During the winters between 1882/3 and 1883/4, the intrepid explorers Theodore and Mabel Bent left their home and opulent lifestyle in London’s fashionable West End to meander around the Greek islands in search of adventure in the exotic Levant.
They travelled by steamer, sail-boat, mule and on foot, staying in the finest houses, the humblest dwellings and under open skies, often sharing their sleeping quarters with brigands, fleas and domestic animals. Along the way Mabel penned her diary and Theodore made notes recounting their amazing adventures, local customs, music, dance and much more.
In February 1884, the couple visited Antiparos to excavate ancient grave sites on the island. Their excavations yielded numerous finds which established Theodore's credentials as an archaeologist; many of those finds are now in the British Museum. Theodore took a day off from his digging when his workers refused to work on St. Simeon's Day. This story is of his fishing expedition on that day and the horrific tale told by Zeppo, the boat owner, of his kidnap by robbers, and of his 'return from the dead'.
Theodore retold Zeppo's story in his best-selling book ‘The Cyclades or Life Among the Insular Greeks’. This ebook is a digitised extract from that book. The full book may be downloaded for free from the website the-cyclades.click.
Theodore and Mabel
Theodore and Mabel Bent were truly intrepid explorers who travelled extensively in Greece and along the Turkish coast. Their thirst for adventure later saw them in Africa, Arabia and Persia. Read about their extraordinary lives on the website tambent.com.
In Greek Waters has been made available via the website tales.click and may be viewed on-line or downloaded as a free ebook in a number of formats:
We hope you enjoy this ebook and the other material presented on the website.