a piece of Greece

Stone Group International, the largest group of

marble companies in Greece, exporting in more than

82 countries, presents “12 Mythic Marbles”.

An awarded concept is focusing on the exclusive

disposal of distinctive marbles as “a Piece of

Greece”.

The collection of “Draco, Pirgon Ebru-Arabesque,

Era Silver, Nessus, Olympia Red, Pelagonia,

Tannoti Green, Thassos Snow White, Titanium Black,

Vermion White, Veria Green, Volakas Haemus”,

is related to Greek Mythology & Heritage.

Each myth is connected with every region these

marbles are extracted from.

“12 Mythic Marbles” received first prize “In the world”

category - Best Communicator Award Marmomacc

2014, for the creation of an evocative set up, capable

of combing the myths of ancient Greece with

contemporary stone processing.

The concept was awarded with EBGE 2014, 2015 &

2016 (Greek Graphic Design & Illustration awards) in

Greece.

MYTHIC MARBLES

MARBLES

MYTHS

NAME No

Draco 01

T he Pindus Mountains took their name from the hero Pindus, the eldest of the three sons of King Macedon. When King Macedon died, Pindus

succeeded to the throne. But his brothers were jealous of him and drove him away from the throne. Pindus did not wish to harm them and went to the mountains devoting all his time to hunting.

Once he met a dragon (in Greek Δράκος) he became his friend and each evening he carried half the spoils of his chase and lay it outside the dragon’s cave. Through years it seemed that extra good fortune attended him in his hunting from that day on. All this made his brothers even more jealous than when he was king and they began to plot how they will murder him.

Their chance came one day when he had gone out hunting alone. As he died, however, Pindus cried out once for help. The dragon in the great cave heard that cry, recognized the voice of the man who had fed him so faithfully and came at full speed to see what was happening. When he saw Pindus lying dead, bleeding from many wounds Draco turned onto his brothers and killed them.

DRACO, THE MYTH

DESCRIPTIONHard limestone with perfect olive petrol colour presenting a mirror polished finish, a vision of harmony and calmness.Smooth pattern motion with discreet graphics veins. Flawless hard material for any decorative and construction use.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed, Brushed, Flamed, Bush Hammered.

DRACO, THE MARBLE

NAME No

02Ebru ArabesquePirgon

I n Greek Mythology, Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy, son of

Zeus and the mortal Semele. Alcohol, especially wine, played an important role in Greek culture with Dionysus being an important reason for this life style.

On the other hand, Lycurgus was the king of the Edoni in Thrace, son of Dryas, the “oak” and he banned the cult of Dionysus, as he didn’t approved this way of life. But the Olympian Gods got angry with Lycurgus and sent him to death on mountain Falakro of Drama (Pirgon extraction region).

From Dionysus began the first arabesques performances (influenced by wine harvest and grapes) located in Ancient Greece. They are highly abstract form of sheets and intertwining plants with curvilinear motifs. Ebru technique carries marbling paper culture with the coexistence of various cultural elements through ages, which resembles the marble itself.

The festival for Dionysus was held in the spring when vines would start bearing leaves. It became one of the most important events of the year and its primary focal point was the theater. Most of the great Greek plays were initially written to be performed at the feast of Dionysus.

EBRU ARABESQUE, THE MYTH

EBRU ARABESQUE PIRGON, THE MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONWhite background marble with beautiful pattern of flowing flowers, dancing stains with colors matching to any composition.Book-matched process ensures an extraordinary decorative result.

APPLICATIONS Residential, commercial and institutional development projects. Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, bathrooms, countertops.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

d e s i g n b a s e d o nH e a d q u a r t e r s w i t h a p o o l o f o i l i n t h e l o b b y

b y B L A N C A S M O R A N a n d L S A - A r q u i t e c t s

NAME No

EraSilver

03

ERA, THE MYTH

I n chronology an Era often marks the origin of a significant mythological event. Chronos (Time - in Greek Χρόνος) was imagined as a god of Era

& Time, with three heads - those of a man, a bull and a lion. Chronos was known also as “Father Time” usually portrayed through an old, wise man with a long, grey beard.

He and Ananke (she was the personification of Necessity) circled the primal world egg and split it apart to form the ordered universe of earth, sea and sky. Together they constricted the egg, squeezing its matter with great force, until the world divided into two hemispheres.

After that, the atoms sorted themselves out.The lighter and finer ones floated above and became the Bright Air (Aether or Uranus) and the rarefied Wind (Chaos), while the heavier and dirtier atoms sank and became the Earth (Gaia) and the Ocean (Oceanus).

