Aegean Sponge Fishing and the Island of Kalymnos (19th-20th Centuries): 19th-20th Centuries (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789004701939)

Before the invention of synthetic sponges, divers culled the seabeds of the Aegean for animal sponges, or "sea gold", to supply global demand, while risking paralysis or death from decompression disease. This is a study of sponge diving and the impact of the industry on the inhabitants of Kalymnos and the Mediterranean. It is a record of the 10,000 divers who died, the 20,000 who were paralysed between 1886 and 1910, and the women who were there to sustain them when they returned home.

Author: Evdokia Olympitou
ISBN-10: 9004701931
ISBN-13: 9789004701939
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 10/04/2024
Pages: 436
Format: Hardcover