Demosthenes Voutyras: 'Osteo-topia' - A Journey into Death

In 1910, the journal Panathinaia published Demosthenes Voutyras's short story, 'The Luggage of the Dead.' Visiting a cemetery, the author encountered piles of bones, an image that impressed him.

Voutyras describes the bones as sugar and stone, highlighting their materiality and appearance. According to him, the bones acquire a second life, free from memory and gifts.

The author creates an osteo-topia, revising the concept of matter. He refers to Kostis Papagiorgis, who argues that the dead remain in life like a breath without entrails.

In closing, Voutyras addresses the dead, calling them to take their luggage. This exhortation brings to mind the need to find and identify the remains of the missing persons of '74.

In 1997, Marina Abramović, with the performance Balkan Baroque, mourns among bones, a work that was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

Sources:

• Demosthenes Voutyras, The Ship of Death and Other Stories, ed. Vasia Tsokopoulos, Topos, Athens, 2025.
• Kostis Papagiorgis, Living and Dead, Kastaniotis, Athens, 1991.

Elefthera, 22.03.2026