The word era also denotes the units used under a different, more arbitrary system where time is not represented as an endless continuum with a single reference year, but each unit starts counting from one again, as if time starts again.

The use of regnal years is a rather impractical system, and a challenge for historians if a single piece of the historical chronology is missing, and often reflects the preponderance in public life of an absolute ruler in many ancient cultures.

DESCRIPTIONThin grain marble in a sophisticated silver-grey background with discreet light coloured veins & clouds.Very compact and consistent material even for heavy duty applications and big projects. Solid and hard with excellent properties, matching colour when combined with other materials. A trendy choice.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Monument industry, interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed, Brushed, Bush Hammered, Sandblasted.

ERA SILVER, THE MARBLE

NAME No

Nessus 04

NESSUS, THE MYTH

N essus was a famous centaur (half man - half horse) who was killed by Heracles and whose tained blood in turn killed the famous hero. He

fought in the battle with the Lapiths, depicted on the metope of the Parthenon. He became a ferryman on the river Euenos.

Heracles, having wrestled and defeated the patron deity Achelous of the most powerfully flowing river in Greece, the River Acheloos, takes Deianira as his wife.

Travelling to Tiryns, Nessus attempted to kidnap Deianira as he was ferrying her across the river Euenos, but she was rescued by Heracles, who shot the centaur with a poisoned arrow. As he lay dying, Nessus tricked Deianira, telling her that a mixture of olive oil and his heart’s blood would ensure that Heracles would never be unfaithful to her.

Deianira believed his words and kept a little by her. Heracles once fell in love with Iole. When Deianira thus feared that her husband would leave her forever, she smeared some of the blood on Heracles’ famous lionskin shirt. Heracles’ servant, Lichas, brought him the shirt and he put it on. The centaur’s toxic blood burned Heracles terribly and eventually killed him.

DESCRIPTIONHard marble with fine grained background and light brown & golden veins, clouds and waves.Very popular for its naturally attractive soft veining, which ensures elegantdecorative result.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Monument industry, interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, bathrooms, countertops.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

NESSUS, THE MARBLE

NAME No

OlympiaRed

05

OLYMPIA, THE MYTH

A ccording to Greek Mythology, Heracles inaugurated the first Olympic Games to celebrate the success of one of his 12 labours - the cleaning

of King Augeas stables. Augeas had so many cows and goats, that the ground could not be cultivated because of the dung of the animals. To solve the problem, he called Heracles and promised him a part of his land.

These stables had not been cleaned in over 30 years and over 1,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth. First the hero tore a big opening in the wall of the cattle-yard where the stables were. Then he made another opening in the wall on the opposite side of the yard.Next, he dug wide trenches to the two rivers which flowed nearby. He turned the course of the rivers into the yard. The rivers rushed through the stables, flushing them out and all the mess flowed out the hole in the wall on other side of the yard.

Augeas was irate because he had promised Heracles one tenth of his cattle if the job was finished in one day. He refused to honor the agreement and Heracles killed him after completing the tasks.

According to the Odes of the poet Pindar, Heracles then founded the Olympic Games. The length of the first stadium, just over 192 metres, was said to be the distance that he could run in one breath.

DESCRIPTIONAn elegant bordeaux marble with confused uniform vein pattern and consistent structure. Decorative stone combined easily with many colors like beige, white and grey providing an impressive result. Very hard material with low absorption index.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

OLYMPIA RED, THE MARBLE

NAME No

Pelagonia 06

A ccording to Greek Mythology, Hephaestus is the Greek god of fire, blacksmiths, craftsmen, sculptors and volcanoes. He was the son of

Zeus and Hera. Hephaestus was associated by Greek colonists in southern Italy with the volcano gods Adranus of Mount Etna (in one aspect Etna derives from the Greek word αϊθω (aitho) - meaning “I burn”) and Vulcanus, of the Lipari islands.

When Castor, the mythic hero built after oracle, Castoria city, and oriented region’s sovereignty by establishing a confederacy.He began thinking expansion to conquer new lands by building two new sites in the plain of Pelagonia (where the Battle of Pelagonia took place in September 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality of Achaea).

The members of the confederation, more than 3000, had patron god Hephaestus, who brought from Sicily Italy three Cyclops as his assistants to build the new territories.

During the best period of Grecian art, Hephaestus was represented as a vigorous man with a beard, and is characterized by his hammer or some other instrument, his oval cap, and the chiton, which leaves the right shoulder and arm uncovered.

