1974 Stamp Day

Greek Stamp Day 1974 was commemorated by the issue of this stamp depicting the Cretan 1 drachma stamp of 1905 which in turn depicted  "The abduction of EUROPE by ZEUS".

In Greek mythology Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a woman with Phoenician origin of high lineage, and for whom the continent Europe was named. The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story; as Karenyi points out "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa".

In Greek mythology Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a woman with Phoenician origin of high lineage,[1]and for whom the continent Europe was named. The story of her abduction byZeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story; as Kerényi points out "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa".

Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love 12.3.1979

The cult of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love, started in Cyprus and later spread to the other areas of the Greek world.

According to mythology, Aphrodite was born rising from the foams of the waves on the south-western coast of Cyprus, near ancient Paphos. The exact spot is believed to be near the rocks now known as "Petra tou Romiou". Her temple in Paphos was famous in ancient limes. Unfortunately, however, scant remains of that temple exist today. An idea of the temple may be formed by stylised representations of it on Cypriot coins of the Roman period. Aphrodite was the supreme goddess of ancient Cyprus and for this reason her temples existed everywhere - at Idalion, Amathus, Tamasos, Soloi, Kythrea, Curium, Golgi, the hilltop now known as Stavrovouni and on the north-eastern peninsula of the island.

In Homer, in Hesiodos and in many other ancient writers, Aphrodite is called "Cypris" or "Paphia" and is referred to as the goddess of beauty, love and fertility, as well as the patron of marriage and family, and she has been the source of inspiration of numerous sculptures and paintings as well as poetry, especially to the ancients who regarded the beauty of face and body as a revelation of the divine.

The set of stamps of Aphrodite is being issued with the aim of emphasizing the contribution of Cyprus to the creation of the ancient Greek spirit that continues to guide and inspire humanity and of presenting masterpieces of sculpture and painting inspired by the Cypriot goddess.

This set consists of two stamps, the one depicting the statue of the goddess (1 B.C.) found at Soloi, Cyprus, and the other depicting the goddess from the famous Botticelli painting "The Birth of Aphrodite", with the coast where according to the legend Aphrodite rose from the foam of the waves in the background of both.

Mythical Princess Signhild 27.3.2008

In March 2008, the third and last miniature sheet of the joint Nordic series featuring Nordic mythology was issued on 27.3.2008. The designer of this pretty piece was Juha Pykäläinen. The theme was Mythical places. Åland has plenty of mythical places and the motif chosen for the miniature sheet is fascinating and surrounded with myth, to say the least!

This First Day Cover with the miniature sheet commemorating this great mythological event was given to me by my Dear friend Pia. Isn’t it a lovely FDC?

Legend has it that Signhild, a British princess, was instructed to marry a Norwegian prince. Accompanied by her communion godfather, her servants and her beloved horse she sailed off to Norway. Upon arrival, the prince had died. The princess, however, decided to travel on to preach Christianity to the people up north. Signhild's ship was wrecked in a nasty storm and ended up in Åland. Many died, but Signhild somehow miraculously managed to make her way to shore at Isaksö in Geta. She rode ashore on her beautiful horse, and the spot where the fabled St Signhild rode ashore still exists and is known as 'Drottningkleven', the Queen's Gorge.

Aphrodite 12.4.1982

This First Day Cover is dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite. The cover depicts the ruins of her temple at Kouklia in Cyprus. The stamp on the left is a damaged statue of Aphrodite and the stamp on the right is a painting of her in a museum. These stamps were issued on 12.4.1982.

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia. According to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the sea foam (aphros) arose Aphrodite. Thus, Aphrodite is of an older generation than Zeus.

Because of her beauty, other gods feared jealousy would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods such as Ares, and men such as Anchises. Aphrodite also became instrumental in the Eros and Psyche legend, and later was both Adonis' lover and his surrogate mother. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is also known as Cytherea (Lady of Cythera) and Cypris (Lady of Cyprus) after the two cult-sites, Cythera and Cyprus, which claimed her birth. Myrtles, doves, sparrows, horses, and swans are sacred to her. The Greeks further identified the Ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor with Aphrodite. Aphrodite also has many other local names, such as Acidalia, Cytherea and Cerigo, used in specific areas of Greece. Each goddess demanded a slightly different cult, but Greeks recognized in their overall similarities the one Aphrodite. Attic philosophers of the fourth century separated a celestial Aphrodite of transcendent principles with the common Aphrodite of the people.

Thank you Merja for this wonderful card.

Hlödver the Tall 28.7.2000

There are many tall stories about the Vikings from the Scandinavian Islands. One is about Hlödver the Tall from Saltvik. According to Snorre Sturlusson’s Nordiska Kungasagor, Hlödver was a tall Ålander who was handpicked by Viking King Olav Tryggvason to form part of the crew on Ormen Långe. Tryggvason grew up in Estonia and had seen much of the Scandinavian Islands on his travels between his foster home and his real home in Trondheim. According to Sturlusson, Hlödver could not say no when Tryggvason asked him to accompany him as a helmsman on Ormen Långe, after all, it was the biggest and most beautiful ship that had been built. In AD 1000, Ormen Långe sailed to Poland with a number of other ships to collect Queen Tyra’s inheritance. Along the route Olav Skötkonung and his allies lay in wait, and Olav Tryggvason fell in battle side by side with Hlödver the Tall from Saltvik at the naval battle at Svolder. The end of the Viking Age is generally considered to be when the people converted from pagan beliefs to Christianity, sometime around AD 1100.

Åland has many traces of the Vikings. In Saltvik was a great Viking market held on 28th-29th July 2000 with Viking "Hlödver the Tall" as a protector. Whether it was Saltvik of Åland is not quite clear, but it is possible. Saltvik has apparently been a Viking port and trading center. The pretty stamps on the cover and the cover itself were issued on 28.7.2000. This nice FDC was given to me by Pia.