The first cycles of Eniaios were premiered in June 2004. Markopoulos chose a specific site in Arcadia not only because of his family’s origins, but because it is an ideal site for the spectator’s aesthetic quest. Markopoulos’s filmmaking is deeply imbued with Hellenic culture, and the films thus gain a most powerful meaning if they can be shown in this setting.
Eniaios investigates themes of Greek mythology and place. Already Markopoulos’s very first film presented the myth of Psyche (1947), and he remained faithful to this source of inspiration whether he produced films of other mythic themes (such as Prometheus in The Illiac Passion, Hippolytos in Twice A Man), filmed portraits of prominent Greek, European, or American artists, or made films with ancient archeological sites (such as Pyra Heracleos, the Aesclepion of Cos, Olympia, Dodona, Bassae etc.) or portraits of interiors.( such as the house of Wagner, the apartment of Colette ).
When Markopoulos and Beavers organized screenings in the Peloponnese during the 1980’s, the films and setting combined to elevate the spectators’ sense of time while emotionally and physically connecting them to the mythic themes. The Temenos screenings created a viewing environment in which the viewer can absorb the epic images of the films and create an order in the emotions that Markopoulos associated with the tradition of Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine. The premiere screenings planned for June, 2004 were held from 10 p.m. in the evening until early in the morning on three consecutive evenings. The weather in June is the most clear and comfortable at this altitude (900 m.a.s.). in Arcadia. The unusual timing and setting for the screenings produced an event that the spectator should retain in memory for a lifetime, the very opposite of mass media.
Since Lyssaraia is in a region that is not developed, arrangements were made for viewers in Loutra Irea and other villages. Provisions were also made for sleeping at the site. The screenings required the construction of temporary seating for approximately 200 viewers, a projection apparatus with a screen and a generator. This facility will be maintained over the next years for the premieres of Eniaios as the following cycles are restored and printed.