The Romans, when speaking of the Greek Hephaestus, call him Vulcanus.

PELAGONIA, THE MYTH

PELAGONIA, THE MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONPelagonia is a beige light marble very easy to match with other materials due to its neutral color. It is an excellent sensual stone pleasing the eyes, suitable for any design challenge and location.

APPLICATIONS Residential, commercial and institutional development projects. Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, bathrooms, countertops.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

d e s i g n b a s e d o nH o u s e V ,

b y J a i m e O r t i z d e Z e v a l l o s

NAME No

TannotiGreen

07

A ccording to Greek Mythology Tinos’s name derives from the Phoenician word “Tannoti” meaning snake. The island was full of snakes but local

tradition holds that the snakes were killed by the island’s patron god Poseidon.

Poseidon (God of the Sea) chased the snakes away from the island by means of stork of flocks and that was the reason he was highly worshipped in Tinos. An important sanctuary to Poseidon was dedicated to him in Kionia.

Other names of the island include its founder “Tinos”, “Ophiousa”- packed with snakes and “Hydrousa”- rich in water. In ancient times, the tiny island of Tinos was called Ophioussa this translates as (ophis = snake), this is because of the great quantity of snakes crawling on the island, and Ydroussa (hydria = water places) because of its abundant water.

Tinos was also the home of Aeolus, god of the winds and Poseidon was considered the patron god of Tinos. Tinos was actually a popular place to worship Poseidon with pilgrims coming from all over Greece to worship there, similar to Tinos’ neighbor Delos. There were two major temples dedicated to Poseidon.

TANNOTI, THE MYTH

TANNOTI GREEN, THE MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONVery hard dark green material with beautiful light brown, grey, golden and dark green veins.Excellent solution for any decorative and impressive project. Timeless. Reflecting a sense of a snakeskin. The main advantages are its properties and hardness.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns, monuments.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGBrushed, Polished, Honed.

NAME No

ThassosSnow White

08

A ccording to Greek Mythology, the island was discovered by Thassos. Thassos was said to be the son or grandson of Aginor King of the

Phoenicians at the city Tyros.

Zeus transformed himself into a bull and abducted Europa who was the sister of Thassos. So it is said that her father Aginor sent her four brothers to find her. They tried to find her all over Greece. Thassos discovered the island in the course of his search for Europa. Captivated by its marvelous climate and lush vegetation and unable to return without Europa, he gave up his quest.He and his retinue settled on the island, which since then has been known by his name as “Thassos”.

Herodotus, the greatest historian of antiquity, is categorical on this matter. He says the island is “now called after that Phoenician Thassos”.

Limenas is the modern day capital of the island as it was in ancient times. Circling Limenas and in easy walking distance from the centre are the remains of the monumental city-wall that rose up to 9 metres high and was predominantly constructed out of gleaming white Thassian marble.

THASSOS, THE MYTH

THASSOS SNOW WHITE, MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONA noble stone. Crystal snow white color marble, well known as the purest white marble ever. Consistent white background giving uniform white surfaces in big scale projects. Unique appearance, preferred by architects, decorators and constructors all over the world. Excellent and beautiful material for luxurious decorative constructions especially for high gloss polished surfaces.

APPLICATIONS Residential, commercial and institutional development projects, monument industry, interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements as columns, bordures, mirrors, handcrafts.High reflectance of sunbeam ensures cold floor cover preferred by countries with high temperatures.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed, Hammered.

NAME No

TitaniumBlack

09

TITANIUM, THE MYTH

I n Greek Mythology, the Titans were a primeval race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky), and they ruled during the

legendary Golden Age. They were immortal beings of incredible strength and stamina and were also the first pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses.

The Titans were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians, in the Titanomachy (“War of the Titans”). In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy was the ten-year series of battles fought in Thessaly between the two camps of deities long before the existence of mankind: the Titans, based on Mount Othrys and the Olympians, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus. Following their final victory, the world was divided among the three brothers and leaders of the Olympians.

Zeus was given domain over the sky and the air and was recognized as overlord. Poseidon was given the sea and all the waters, whereas Hades was given the Underworld. The earth was left common to all.

The mythological record is silent on most of the rest of the Titans, but a later myth said that Kronos himself was eventually released by Zeus, and he was assigned to rule over the Isles of the Blessed, where the spirits of heroes went after death.

