When winter begins to loosen its grip and the scent of spring drifts across the Aegean, Greece erupts into color, satire, music, and joyful chaos. Apokries (Απόκριες), the Greek Carnival, is not just a festival. It’s a three-week-long celebration of disguise, laughter, ancient ritual, smoky street feasts, thunderous bells, flour wars, and myths that stretch back thousands of years.
The word Apokries literally means “no more meat.” Yet before fasting begins, Greece surrenders to indulgence and imagination. Masks grant anonymity. Costumes offer freedom of expression. Social rules loosen. Laughter grows louder. And beneath it all pulses something ancient.
Ancient Roots: From Dionysus to Lent
Though today Apokries is connected to the Greek Orthodox calendar and the period before Lent, its origins reach deep into antiquity. In Ancient Greece, grand feasts were held in honor of Dionysus, god of wine, theatre, fertility, and ecstatic celebration. His festivals marked the rebirth of nature and the arrival of spring.
Participants wore masks. They danced wildly. They mocked authority. They blurred identities. Sound familiar?
When Christianity spread across Greece, these pagan rites were not erased, they were absorbed. The result is Apokries: a fascinating blend of Dionysian ecstasy and Orthodox preparation for spiritual renewal.
The Three Weeks of Apokries
Carnival lasts for three weeks before Lent, each with its own character:
- Profoni (Proclamation Week) – The festivities are announced. Costumes appear. The spirit awakens.
- Kreatini (Meat Week) – Feasting peaks. Grilled meats dominate tables.
- Tyrini (Cheese Week) – Meat stops, dairy continues, easing the body toward fasting.
The season concludes on Clean Monday, the first day of Lent.
Tsiknopempti – Thursday of Smoke & Celebration
One of the highest points of Apokries is Tsiknopempti, meaning “Thursday of the Smoke of Grilled Meat.”
Because Wednesdays and Fridays are traditionally fasting days in the Orthodox calendar, and the final week before Lent is meat-free, this Thursday becomes one of the last chances to enjoy meat before fasting begins.
Greeks celebrate by:
- Setting up grills in central squares
- Filling neighborhoods with music
- Hosting street parties
- Dressing up, even at work and school
The air fills with smoke from souvlaki and sausages. Laughter competes with live bands. The entire country smells like barbecue.
Clean Monday – A Sky Full of Kites
After the indulgence comes renewal.
Clean Monday marks the official start of Lent and is celebrated with outdoor excursions and symbolic traditions:
- Families picnic in nature
- Shellfish and fasting foods are served
- Special unleavened bread called lagana is baked
- Colorful kites fill the sky
The kite represents spiritual elevation, a soul rising toward purification after weeks of revelry.
Where Apokries Is Best Celebrated
Patras – The King of Carnival
The largest carnival in Greece, and one of Europe’s biggest, takes place in Patras.
Since 1829, the city has transformed Carnival into a spectacular event featuring:
- Giant satirical floats
- Lavish day and night parades
- A city-wide hidden treasure hunt game
- The ceremonial burning of the Carnival King
It’s theatrical, extravagant, and electrifying.
Galaxidi – The Flour War (Alevromoutzouromata)
On Clean Monday, this seaside town erupts into the legendary Alevromoutzouromata, a flour-throwing battle where participants hurl colored powder at one another until the harbor becomes a cloud of pink, yellow, and blue.
By sunset, everyone is joyfully unrecognizable.
Naxos – Birthplace of Dionysus
In Naxos, believed to be the birthplace of Dionysus, Apokries begins with choirosphagia (traditional pig slaughter) on the first Saturday of the season.
It culminates in mountain villages such as Apeiranthos, Filoti, and Koronos, where hooded, bell-clad figures called “unati” roam narrow alleys creating deafening noise.
The bells are meant to:
- Drive away evil spirits
- Cleanse the village
- Welcome spring
It feels raw, ancient, and deeply ritualistic.
Skyros – The Geros and Korela
On the island of Skyros, Carnival comes alive through folklore.
The main figures are:
- Geros (Old Man) – Men wearing thick black cloaks, white trousers, a waist belt of goat bells weighing up to 50 kilos, and goatskins covering their faces.
- Korela (Young Girl) – Women dressed in traditional white and yellow garments, waving scarves to guide the procession.
Jumping and shaking rhythmically, the Geros fill the air with thunderous sound, echoes of a fertility ritual meant to awaken the earth.
Naoussa – The Boules of Discipline and Beauty
In Naoussa, the central custom is that of the Genitsaroi and Boules.
Unlike the playful disarray seen elsewhere, Naoussa’s Carnival is characterized by:
- Strict discipline
- Standardized choreography
- Exceptional aesthetic precision
Participants wear handcrafted wax masks with serene expressions, elaborate fustanella skirts, silver coins, and embroidered garments.
The ritual incorporates:
- Local myths
- Folk songs
- Legends
- Stories of heroic resistance
It is Carnival elevated to sacred theatre.
Myths, Spirits & Symbolism
In older Greek folklore, winter was the time when mischievous spirits called Kallikantzaroi roamed the earth. Loud music, bells, fire, and disguise were believed to drive them away.
Bonfires blaze on the final Sunday night across villages, symbolically burning winter and purifying the community before Lent.
Masks protect.
Noise cleanses.
Laughter renews.
Fascinating Fun Facts
- Apokries predates Christianity and stems from Dionysian festivals.
- The Patras Carnival is among Europe’s largest and dates back to 1829.
- Flour throwing in Galaxidi can involve tons of colored powder.
- Some costumes in Naoussa can weigh over 20 kilograms.
- Apokries always ends on a Monday – unlike many Western carnivals.
- The season’s timing depends on the date of Orthodox Easter, which differs from Western Easter.
- Skyros bell costumes can weigh over 50 kg.
The Spirit of Apokries
Apokries is not polished perfection. It is spontaneous, communal, ancient, theatrical, rebellious, and deeply Greek.
It is:
Smoke rising from street grills.
Bells echoing through mountain villages.
Flour clouds drifting over seaside harbors.
Wax masks staring serenely through centuries.
Kites soaring into a bright spring sky.
It is indulgence before restraint.
Chaos before reflection.
Laughter before silence.
In Greece, Carnival is not just a party.
It is memory.
It is myth.
It is rebirth.
Καλή Αποκριά! – Happy Carnival!
