Author: Amna Cesic

The papers are impossible to miss.

Neatly stacked on the couch inside Alla Yavtushenko’s home are the notes she studies each afternoon as she prepares for the Greek citizenship exam. Abstract paintings fill the walls alongside a detailed cityscape of a Russian town. The paintings and the house are both products of the same group. The house, on Gavdos, the southernmost island of Europe, was built by its members, including Andrej, a nuclear physicist who volunteered to help clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster after the reactor exploded.

His experience —learning to understand the body rather than fear it — Yavtushenko says, became significant for the group’s approach to health and recovery. It is why they chose to move here to Gavdos. “He understood everything, how dangerous it is,” Yavtushenko said. But volunteering was “his deep decision.”

The group’s work extends beyond health practices. Here on Gavdos, the conversation drifts from physics to Pythagoras, from the Chernobyl disaster to immortality. It is an unusual path, but for Yavtushenko, every subject points toward the same question: how should people live?

She has spent much of her life trying to answer it.

Born in Kharkiv in what was then the Soviet Union, Yavtushenko said she began asking questions about the nature of the world as a child. When physics and mathematics appeared in school, she believed they might hold the answers.

“I wanted to understand this world,” she said. “How it was created.”

She studied physics at university before joining the Monocrystal Science Research Institute, where she spent seven years researching superconducting materials alongside a new generation of young scientists. But after work, conversations rarely stayed inside the laboratory.

“We started to speak about questions that were interesting to us,” she said. “What is matter? Where is the border between matter and something invisible?”

Those discussions eventually led her to a lecture given by members of a philosophical group.

“It happened exactly in one lesson,” she recalls.

What followed changed the course of her life.

“We were involved in one philosophical reasoning about arithmetic of Pythagoras, and at one step of reasoning we understood what is necessary to change our life, our place, where we stay,” she said. 

The arithmetic of Pythagoras Yavtushenko mentioned, is a reference to Pythagorean philosophy, an ancient Greek tradition that treats numbers and mathematical relationships as the basis for understanding the world.

Acting on that conclusion meant leaving their former lives behind. Leaving, however, was not an easy decision.

“I left my country, my job, my family for this reason,” she said. “It was difficult.”

She moved first to Russia, where she spent eight years living with the group before its members began searching for somewhere new to put their philosophy into practice. They were drawn to the idea of an island. “It’s one example of wholeness,” she said, smiling.

For two years, members of the group travelled through Greece searching for the right place. They dismissed place after place before someone mentioned another island farther south.

That island was Gavdos.

“It is important if the island needs you,” Yavtushenko said.

When the first members arrived in 1998, they began building houses. Yavtushenko joined them in 2003.

Outside, the philosophy she describes has become tangible.

She walks through vegetable gardens carved from Gavdos’ poor soil after decades of work. She points to a rainwater collection basin, explaining how difficult it is to find water on the island. Nearby stands a triangular structure she and her husband built as part of the group’s search for alternative energy.

“Our basic position of our philosophy is wholeness,” she said. “We knew that it’s necessary to build not only a house, but a source of energy.” “We tried to find a source of water. A garden, of course,” she said.

Their days also follow a rhythm. Coffee and discussion in the morning. Physical work until the midday heat. Tea and more discussion in the evening.

“We have to keep thinking through our philosophy,” she said.

When asked about immortality, Yavtushenko does not describe it as a miracle or a promise. Instead, she speaks of evolution. Plants, animals, and humans each represent different stages of life, she explains. Humanity’s next step depends not on technology but on consciousness.

“Immortality is not a given thing,” she said. “We just have to change our way of life, way of thinking.”

To her, immortality is inseparable from responsibility.

“If we produce some waste,” she said, “it will stay with us forever.”

The community’s philosophy has also left its mark on Gavdos itself.

Their most recognizable creation is the giant chair overlooking Tripiti, now one of the island’s most photographed landmarks.

The mayor of Gavdos, Lilian Stefanaki, laughs when she remembers seeing it for the first time.

“The first time I saw it I thought it was so ugly,” she said. 

Today, she said, visitors make the walk specifically to photograph the chair at Europe’s southernmost point. “Everybody likes it.”

For local business owner Joy Lampaki, who runs the island Taverna Kiki Coffee and More, the group’s contribution reaches beyond tourism.

“These people are awesome,” she said, describing them as members of the community who have helped residents with practical jobs around the island and have always welcomed people into their home. 

The chair has become so closely tied to Gavdos that locals rarely give directions to Tripiti anymore.

“We ourselves say, ‘Go to the chair,’ not go to ‘Tripiti,'” Lampaki said.

Back inside Yavtushenko’s home, the citizenship papers remain waiting on the couch.

Nearly twenty three years after arriving on Gavdos, the physicist who left Ukraine in search of knowledge is preparing for another transition. “I get to study about geography, more about history, and about the political structure of Greece. It’s knowledge, you know, it’s interesting. It’s necessary to have.” 

The rhythmic sound of soccer balls bouncing against grass echoes across the Athens National Centre, I. Fokianos. Teenagers wait on the sidelines for their turn to play while others battle through another game under the afternoon sun. Jerseys are everywhere. One player wears the name Messi across his back. Another proudly sports a Ronaldo jersey. Nearby, a teenager proudly wears the colors of the Greek national team, while others represent NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the basketball court nearby. 

A full 22 years after Athens hosted the 2004 Olympic Games, sport continues to shape daily life in the city. 

