Crete: The tomb of Zorba’s Madame Hortense was found

In In Ierapetra, the grave of the French prostitute, Madame Hortens, who shortly before her death was naturalized in Crete, was found. Efthymis Lekakis had promised to search and find the grave of the legendary Madame Hortense, made famous by her literature and real history, and he succeeded. The lawyer revealed that the location of her grave is in Crete, specifically in the Municipal Cemetery of Ierapetra.

Who was Madame Hortense?

Madame Hortense offered love services for a fee, tasted the fruit of sin, but seeing clearly her human side, one meets a woman with dignity, who knew the value of love and could not live without it. Her life occupied many and some writers and poets told her story. It first appeared in the work of Pantelis Prevelakis “Chronicle of a State” (1938), in “The Life and State of Alexis Zorbas” by Nikos Kazantzakis (1941-1943) the existence of Ortans is decisive and its first edition was even awarded in 1954 as the best foreign book in France with the “Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger” award, while in 1964 it was transferred to the cinema by Michalis Kakogiannis, entitled “Zorba the Greek”, a film that was to become known worldwide.

Madame Hortens was born in France in 1863 and came to Chania, Crete at the age of 34, when the fleets of the Great Powers were sailing. At that time, Crete had become independent, but it was under the rule of the Turks, which is why it was controlled by the Great Powers. Madame Hortense had left Paris behind at the time the Eiffel Tower was being built, and Paris in general had begun to be reborn. She had received a telegram from her beloved admiral Georges Potier asking her to move to Chania with the girls she had in her house.

During this period in Paris, Adelina Guitar or Madame Hortens, as everyone knew her by her artistic name, had a brothel in an architecturally outstanding building in Paris, and in fact it was furnished with high taste. There he had collected girls who were not only admired by their outward appearance, they were cultured and could converse with people of high society and distinguished personalities, such as artists and politicians, which is why he gathered an elite clientele. Nevertheless, Madame Hortense accepted Admiral Georges Potier’s proposal. She made the decision to leave everything behind and move with her girls, dancers and singers, to Chania, Crete.

Everyone was talking about her beauty

There, Madame Hortense’s financial situation improved considerably, she entered the circle of society at the time, gaining more and more admirers. Her beauty, which was both inner and outer, the special gentleness of her demeanor, combined with the fact that she sang and danced impressively, made her famous and many went to see her dance the kan-kan, showing off her curves her legs They even said that she also danced in the “Moulin Rouge”, thus confirming that her impressive dance performances in Chania in the 19th century were not accidental.

The presence of the “Protecting Powers” in Chania, the orders from the consuls general and their purpose to establish peace between Christians and Mohammedans imposed Prince George as the governor of Crete and thus the presence of the prince, the presence of the Great Powers with General Consulates, the presence of foreign officers and soldiers, as well as their participation in celebrations impressed the local population. A new way of life began, an opulence with foreign importers, companies and an intellectual and artistic movement that brought about the creation of great fortunes.

The escape to Sitia and the cafe

She didn’t want to leave the island of her dreams

In the arms of the admirals of the Cretan State and in this aristocratic environment, Ortance lived everything her soul longed for. However, after the Revolution of Therisos, from Chania she found herself in Sitia and there her first financial difficulties began. From 1907 everything started to change, the foreign forces left Crete, and so did the girls who had visited the island of Crete to entertain foreign officers and ordinary sailors. Back then, ordinary sailors used to go to the district of Splantzia in Chania. So everyone left the island of Crete and its people in 1907, but not Madame Hortense. He had loved both Crete and the Cretans, which is why he could not leave.

When she was little, she dreamed of long trips. She grew up in her father’s barbershop near the port of Toulon, she loved the sea and often went and sat near it to bathe in its waves. Now she had found the island of her dreams in Crete and she couldn’t leave it. The difficulties of her life multiplied, but she insisted on living on the island.

After the financial difficulties she faced in Sitia, Madame Ortans went in 1908 to Agios Nikolaos, where she opened a cafe with her husband Haniotakis. The cafe was near the city’s waterfront and was “washed” by the sounds of the sea. This professional activity of hers was successful, but unfortunately it did not last. The town’s station master questioned her moral stance in the cafe, as a result of which she left not only the cafe, but also the city of Agios Nikolaos.

Her life there seemed to have turned the page again. Now married to Haniotakis, she devotes herself to her love for him and takes care of the household, until he abandoned her, taking with him everything of value that Ortans had in their home, such as her jewelry.

Ierapetra loved her

The hotel “France”, and the life dedicated to charity

Madame Hortense had the title of vice-consul of France, but she was unpaid, so she opened a restaurant in Ierapetra in order to survive. There she was active professionally and as a hotel owner, she opened the hotel “France”, but also a convenience store. The people of Ierapetra loved her and recognized that most of her life was devoted to charity.

She dealt with anyone in need and everyone spoke of her kindness. At the age of 75, she had fallen ill and, although Catholic, had asked a priest to confess. Pope-Manolis Tzavolakis was the one who gave her forgiveness just before she closed her eyes in 1938. He was the one who came face to face with her when she wanted to talk about her sins, her sexual activity.

Madame Hortense had many admirers, as well as lovers. Her life was an endless adventure and reminds somewhat of the story of Rhodopis from Thrace. The courtesan of antiquity, who lived in the 6th BC. century and is considered to have been the inspiration for the basis of the fairy tale “Cinderella”. Of course, no pyramid was built in honor of Ortance, on the contrary, the houses where she lived in Crete year after year sink more and more into the ground.

But her memory is still preserved, even though she closed her eyes 86 years ago, because she was rich emotionally. He lived in two turbulent centuries, the 19th and 20th, and indeed a life like a fairy tale. Through luxury and entertainment, she managed to remain in everyone’s memory for the love she had for Crete, for the love she had as a human being for her fellow man, sharing her profits with anyone in need.

It was no coincidence, then, that the Cretans were ultimately not influenced by the erotic services she offered and loved her, discerning her values ​​as a human being, which is why a street in the city of Ierapetra has been named after her.