Sign up with email

or

Already a member? Log in.

Trouble logging in?

Not a member? Sign up!

Spata (pop. 10,000) lies just 20 km east of Athens and is probably best known as the location of Athens International Airport. But the town is more than just a gateway into and out of the region – especially at the end of June. That’s when Spata hosts a festival to honor St. Peter and St. Paul, the official protectors of the city. The highlight of the festival comes at the end of the last day, June 30, with a glorious communal meal: Enormous quantities of braised beef that have been cooked for 12 hours over a wood fire are served to all the citizens of Spata and visitors to the town.

The festival has its roots in an old Christian tradition and has survived for more than five centuries. Each year about 20 calves are “sacrificed,” and they go into the huge pots that make the famous stew. The day before the feast, women of all ages from Spata gather to prepare the five tons of onions required for the braise. They chatter, sing and gossip, but legend has it that none of the women ever cries over the onions, though the smell is strong enough to even make those standing under the faraway Acropolis weep!

When the women finish, the men take over and start preparing the pots. There is one old master cook who gives instructions to the rest, organizing them in preparing the vats and filling the vessels with the exact quantities of meat, onion, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, olive oil, water and spices. Then olive branches are carefully placed beneath the casseroles. When everything is ready, the men go home, clean up, don their best clothing and go to church for the St. Peter and Paul ceremony.

At the close of the ceremony the festival officially begins. A grand orchestra plays traditional folk music, while dancers take the stage and souvlaki vendors and souvenir sellers hawk their wares. The branches beneath the casseroles are lit and, gradually, mouthwatering aromas pervade the area around the stewing beef.

The beef stew finishes cooking around 8 a.m., and at this point, the entire town of Spata smells delicious. Those in attendance queue up, patiently waiting to fill their pots and bowls with braised beef. Each person must purchase a coupon for a certain amount, and the proceeds from the coupons fund the following year’s festival.

For so many people, Spata is just fly-into country, but if you’re in the Athens area next week, it’s worth a stop for a swim at the beach and a bowl of braised beef for breakfast with the entire town.

  • CB on the RoadNovember 20, 2015 CB on the Road (0)
    When you live in a medieval town that is as beautifully preserved as the little […] Posted in Barcelona
  • Harvest WeekOctober 6, 2023 Harvest Week (0)
    Let us begin with a little Greek mythology. Hermes – son of Zeus, god of thieves and […] Posted in Athens
  • Wine Harvest WeekOctober 5, 2019 Wine Harvest Week (0)
    Zeynep Arca Şallıel had a successful career in advertising in Istanbul, but in 1995 she […] Posted in Istanbul
Ilias FountoulisIlias Fountoulis

Published on June 25, 2014

Related stories

November 20, 2015

CB on the Road: Medieval Times in Peratallada

Barcelona | By Sam Zucker
BarcelonaWhen you live in a medieval town that is as beautifully preserved as the little Catalonian hamlet of Peratallada, you are never too old for dress-up. All year round, these worn stone walls and charming plaças effortlessly take visitors back in time to the 10th century. However, on the first weekend of October, the sights, sounds,…
October 6, 2023

Harvest Week: Krokos Kozanis, the Spice of Myth

Athens | By Ilias Fountoulis
AthensLet us begin with a little Greek mythology. Hermes – son of Zeus, god of thieves and commerce and messenger of Olympus – and Krokos, a mortal youth, were best friends. One day, while the two friends were practicing their discus throwing, Hermes accidentally hit Crocus on the head and wounded him fatally. On the…
October 5, 2019

Wine Harvest Week: A Revived Grape Harvest in Thrace

Istanbul | By Roxanne Darrow
IstanbulZeynep Arca Şallıel had a successful career in advertising in Istanbul, but in 1995 she decided to take on a daunting new challenge: taking part in the revival of small-scale viniculture in the ancient winemaking region of Thrace.“I wanted to do something with soil, something that mattered a little bit more,” she says. Her father…
Select your currency
USD United States (US) dollar
EUR Euro