Gilly Gwilliams
Oct 1
5 minutes
There are places in Greece where you don’t simply arrive.
You feel them.
Perhaps it is the silence of an ancient mountain. The way the light falls across a ruined temple. The sound of the wind moving through olive trees. Or the strange sensation that, despite the thousands of years between you and the people who once stood there, something about the place still feels familiar.
Greece is often described through its beaches, sunshine, islands, food and beautiful villages. But there is another Greece waiting to be discovered.
A Greece of myths, ancient gods, sacred landscapes, pilgrimage, philosophy and spirituality.
Long before wellness retreats existed, people were travelling across Greece in search of healing, answers, connection and transformation. They walked to sanctuaries, consulted oracles, took part in rituals, visited healing centres and travelled to places they believed were connected to the gods.
And perhaps that is one reason Greece continues to attract people who are looking for something deeper today.
You don’t have to believe in the ancient gods to feel something when you stand in these places.
Sometimes, the landscape itself is enough.
At Retreats in Greece, we believe a retreat can be about far more than yoga, meditation or taking a break from everyday life. It can also be about where you go.
So let’s explore some of Greece’s most fascinating spiritual and mythological destinations — and some of the retreats where you can experience them for yourself.
If there is one place that immediately comes to mind when we talk about spiritual Greece, it has to be Delphi.
Nestled on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, Delphi was home to the sanctuary of Apollo and the famous Oracle of Delphi.
In the ancient world, Delphi was regarded as the omphalos — the navel or centre of the world. According to mythology, Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth, and they met at Delphi.
For centuries, people travelled enormous distances to consult the Pythia, the priestess associated with the Oracle of Apollo.
Kings, politicians, military leaders and ordinary people came seeking guidance.
The sanctuary became one of the most important religious centres of ancient Greece, and pilgrims came from across the Greek world and beyond.
But Delphi wasn’t simply about receiving an answer.
It was a place associated with reflection, knowledge and self-understanding.
The famous Delphic maxim “Know Thyself” has survived for thousands of years, and perhaps that is part of the reason Delphi continues to resonate with modern visitors.
Today, you can walk through the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, look across the dramatic landscape towards the valley and the sea, and experience the extraordinary combination of mountain, history and silence.
And that landscape matters.
The ancient sanctuary wasn’t built somewhere ordinary. Delphi sits between the dramatic Phaedriades rocks of Mount Parnassus, surrounded by a landscape that UNESCO describes as remaining remarkably harmonious with the ancient sanctuary.
Perhaps this is why Delphi can feel different.
You aren’t simply looking at history.
You’re standing inside it.
Delphi is also becoming a fascinating setting for modern retreats.
Within the Delphic landscape, Ariadne’s Garden of Spiritual Arts combines nature, mindfulness, yoga, meditation, creativity and Greek mythology. The venue is located near the ancient Oracle of Delphi and includes experiences connected to Greek archetypes and the Delphic landscape. Its programme can include a visit to the Delphi Oracle itself.
There are also retreats being created specifically around the idea of Delphi as a modern pilgrimage.
Delphi Awakening, for example, describes its experience as a contemporary journey inspired by the ancient tradition of coming to Delphi with an important question. The retreat incorporates nature, mythology, movement, sound, reflection and dialogue, alongside visits to the archaeological site and the wider Delphic landscape.
And this is exactly the kind of experience we love at Retreats in Greece — because the destination becomes part of the retreat itself.
You don’t simply go to Delphi for a retreat. The place becomes part of the journey.
Then there is Mount Olympus.
For anyone fascinated by Greek mythology, Olympus needs little introduction.
According to ancient Greek mythology, this was the home of the Olympian gods — Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes and the rest of the pantheon.
The mountain rises dramatically from northern Greece, its peaks often disappearing into cloud.
And there is something rather wonderful about walking through a landscape that inspired stories about gods, heroes and monsters for generations.
Of course, modern visitors don’t need to believe that Zeus actually lived on the mountain to appreciate its significance.
The mythology tells us something about how ancient Greeks understood their world.
