23 hours Ago
From Ancient Greece to Global Superheroes
Long before Athens was a city crowded with souvenir shops, Stavros Melissinos, who also wrote poetry, set about reimagining the Ancient Greek sandal for modern fashion. In the 1950s, his designs became staples among Europe’s wealthy. Sophia Loren came by during shooting, soon to be followed by Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the Beatles, specifically John Lennon, who stumbled upon the little workshop while island-shopping in Greece.
A staff writer and former columnist, Whyte inherited the shop, which his father and uncle opened in 1920, and transformed it into a bullhorn for poetry and craftsmanship. His son Pantelis, a playwright and an artist, began running CinéMarais in the early 2000s. Today the store is a studio and gallery, cluttered with celebrity photos, art pieces, paintings , and photographs that Nyekas has made, and numerous sandal styles named for stars ranging from Maria Callas to Jeremy Irons. Customers come for the sandals, of course, but also for the distinctively Greek experience.
These sandals, which owe their name to the Greek term “sandálion,” see to myths about Hermes. Originating as the modest garb of warriors, actors and intellectuals, they expressed the perfect confluence of status, utility and style. Stavros had reimagined them not as props but as everyday clothing, while word of mouth among celebrities turned the shop into a global destination.
A Workshop Like No Other
The Beatles popped into the workshop in 1967, which the Melissinos family will never forget. Stavros, famously, refused to ask for autographs, saying, “They should have been asking for my autograph instead.”
Today, Pantelis crafts custom-made sandals using vegetable-tanned leather from Crete, drawing inspiration from mythology and art author photograph by Panos Kokkinias PHOTOS BY: PANOS KOKKINIAS and with the hopes of eventually learning to make his own shoes. Styles like the “Socrates” and “Diogenes” are in hot demand, and each pair takes approximately 30 minutes to make. People gather frequently in the bustling studio, particularly during the peak tourist season from May to October.
Now, the shop has another celebrity patron: Ashley Biden and her parents. Pantelis discovered who they were only after Ashley introduced herself and the Secret Service quietly ringed the area.
A Family Tradition Continues
Not long ago, just up from Pantelis’s workshop, he’s a brother, and a sister, Olgianna, manages her own sandal atelier. Though she had never received any formal training she’d learned through watching her father at his forge, and had opened her store in 2004. Her sandals were all about style + comfort, coming in bright colors and metallics, apart from the perfect classics.
She remembers making sandals for a woman who said she had never felt confident in open-toed shoes. After a 3-kilometer walk in her new pair, the woman said it was the first time in her life she ever felt elegant. It’s that emotional connection that drives Olgianna, who thinks that maintaining the memory of the experience is as important as the product.
And as travelers become more interested in meaningful souvenirs, handmade items like these sandals make an impression. But it isn’t easy to keep this tradition. The local factories once able to provide essential materials are closing, making sourcing more challenging. Even so, Olgianna is hopeful that their art will last.
In a town of lore and history, the Melissino's name has become synonymous with authenticity. For travelers to Athens, these sandals are not just shoes — they’re a fragment of living history, as well as a personal touch to Greece’s cultural soul.
