Sponge diving

…you don’t come up empty handed. You either get them or they get you!. Old sponge diver’s saying

Kálymnos is the last island to uphold the ancient tradition of sponge diving, but you’ll find them for sale on many Greek islands—although most are imported from the Caribbean. Once a major source of income on other relatively barren islands succh as Symi and Chalkí as well as Kálymnos the mid 20th century sponge diving has been in decline, undermined by a deadly sponge virus, that killed off most of the sponge colonies in the Mediterranean and synthetic substitutes.

Diving for these primitive plant-like porifers was a dangerous art but practiced since ancient times (sponges were first mentioned in the Iliad, when Hephaestus washes himself with one). Besides bathing and cleaning, sponges were used to add padding to those hard bronze helmets and breast plates and as a contraceptive.