Vrontados
Vrontados ( el, Βροντάδος) is a small coastal town located at the eastern part of the island of Chios in Greece. With a population of about 5,300 the town hosts the seat of the municipality of Omiroupoli. Information The town has a strong tradition in merchant seafaring and is currently the home of various important Greek ship owners. Due to its proximity to the city of Chios (the island's capital), modern Vrontados is considered a sort of a suburb of the capital. Vrontados purportedly gets its name from the loud noise thunder (Vrontes - Βροντές) makes as it echoes from the nearby mountain, Aepos. Customs Vrontados is well known for its unique Easter celebration known as rouketopolemos (rocket war). Every Easter, the Eastern Orthodox churches, Agios Marcos and Erithiani, fire rockets at each other ('' Rouketopolemos''). Whoever hits the other church's bell tower first wins the war. Historical References The legendary Poet Homer was supposedly born or at lea ...
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Rouketopolemos
''Rouketopolemos'' (Greek ''Рουκετοπόλεμος'', literally "rocket war") is a local traditional event held annually at Easter in the town of Vrontados (Βροντάδος) on the Greek island of Chios. As a variation of the Greek custom of throwing fireworks during the celebration of the service at midnight before Easter Sunday, two rival church congregations in the town perform a "rocket war" by firing tens of thousands of home-made rockets across town, with the objective of hitting the bell tower of the church of the other side. The rockets are wooden sticks loaded with a propellant mixture containing gunpowder, and are launched from grooved platforms. Background The two rival parishes are ''St. Mark''s and ''Panaghia Ereithiani'', the respective churches built on two hilltops about