TITANIUM BLACK, THE MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONVery hard black material with uniform thin white confused veins. One of the deepest black color in the market custom installation field for customers with luxurious taste, specially combined with any color, especially with white marbles like Thassos and Sivec creating a wonderful unique aesthetic sense. It is material with excellent properties.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Interior, exterior, flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

NAME No

10VermionWhite

VERMION, THE MYTH

K ing Midas is famous in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. There are many legends about him. In one, Midas

was king of Pessinus, a city of Phrygia, who as a child was adopted by the king Gordias and Cybele. Some accounts place the youth of Midas in Mount Vermion.

There, at the foot of Mount Vermion, was a wild rose garden in which Herodotus refers as “the Garden of Midas”. Beautiful unique roses with surpassing fragrance grew themselves, each bearing sixty blossoms.

King Midas was the first person ever to plant a rose garden and he loved to spend his days feasting and listening to music. When King Midas’ rose gardens celebrated he derived great pleasure in their pristine beauty.

One legend relates his reception of Seilenus. During the expedition of Dionysus from Thrace to Phrygia, Seilenus in a state of intoxication had gone astray, and was caught by country people in the rose gardens of Midas. He was bound in wreaths of flowers and led before the king.

These gardens were in Macedonia, near Mount Vermion where Midas was king of the Briges, with whom he afterwards emigrated to Asia, where their name was changed into Phryges.

VERMION, THE MARBLE

DESCRIPTIONAn elegant and luxurious premium decorative material. Impressive marble with white stripes on light grey background with uniform parallel veins and smooth waves.

APPLICATIONS Residential, commercial and institutional development projects. Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

NAME No

VeriaGreen

11

A ccording to Greek Mythology, Veria is a city built by King Veritas or Pheritas who gave the town its name, which means verdant (green) as

the area is rich in flora because of its abundant water sources. He had two daughters whose names were given to two major cities of the Prefecture of Imathia: Veria and Mieza. His son was Olganos who was transformed into a river God, possibly Arapitsa.

Alexander the Great passed many years of his youth in Mieza under the tutelage of the philosopher Aristotle. Venus is the goddess of beauty and love, according to Homer was born in Olympus by Zeus and Dione.

Queen of Imathia, reigned unceasingly to this Macedonian district and its capital Veria, passing through them every time she was going to or leaving Olympus. That’s why she is still donating her divine goods to the Imathian farmers, part of which are our products.

Even by the standards of Greece, Veria is an old city; first mentioned in the writings of Thucydides in 432 BC, there is evidence that it was populated as early as 1000 BC.

Veria was an important possession for Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great) and later for the Romans.

VERIA, THE MYTH

DESCRIPTIONThe most beautiful green marble in the world.Impressive deep green colors with white veins suitable for any luxurious project. It is quarried on the slopes of mountain Vermion, near Aliakmona river.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects. Interior, exterior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

VERIA GREEN, THE MARBLE

NAME No

VolakasHaemus

12

V olakas, from which the stone takes its name, is a remote village on the eastern flanks of the Falakron Mountains (part of The Rhodope

Mountains) in the Prefecture of Drama.

In Greek Mythology, King Haemus of Thrace was the son of Boreas. He was vain and haughty and compared himself and his wife, Queen Rhodope, to Zeus and Hera. The gods turned him and his wife into mountains (Haemus or Haimos Mons and Rhodope Mountains). Hence in Greece, the Balkan Peninsula is still referred to as the “Peninsula of Haemus”.

In these mountains there was a fight between Zeus and the dragon Typhon who driven off to Thrace, hurled entire mountains at Zeus in the battle around Mount Haemus.

When these bounced back upon him under the force of the thunderbolt, blood gushed out on the mountain. From this incident, it is said, the mountain is called haemus (“bloody”) in Greek (Αίμα) and Rhodope which means “Red Faced”.

The mountain range gives its name to the terrestrial ecoregion Rodope montane mixed forests that belongs in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome and the Palearctic ecozone. The region is particularly notable for its karst areas with their deep river gorges, large caves and specific sculptured forms, such as the Trigrad Gorge.

VOLAKAS HAEMUS, THE MYTH

DESCRIPTIONBeautiful elegant marbleof consistent white background with parallel and diagonal veins and shades.Well known and popular material for its unique veins and waves. An educated architectural choice for worldwide construction projects.

APPLICATIONS Heavy use areas like public places, residential, commercial and institutional development projects.Mainly specified for interior flooring and wall cladding, decorative elements, columns.

SUITABLE FOR Large & small scale building projects.

AVAILABLE SURFACE FINISHINGPolished, Honed.

VOLAKAS HAEMUS, THE MARBLE