The Women of Turkey and Their Folk-Lore (Volume 1) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1890. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V. GREEK WOMEN: THEIR FOLK-POESY. I Have already in the preceding chapter described the beings who figure in the mythological class of folk songs and stories, and I have also referred to the Christian Saints who have in many instances replaced Classic Deities. Many of the stories relating to the supernatural will be found to present features and incidents similar to those which exist in the folk-lore of other nations, and especially in Keltic, Teutonic, Norse, and Eastern fairy-tales.1 The religious legends are sufficiently numerous, and resemble in many points those told by Moslems of Dervish Evliya. There has no doubt been a considerable amount of mutual borrowing in this as in many other respects. The Greeks take great delight in the histories of their Saints, and recount them with every variety of detail which their lively imaginations can suggest. Among the legends concerning those who occupy a prominent place in the Greek calendar are the wonderful adventures of St. George of Cappadocia, and the stories of St. Basil, St. Chrysostom, Kosma and Damianos, and of the head of St. John the Baptist. St. George, being the patron Saint of the Hellenes, is naturally held in special reverence, and there is scarcely a town in the Ottoman Empire, or in Greece, which has not at least one church dedicated to him. Countless and wonderful are the stories related of this holy man by his devotees, and, what is still more extraordinary, they believe them all. Ecclesiastical story says that he was of noble lineage, and that he lived in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. On the outbreak of a fierce persecution, St. George, as the Champion of the Cross, presented himself before the pagan authorities, and boldly declared the Christian religion to be the only true and sa...