European Journal | Greece - The Secret of the AgedTry our new player

The name of the Greek Island of Ikaria supposedly comes from Icarus,who crashed to earth on his flight from Crete after flying too close to the sun,which melted the wax on his self made wings. After the Greek civil war Greek communists were often sent to internal exile on Ikaria. Mikis Theodorakis was one of them. But the rocky island still makes headlines today in the eastern Aegean. Every third resident reaches the age of 100. That statistic is unique in the world. The phenomenon has not been explained. Is it to do with the healthy diet...or the philosophy of sigar sigar...take it easy.