Greece has somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 islands. Even at the lower number that is a lot of islands, and only a fraction, fewer than 300, are inhabited, some by fewer than 100 people. All are historic, and my cruise, which combined mainland Greece ports with island stops, offered exploration of three of the larger islands as we sailed from Athens to Ephesus in Turkey and back.
Who hasn’t heard of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? It is said that the giant bronze statue, 110 feet tall, stood astride the harbor, one leg on each side. It’s a powerful image but sadly not true. The statue, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 226 B.C. less than 60 years after it was erected, actually stood on one side of the harbor. However, as I looked across the water, I preferred to imagine the Colossus in its mythical stance.
