ILIAS TSAGAS

Tidal Change

Eretria, on the island of Euboea, was the ‘rowing city’ of ancient Greece – eresso, or eretto, means to row in ancient Greek. Together with Chalcis, Eretria thrived in the Archaic period, establishing colonies as far as Sicily and Crimea. Colonial disputes, trade rivalry and competition over the control of the nearby fertile Lelantine Plain led the two cities to the so-called Lelantine War, which lasted from about 710 to 650 BC.

It is not clear who won the war, but despite their wounds, the two cities remained important in the following centuries, developing an Euboean identity that included rowing prowess, theatre, philosophical schools, richly decorated villas and strong commerce, including minting their own coins. 

Today, Eretria and Chalcis sleep a deep sleep. Eretria is a small town serving primarily as a summer destination for working-class and middle-class Greek and foreign tourists. You will rarely meet any rowers in its waters. Chalcis is the capital of the island and its main administrative hub, although, similarly to Eretria, its sports, cultural, political, scientific and business life is amazingly dormant. The curious visitor of either town may well experience the sensation of encountering the ghosts of the past. Or accept defeat and indulge in the hedonistic offerings of the Mediterranean.

It was one of those indulgent moments, sipping my iced coffee in Chalcis, when I spotted a few teenagers rowing their kayaks. I learned later that Chalcis has a nautical club offering kayak lessons to teenagers and that training takes place in the narrow strait splitting the island from the mainland, well known for its tidal phenomenon. The current in the strait shifts direction every six to seven hours, with a few minutes of calm between changes. These changes last about twenty-three or twenty-four days. For the following five to six days, there may be no current changes at all, or there may be a few which do not have a set duration, and then the phenomenon occurs all over again. 

Aristotle, who spent the last year of his life (323 to 322 BC) in Chalcis, had observed the tides at the strait and attempted to explain the phenomenon, suggesting his own theory. Reading his notes on Chalcis’ tides, I found myself asking whether Chalcis and Eretria are calm today, waiting for the tide of time to shift and set them again into motion.

Chalcis

A flock of ducks is flying above
a row of kayakers.

Reflections of arms and wings
mix on the water

until the current shifts direction
setting them apart.  

Ilias Tsagas is a Greek poet writing in English as a second language. His work has appeared in journals like: Apogee, AMBIT, Streetcake, Briefly Write, Under the Radar, Poetry Wales, Tint, SAND, FU Review Berlin, Tokyo Poetry, Plumwood Mountain and elsewhere. Ilias was a Poet-in-Residence at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2024.