Καλλιτεχνικός Σύλλογος Δημοτικής Μουσικής Δόμνα Σαμίου

Nine brothers set off armed for war. Arriving parched at a well, they draw lots to see who will climb down to fetch up water. The task falls to the youngest, Kostas, who will die at the hands of the demon lurking in its depths (though his death is described in most variants, here it is assumed). Intensely mythical in tone, the song’s reception reflects a tendency among older generations of ethnographers to ‘historify’ heroic elements in folk poetry in order to project onto it the glories of Byzantium. Identified like so many others with the Akritic cycle, the song’s symbolic elements were considered vestiges of ancient Greek myth, though in truth, the song has no historic dimension. It is a fabulous narrative: hatred for the youngest brother, Kostas, a hero who is often sacrificed (calling to mind the story of Joseph, who was also thrown into a well by his older brothers); the descent into the well (a symbol of dark psychic/sexual ferment); the sacrifice of a youth to an infernal demon, etc. are all standard motifs and symbolisms which frequently feature in songs, fairy-tales and legends. Miranda Terzopoulou (2008)

Studio recording, 2006.

The song is performed according to the interpretation by Eurykleia Sourou, from the Petsali village (Epirus).