The Last Nymph

Living on a Jewel

Born in Athens and growing up in one of the oldest but most congested cities on Earth, the young Orestes Roussos emulated the countryside and island beaches of his native Greece. They were, unfortunately, an infrequent part of his young years as his father, a taxi driver, and mother a civil servant at a tax office, could not provide the life of leisure he or so many of his generation would have wished for. This kept the handsome, fit boy within the confines of the city, where antithetical to so many of his peers, he took a special liking to the ancient remnants of the former Greek culture with its many museums and archaeological sites --most within walking distance from his home.

Climbing up the many steps to the great Parthenon and marvelling at its design and construction on the weekends, was Orestes' natural escape from the crowded neighborhood he only endured. But it also gave him a great sense of pride in his ancient people's accomplishments. Growing up secretly harboring a love for the United States, as so many of the youth of the world had done in those turbulent times, Orestes became a fan of Western culture. This included American movies, shown in the outdoor theaters of summer, and the crowded movie houses and school auditoriums in the winter. He also had become an avid fan of British and American pop music, learning the words and knowing by heart popular songs between the mid-1960s through the 1970's and culminating in the 1980's when he went to university abroad. In addition, his was a generation that learned English precisely through these means, along with practically a religious conviction for tutoring of the language while youths. This teaching occurred in the afternoons, several times a week at the neighborhood street schools, known as frontisteria.

Orestes was, to his credit, a sensitive boy, growing up in a hard city. He was an only child and felt from an early age destined to make more of his life than his loving parents who had struggled their best to provide for him. Finishing Greek high school with honors, he was assisted by a friend of the family who knew an American university counselor. The man, an American Expat, worked at one of the prestigious private schools in the northern suburbs of Athens. Helping the sixteen-year-old with his college preparation and entrance exams in English, he further assisted Orestes in being eventually granted a full scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley.

Not wishing for their son to leave, but weighing the advantages the opportunity gave to him, the young Orestes without hesitation was given permission by his parents to settled into a land with similar weather but a highly dissimilar culture and lifestyle. Taking to his studies immediately and full-heartedly, the young Greek student became respected for his academic prowess. He also became popular on campus, politically representing the international community there. He was blessed by finding many friends there, both though the local Greek society, but also among numerous Americans who looked up to him for his ethos and good nature.

After four years, Orestes Roussos had qualified for graduate studies at Stanford University and enrolled there as a PhD candidate in Classical Studies. The rest of his story was simply a long and prestigious career as "Doc," one of the most beloved professors of mythology and ancient Greek literature at the celebrated institution.

On the final day before his retirement, his colleagues and members of the administration, presented Dr. Roussos with a golden dolphin to wear around his neck, signifying his ancient literary heritage, valued service, and a great legacy to his department at Stanford. Literally hundreds of former students and friends attend the gala event at San Francisco's Scarlet Huntington Hotel. It was just one year after that, during the summer, that Doc departed for Greece to a location he insisted on keeping to himself.

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As part of Orestes' distant family ties to the area—the north-eastern sector of the Greek mainland, plus his distinguished credentials, recognized by the Greek State, he had been able to secure an enviable piece of property as a lifetime lease only on the island Kalamos. It was to all else, a location forbidden to build on, even to camp on, due to its pristine nature and archaeological significance. There were additionally, several environmental NGO initiatives to further preserve the entire island, as it rested in the sea with several other small isles in the Inner Ionian Marine Preserve. Surrounding the island was a deep blue and turquoise section of sea between the island of Lefkada and the Greek mainland.

While Doc understood well the agreement bestowed upon him as a living space, he knew he would never be allowed to own any of the stone battlements granted for his provisional dwelling. He would be allowed to refurbish a limited portion of the castle as a temporary residence, only. The Greek government, and specifically the Ephorate of Antiquities within the Prefecture of Lefkada had agreed to this special arrangement, based in part by "Professor Oreste Rousso's renowned contribution to ancient Greek culture and the Arts."

To Doc, this was thought of as a "gift from the gods." For he had taken what few belongings he deemed necessary to Greece, and soon found himself leaving from the small port of Mytikas, across the blue strait on the mainland, for his new home and all the adventures that might come with it.

It would be a primitive habitat and a challenge to forge out a life there, he knew. And like all else in life when laid before him, it would come with even more uncertainly but greater freedom. Looking at the approaching island as his hired boat sped across the expanse of Mediterranean, Doc was certain that with great heart and his past humility, this would most likely be his last place of residence. It was something he gladly accepted after a long and exceptional life on both sides of the world—the modern one, and now again, the ancient one.

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