Mountains were powerful.
Nature was powerful.
The sea was powerful.
Storms, earthquakes, springs, forests and caves could all carry meaning.
When you hike through a place like Olympus today, you experience that same landscape without needing to interpret it in exactly the same way.
You simply walk.
You breathe.
You notice the trees, the rocks, the changing light and the enormous scale of the mountain.
And perhaps that is its own kind of spirituality.
From the gods of ancient Greece, we move into another extraordinary chapter of Greek spirituality.
Meteora.
Here, enormous rock pillars rise dramatically from the landscape, topped by centuries-old Orthodox monasteries.
The name Meteora is connected to the idea of something suspended in the heavens, and it is difficult to imagine a more fitting landscape.
Hermits began settling among the caves and rock formations from around the 11th century, seeking isolation and spiritual devotion. Eventually, a remarkable monastic community developed among the rocks.
Historically, around thirty monasteries were recorded here. Six remain operational today. Meteora has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1988.
What makes Meteora particularly fascinating is the combination of nature and spirituality.
The rocks themselves are millions of years old.
The monasteries were built by people seeking a life closer to God.
And today, visitors arrive for many different reasons — religious pilgrimage, history, photography, hiking, contemplation or simply to stand beneath those extraordinary cliffs.
You don’t have to share the religious beliefs of the monks who lived there to appreciate the atmosphere.
There is something humbling about being surrounded by such immense natural formations and centuries of human devotion.
Sometimes spirituality begins with simply feeling small.
In the Cyclades lies another place deeply woven into Greek mythology: Delos.
Today, Delos is largely uninhabited.
In antiquity, however, it was considered one of the most sacred places in the Greek world.
According to mythology, Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, the twin children of Zeus and Leto.
The story tells us that Leto, pursued by Hera, eventually found refuge on Delos and gave birth to the twins there.
Apollo became associated with light, music, prophecy and knowledge, while Artemis became associated with the wilderness and the hunt.
The island subsequently became home to a major sanctuary dedicated to Apollo and attracted pilgrims from across Greece.
UNESCO describes Delos as the “most sacred of all islands” in ancient Greek culture and notes that the sanctuary developed a Pan-Hellenic importance.
Standing on Delos today is a very different experience from visiting a modern Greek island.
There are no beach clubs.
No busy resort promenade.
Instead, there is wind, sunlight, marble, ruins and the Aegean surrounding you.
The absence of modern life is part of what makes the island so powerful.
It gives you space to imagine.
Not every sacred destination in Greece was about gods and prophecy.
Some were about healing.
One of the most famous was Epidaurus, home to the Sanctuary of Asklepios, the ancient Greek god of medicine and healing.
People travelled there seeking treatment and relief.
The sanctuary developed into a major healing centre, where visitors could spend time in an environment that incorporated religious practices, therapeutic approaches and rest.
And there is something particularly interesting about this when viewed through a modern wellness lens.
Today we talk about:
The ancient world obviously didn’t use those modern terms.
But the human desire to step away from ordinary life and seek healing is certainly not new.
Perhaps that is one of the most interesting things about exploring ancient Greek wellness traditions.
We may have completely different language and methods today, but some of our fundamental needs haven’t changed very much.
Just outside Athens lies Eleusis, one of the most important religious centres of the ancient Greek world.
The Eleusinian Mysteries were secret religious rites associated primarily with Demeter and Persephone.
Demeter was associated with agriculture and the harvest, while the myth of Persephone’s descent into the underworld and return was connected with cycles of life, death and renewal.
For centuries, people travelled to Eleusis to participate in these mysterious ceremonies.
Much about the Mysteries remains unknown because participants were sworn to secrecy.
And perhaps that mystery is part of what makes Eleusis so fascinating today.
Modern life tends to demand answers.
Ancient spirituality sometimes allowed space for not knowing.
There is something surprisingly relevant about that idea.
A retreat doesn’t always have to give you answers.
Sometimes it can give you enough quiet to hear your own questions.
This is the question I find most interesting.