The courts rarely stay empty. As one game finishes, another begins almost immediately. 

This is not the Athens that I expected to find. 

Athens is a city often defined by its past. For millions of tourists each year, it is known as the birthplace of democracy, a destination filled with ancient artifacts and monuments, a picturesque city with stunning views. Long before they arrive, many already have a clear image of what Athens is supposed to be. 

Yet beyond the Acropolis, another Athens exists. It is found in the neighborhood basketball courts, overcrowded restaurants, soccer stadiums, and the public spaces where residents gather every day. While these aspects of the city rarely appear on travel itineraries, they play a significant role in shaping contemporary Athenian life. 

Conversations with residents revealed a city that is not only preserving its history but actively creating a new future. Through discussions about sport, community, identity, culture, and everyday life, a different picture of Athens begins to emerge. 

For artist Liapakis Yanis, for example, sport remains an important part of that everyday culture. A supporter of Panathinaikos F.C., he describes soccer matches as experiences unlike anything else in Greek society. 

“It is fun to watch it because you never in your life watch a game where fans are as crazy,” he said from his small studio in Plaka, where I met him on a warm afternoon. When discussing the atmosphere surrounding major matches, Yanis struggled to find a comparison. “It will be like a war.” 

His comments reflect the intensity that soccer can generate in Greece. Matches are not simply sporting events but social occasions that bring together communities, families, and generations of supporters. Rivalries often last a lifetime, creating emotional connections that extend beyond the pitch. 

Yet football is only one part of Athens’ sporting culture. Despite supporting one of Greece’s largest football clubs, Yanis believes basketball is often more accessible to young people growing up in the city. “Football is not an easy sport to start in school because it takes space to build football fields,” he explained. “It is easier to just play basketball.” 

A walk through Athens supports that observation. Public basketball courts are scattered throughout the city, providing spaces where children and teenagers can play without the need for organized facilities. They serve not only as places for sport but also as community gathering points where neighborhood identities are reinforced. 

The popularity of these spaces demonstrates something important about Athens itself. Despite being one of Europe’s most populated cities, much of its social life remains highly local. Neighborhoods retain distinctive identities, and public spaces continue to play a role in bringing people together. In Plaka, tourists fill the narrow streets, while in Exarchia it’s more residents and migrants. This sense of community extends beyond sport. 

When discussing life in Athens, Yanis repeatedly returned to the importance of social interaction. Whether attending football matches or meeting friends, much of the city’s culture revolves around shared experiences. “When we go to bars, people go to have fun,” he said. 

The city remains social. Cafes spill onto narrow streets, gatherings linger into the night, and public life feels visible in a way that differs from many other major European cities. 

At the same time, discussions about sport also revealed broader social issues. Sitting in a cafe in Pangrati, Angelina, a teacher and biologist who plays basketball recreationally, explained that opportunities are not distributed equally across all sports. While she enjoys playing basketball, she believes soccer remains less popular among women because of a lack of investment. “There isn’t as much investment and money being put into women’s sports,” she said. 

Like many aspects of society, sport reflects broader inequalities while also providing opportunities for change. Angelina, nonetheless, loves to play basketball with her friends. “I am going right after this,” she said as she was preparing to leave the cafe. 

Questions of identity also emerged elsewhere throughout the city. In the historic district of Plaka, among the souvenir shops and narrow streets frequented by tourists, one business offers a particularly modern interpretation of Greek heritage. A. Sports specializes in customized jerseys and sporting souvenirs, allowing customers to personalize jerseys with Ancient Greek lettering and references. When asking the owner what jersey he likes best, his reply, “AEK, that’s my team,” came instantly. “The jerseys are popular among tourists and locals,” he said. 

Daily, visitors arrive searching for souvenirs of the ancient world, yet they encounter products that blend history with contemporary culture. Ancient Greece remains an important aspect of the city’s identity, but it is constantly reimagined through new forms of expression. The result is a city that continues to redefine what it is. 

During my first journey into Athens, a football jersey caught my attention through the window of a taxi. The design appeared different from most modern kits. The sleek, modern, and carefully considered design immediately drew my attention. Later, I discovered it belonged to Athens Kallithea F.C. 

At first, the moment seemed insignificant. Yet after spending time speaking with Athenians, the shirt began to feel representative of something larger. 

Yanis admitted that he personally does not care much about football jerseys or their appearance. However, he noted that many Greeks and foreign visitors purchase sporting merchandise. Angelina, meanwhile, said she appreciates a well-designed jersey. Their differing perspectives reveal how sport can function in multiple ways, not only as competition, but as entertainment, culture, and community. 

Athens Kallithea FC has attracted international attention precisely because of its emphasis on identity and design. Yet what makes the club interesting is not simply the appearance of its jerseys. Through its branding and community-focused ambitions, it reflects many of the themes that surfaced throughout conversations with residents. 

Like contemporary Athens itself, the club attempts to balance tradition with innovation. It draws upon local identity while presenting itself in a distinctly modern way. More importantly, it recognizes the importance of community and place in shaping how people experience the city. 

What began as a passing observation ultimately became an entry point into understanding a city that cannot be reduced to its history. Although Athens’ historical significance will always attract visitors worldwide, the city is equally defined by the people living among those famous artifacts. The teenagers playing basketball after school, the soccer fans filling stadiums on weekends, and the friends gathering in bars, all continue to shape Athens every day.