What does the legend of the Green Men symbolize, which for some comes from the paleo-European tradition, for others from the East and the Silk Road, for others from the green deities of Greco-Roman and Celtic tradition, while for many it is a construct of the last centuries of Central Europe? Is it the pagan spirit of nature? The spirit of its union with humans, the expression of the annual spring cycle of rebirth and growth of life? How is its connection to mythological motifs, such as that of the "dying and resurrecting god or goddess" or to traditions like that of Sheela Na Gig, the women with the large genitals, explained? How do we find stone and wooden representations of them already from the medieval period in churches and cathedrals, appearing even above their main entrances and often in close proximity to representations of Jesus?

Can we assume that pagan traditions and beliefs, particularly those related to nature and trees, exerted significant influence in early medieval times and later in newer European folk tradition - and in Greece - on its rituals and customs? And yet, do those who do not accept all this and consider it a recent construct have a point?

This book is a journey into the primarily mythological universe of Europe, into medieval legends and epics, into May Day celebrations, as well as into Greek customs and events, which seem to preserve elements of archaic traditions, despite any skepticism; thus it addresses readers willing to embark on this magical journey through the ages, which is ultimately attempted within its framework.

Maria Gasouka is a Professor Emeritus at the University of the Aegean and former Vice President of the National Center for Public Administration and Local Government - Director of the Institute of Continuing Education. She is the author of twenty books in the fields of Gender and Culture, Folklore, Education, and more. She has published numerous relevant scientific articles in Greek and English, while her texts have been translated into Turkish and Spanish. She is the editor of the “National Action Plan for Gender Equality 2007-2013” of the Republic of Cyprus as well as the author of the “Guides for the Use of Non-Sexist Language in Public Documents” of Greece and Cyprus, which were derived from research conducted in both countries. She was the Chair of the Working Group of the Ministry of Interior for the drafting of the bill on Substantive Equality. She is an honorary member of the Equality Committee of the University of the Aegean and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Cyprus Gender Observatory (C.G.O).

Alexandros G. Kapaniaris is a PhD in Digital Folklore from the Department of Preschool Education Sciences and Educational Design of the University of the Aegean, and he has completed two Postdoctoral researches on archival ethnography at the Department of History & Ethnology of Democritus University of Thrace. During the 2021-22 period, he is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the University of the Peloponnese on archival ethnography related to migration. He is a Professor-Consultant at the Hellenic Open University in the undergraduate program “Studies in Greek Culture” in the section “Public and Private Life in Greece II: Modern Times, ELP41”. In 2014, for his work “The May Flower of Makrinitsa,” in 2018 for his work “Digital Folklore and Education,” and in 2019 for the two-volume work “Agricultural Cooperative of Zagora, A century of cooperative tradition and struggle, The history, the cooperative values, and the culture of agricultural production,” he was awarded by the Faculty of Philosophy of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens with the “Lysimachos Kautantzioglou Award.”