The Riders of the Virgin Mary

The Riders of the Virgin Mary documents an annual tradition in Siatista, northern Greece, where faith, horsemanship and communal celebration come together around the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

For several days, riders prepare their horses and gather for food, music and dancing. They then travel to the monastery at Mikrokastro and take part in religious ceremonies before returning to Siatista, where the celebration continues with music, dancing, food and public gatherings. The event brings together different generations and combines Orthodox ritual with local customs that remain strongly embedded in the social life of the town.

Rather than treating the tradition only as spectacle, this project focuses on the relationships between people, animals, religion and community. Through moments of preparation, worship, procession and celebration, the photographs explore how a local tradition continues to function as a shared expression of identity, belonging and collective memory in contemporary Greece.