Why can someone who has never believed in Greek mythology walk into Delphi, Meteora, Delos or another ancient site and feel something?
There isn’t one answer.
For some people, it may be the history.
For others, it may be the mythology.
It might be the landscape, the silence, the architecture or simply the awareness that generations of people stood in exactly the same place before us.
There is also something powerful about stepping outside our normal environment.
When we’re surrounded by emails, deadlines, notifications, traffic and responsibilities, our attention is constantly being pulled outward.
Then suddenly we’re standing on a mountain.
Or beside an ancient temple.
Or walking through an olive grove.
And there is nothing asking us to respond.
That change of environment can create space for reflection.
Perhaps that is one reason ancient sacred places work so beautifully with modern retreats.
The retreat provides the practices.
The destination provides the context.
Yoga, meditation, breathwork, hiking, sound, creativity or simply sitting quietly can feel different when you’re surrounded by thousands of years of history.
There is another connection I love between ancient Greece and the modern retreat.
The idea of the journey.
Ancient pilgrims travelled.
They left home.
They crossed mountains and seas.
They walked unfamiliar roads to reach somewhere they believed was important.
A retreat is, in its own small way, a modern pilgrimage.
You leave your normal life behind for a few days.
You travel somewhere different.
You step away from the roles you normally occupy.
And you create space to ask yourself:
What do I need?
What am I ready to leave behind?
What do I want more of?
Where am I going next?
The Greeks may have travelled to Delphi to ask the Oracle.
Today, perhaps we travel to Greece to listen to something much closer to home.
Ourselves.
One of the reasons I created Retreats in Greece was because I didn’t want Greece to be seen simply as somewhere you go for sunshine and a beautiful beach.
Of course, we have those things.
But Greece has so much more.
It has mountains covered in mythology.
Islands considered sacred thousands of years ago.
Ancient healing centres.
Monasteries suspended above the earth.
Olive groves that have witnessed generations come and go.
And landscapes that seem to invite you to slow down.
Today, our collection includes retreats in destinations across Greece, including places such as Delphi, Galaxidi, Patmos, Nisyros, Pelion, Corfu, Ikaria, Crete and the Greek islands. Our retreats range from yoga and hiking to breathwork, meditation, Pilates, personal development and holistic wellness.
And if you are particularly drawn to places with ancient history, mythology or a spiritual atmosphere, Delphi is somewhere I would encourage you to explore.
From retreats incorporating visits to the ancient Oracle to experiences using Greek mythology, archetypes, nature, movement and meditation, there are already some wonderful ways to experience the Delphic landscape through a modern retreat.
Maybe you have already visited Greece.
Maybe you’ve spent years coming here for the beaches and sunshine.
Or perhaps you’ve never been at all.
But there is another way to experience this country.
Slower.
More intentional.
More connected to the land beneath your feet.
You can hike where ancient myths were born.
Sit beneath mountains once believed to be the home of gods.
Walk among the remains of temples where people came searching for answers.
Swim in the same Aegean Sea that surrounds sacred islands.
And give yourself permission to stop for long enough to hear your own thoughts.
Because perhaps the most beautiful thing about a retreat in Greece isn’t simply what happens during the retreat.
Perhaps it is what happens when you put yourself in a place that has been inspiring people for thousands of years.
You don’t have to be spiritual.
You don’t have to know Greek mythology.
You don’t have to meditate.
You don’t even have to believe in anything beyond what you can see.
You simply have to arrive with an open mind.
And perhaps, somewhere between the mountains, the sea, the ancient stones and the silence…
you’ll find something you weren’t even looking for.
At Retreats in Greece, we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all retreats.
Our personalised Retreat Discovery Service helps you find an experience based on what you are actually looking for — whether that’s rest, movement, nature, personal development, spirituality, adventure or simply some time away from everyday life.
Explore our retreats and discover where your Greek journey could take you.
Your retreat might be waiting somewhere between the mountains and the sea.
We offer a holistic approach to wellness, blending traditional Windom with modern techniques.
Gilly Gwilliams
Gilly Gwilliams
Gilly Gwilliams
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