I was going down was by jumping, so I went for it.

Not long after I went, Lucia went in, then both girls jumped another time and so did I. It was a fun and exciting way to cap off our trip.

Cruising Back to Pigadia

On the boat ride back to Pigadia, the captain took us into the strait between the two islands. They say sometimes the goats swim between them. The view is breathtaking, two rocky islands shooting straight up from the deep sea.

As we cruised along the coast, going south to the port, I looked out and watched the water. This incredible, deep, true blue, with perfect rippling texture fading off into the distance surrounded us. It was a day of seeing many phases of the water, clear pristine shallow water in protected coves, with gusts of wind twisting around like spirits communicating a message from the ancient past. Deep vast unknowable blues reaching out into the distance.

It made sense how Proteus originated from this place, beautiful, mysterious, clear and pure, but far beyond complete comprehension, and leaving you with an aching to understand more, but with knowledge that it is never possible. Maybe if you catch him at just the right moment he will give you a glimpse of all that has been and all that will be, but ultimately like everything it is fleeting and will shape shift into something else.

“The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.” 
– Rabindranath Tagore