Princess Irene, Duchess of Aosta

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Aosta was the fifth child and second daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and the former Princess Sophie of Prussia. She was a member of the Royal Families of Greece and Italy.

Multipurpose handwoven garments

Women often wove their own families' clothes, with one set often serving as both a special festive outfit and later, burial clothing.

Traditional footwear choices

Men's footwear included tsarouchia, red leather shoes with upturned, tasseled points, while some people preferred walking barefoot even in cold weather to avoid the inconvenience of footwear.

The rise of Athenian Song

During the Athenian Belle Époque (1900-1920), a new genre called the Athenian Song emerged, featuring Italian-style canzonettas and polyphonic kantadas.

Private family music ensembles

Small musical groups called kompanies, typically consisting of violin, santouri (dulcimer), guitar, or oud, played for private family celebrations like weddings and engagements.

The Odontotos rack railway inaugurated

The Odontotos rack railway, inaugurated in 1896, traveled the 22,350 meters between Diakopto and Kalavrita in 60 minutes.

Mule Transport and Wayside Inns

Mules and ponies were essential for difficult mountain terrain, with animals expertly navigating rocky paths at steep angles while carrying loads of 2 or 3 cwt. Travelers frequently sought shelter in wayside inns called chania, which were simple, single-room buildings used for eating, sleeping, and housing animals.

Lack of indoor plumbing in Athens

Even in Athens in 1910, some buildings lacked indoor plumbing, requiring residents to use a large shallow zinc tub kept under the bed for bathing. Water for these baths had to be poured by hand, often by another person or from a basin and pitcher.

Primitive living in rural Greek peasant cabins

Peasant homes were typically one-room cabins shared with livestock, featuring a hearth made of a flat stone for fire without a proper chimney. Cooking for families was often done outside using a bee-hive shaped clay oven.

Frugal diet of bread, olives, and cheese

Ordinary Greek families relied on a frugal diet centered on bread, olives, and cheese, with meat consumed rarely, typically only on major festivals.

Resinated wine was the common beverage

People often drank retsinata, a resinated wine with a strong scent of turpentine that was the primary table beverage.

Cost of basic foods

In the early 1900s, an oka (1,282 grams) of bread cost 30–40 lepta, while goat meat cost 80 lepta to 1 drachma and lamb cost 1 to 1.40 drachmas.

Wages in the early 1900s

In the early 1900s, general workers earned between 50 lepta and 1 drachma for a 10–12 hour workday, while men's wages ranged from 1.20 to 3 drachmas and women's were as low as 10 lepta.

Common jobs in early 20th century Greece

In the early 1900s, common jobs included work in tobacco production, textile mills, and small urban workshops, often with children as young as six helping at machines.

Tobacco workers and everyday weapons

Some tobacco workers in the early 20th century carried weapons like penknives, razors, or needles as part of their daily cultural life.