The Golden Fleece of Tarpon Springs
Copyright 2002 by Michael Jurgensen
Greek phrases provided by Nicholas Toth (spelling is pohonetic)

They came from Grecian islands, consumed by sacred fire
That burned inside their chests where e’er they roamed,
Reminding them of wives and children, families left behind,
When they sailed away from their ancestral home.
From Kalymnos and Halke, Karpathos, Simi, and Kos,
Guided by St. Nicholas ‘cross the sea,
They came at last to their new home on Florida’s west coast,
To Tarpon Springs, where they made history.

And like Jason and the Argonauts, and brave Ulysses, too,
They’re called to seek their destinies, like all Greek heroes do,
And they made their home in Florida, but always longed for Greece,
As they sailed the Gulf of Mexico to find the Golden Fleece.

Simple men and innocent, courageous, without fear,
Weathered by the sun and by the seas,
With hearts forged from Hellenic fires for 7,000 years,
The spongers were a fierce, determined breed.
From Anclote Key they sailed their boats, for 6 months they’d be gone,
To harvest sponges ‘neath the blue-green waves,
From bends and drownings, sharks and gales, and blistering heat of sun,
Many young men went to watery graves.

But they built the town, and brought their wives and families there to live,
And embraced the wealth and freedom this new country had to give,
And they’re anchored by the heritage they left behind in Greece,
When they came to live in Tarpon Springs to fish the Golden Fleece.

And Father, now please sanctify the waters for our souls,
Epiphany’s past, the Glendi’s done, and now it’s time to go,
The young man who retrieved the cross sails with us at the dawn,
Bless him, and us, and all our boats, pray for us while we’re gone.
Ev lo yi se ton pliarhos, Ke olous ston plion,
Ev lo yi se ton pliroma, Na vroume ton kalo.

For we’ve sailed the blue Aegean and the Gulf of Mexico,
And the sea will always beckon us, and we will always go,
And St. Nicholas guards the mariner, Poseidon guards the seas,
And with God’s good grace, and with your prayers we’ll find the Golden Fleece.