On a hot summer day in early September, I met with Corinne of Athens Living who has been making YouTube videos about interesting people and places in Athens since 2009. We briefly explored the National Garden together and spoke about my popular Myths & Medicine Plant Walks there, as well as my work as a writer and herbal retreat organizer, most recently on Samothrace island.

A recap of our Soul Blossoming in Nature Yoga and Herbal Retreat on Silver Island on April 21-27 and April 28-May 4, 2024. Silver Island is a family-owned, private Greek island in the Aegean Sea offering an exclusive yoga retreat experience. Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) offered herbal inspired workshops for two weeks on the island to kick-start the yoga retreat season that will run until October.

An interview with Valia Vlatsiou, an expert practitioner in Thai massage and yin yoga, and the television presenter of Βότανα Καρποί της Γης (Herbs: Fruits of the Earth). Valia and Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) are offering the Herbal Medicine & Wellness Retreat on Samothrace on August 25-30, 2024.

Featured in the Fall 2023 issue of the Journal of the American Herbalists Guild, the article "Medicinal Wine in Ancient Greece" by Maria Christodoulou explores the historical evidence and efficacy of herbal wines in Greek antiquity: “Piecing together historical and archaeological evidence of ancient herbal customs can help us understand the value of these natural remedies and provide inspiration to herbalists today who wish to connect to their own heritage from this region.”

Lemon balm, St. John’s wort, oregano, and mastic. What medicinal powers do these herbs have and how did the ancient Greeks use them for their own health?

In a podcast with A Temple Wild, Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) discusses her experiences as a first generation Greek-American, what it was like encountering the Greek landscape for the first time, how she went from a classics major to studying herbalism to now living in Greece and, among many things, leading the way in herbal immersion tours all over the country.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a tree in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North America with a rich history of use in many traditions. The berries, flowers, leaves, and bark have all been used medicinally for thousands of years. Learn about the health benefits of elderberry and how it can support your health during the winter season - and throughout the year.

Upcoming virtual class on Sunday, September 24 with The Greek Herbalist and hosted by Rowan + Sage: The ancient Greeks blended myth, magic, and medicine into their daily rituals and spiritual practices. In this workshop, learn about their ancient practices and the plants that they relied on for healing and inspiration.

Traveling through thousands of years of ancient history, we will explore some of the Greek gods and goddesses and their connection to the plant world, the underground practice of magic, and the timeless power of medicinal plants that we continue to rely on today.

From The National Herald: “Greek herbs and traditions with the land are becoming increasingly popular for visitors to learn about during their visit to Greece. Maria Christodoulou, The Greek Herbalist, has developed educational herbal tours and academic programs in Greece that teach about the traditional uses of medicinal plants from both ancient and modern times.”

From the Society for Classical Studies: “This year’s Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities (AnWoMoCo) panel, organized by Nina Papathanasopoulou, Public Engagement Coordinator for the SCS, and Greg Thalmann, former Chair of the Classics in the Community Committee, offered perspectives from six projects funded by the AnWoMoCo microgrants initiative, which has provided financial support for 149 proposals since January 2019. This dynamic sampling of awardees demonstrated the scope, creativity, and engagement behind the AnWoMoCo mandate to support interdisciplinary collaborations that bring together distinctive communities and to encourage thoughtful engagement and creative expression.”

An oasis in the center of Athens, the National Garden consists of 7,000 trees, 40,000 bushes and other plants, belonging to 519 species and varieties.

It is a curious cultural phenomenon that while the ancient Greeks used wine regularly as medicine, modern herbal practices practically exclude this medium. Ancient authors, from Homer in the 8th century BCE to Galen in the 2nd century CE, promoted the therapeutic benefits of wine for both the body and the mind, and wine infused with medicinal herbs was recommended by many ancient physicians to heal a variety of internal and external ailments. Today, however, this practice has all but disappeared. Exploring wine as a lost medium and the herbs that were once infused in it may help uncover ancient knowledge applicable to modern herbal medicine.

Editor’s pick! From the classical myths that surround them to the medicinal value they hold, the plants of Greece have stories to tell and gifts to bestow.

For much of human history, medicine has been based on traditional folk practices and natural remedies. Exploring both tradition and science, however, can provide a greater framework for understanding the history of herbalism and modern medicine. Let’s explore how the herbs bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) and mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) were used in antiquity and the scientific research that either proves or denies these plants’ indicated effects. Were these ancient claims true?

The ancient Mediterranean region was rich in vibrant colors, flavors, and remedies that helped keep the civilizations of Greece, Rome, and Egypt thriving for thousands of years. We will explore ancient medical texts in each of these empires, the influence of war and trade on herbal medicine, and popular medicinal and culinary recipes used for health and healing. This recorded presentation is available through registration with the International Herb Symposium.

Listen in to The Gold Road Goes to Greece, a conversation with Aviva Skye Tilson of Apis Apotheca and Marcie Mayer of the Acorn Oakmeal Initiative, as we talk about the value of acorns and oak trees in both ancient and modern society.

Listen in to Unsaid Conversations Ep.19 - Modern Plant Medicine as I speak with Anna Miller about the practice of herbal medicine in ancient Greece and how it still applies today.

As featured in The Mediterranean Lifestyle, Divinely Worshipped: 3 Herbs in Ancient Greek Mythology tell us about herbs representing wisdom, love, and protection, all of which we can use a bit more of these days!

Listen in to Herbs in Greek Myths, as published on the HerbRally podcast.

Excerpt from The Herbal Academy: “Approximately 2,300 years ago, a time which we can somewhat imagine through the marble monuments still standing and the relatively few parchments that have survived, a person named Theophrastus (c. 370 BCE – c. 287 BCE) reportedly wrote 227 books about animals, trees, shrubs, fruits, and flowers. Although he wasn’t the only scientific writer at the time, nor the first to study plants, he would become known as the “father of botany” because his descriptive writings, specifically his surviving book, Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum), helped create a new frontier in scientific botanical terminology.”