Harvey GehPublished: Invalid Date THIS is the bizarre moment rival churches wage a lethal "rocket war" on each other as they set the heavens alight in the night sky The conflicting Greek churches put on a dramatic yet breathtaking spectacle as they launched a dangerous barrage of fireworks at each other Tense footage showed the two warring congregations fire dazzling rockets towards each other Rocketfire rained down in front of astonished onlookers while the two holy buildings were struck But there is more behind this explosive extravaganza than you might think The two local parishes actually engage in this fierce fire fight every Easter - and onlookers have previously been killed amid the strikes The annual tradition takes place on the Greek island of Chios in a sleepy coastal neighbourhood called Vrontados So those who happen to visit the quiet town on Easter weekend need to stay cautious and bring tinted shades. The eye-catching exhibition is known as Rouketopolemos - which literally translates to "rocket war". The tradition's origins have not been accurately traced - but legend says it originated from the 1800s in the Ottoman era Under Turkish rule celebrating Easter - a Christian holiday - was deemed too risky the two parishes from hilltop churches agreed to devise a genius plan This creative scheme involved the two congregations staging a brutal war they agreed to fire deadly cannons at each other This worked out well, until 1889 when the Turks confiscated their cannons the dedicated islanders started making rockets for the same fake war And this tradition has continued all the way up to today But the aims of the "war" have since changed - the two churches play a game where they try to hit the opposing church's bell as many times as possible Every year the match ends with good-sportsmanship concluding a draw, setting up a much anticipated game for the next year Residents usually prepare months in advance, building up thousands of rockets from sticks and gunpowder Although technically illegal, cops usually turn a blind eye to the sensational display trucks deliver rockets to the two warring factions and buildings are boarded up before the two sides light up the night sky A horn blasts a sound at 10pm signalling the beginning of the battle Despite its Easter-themed atmosphere - locals have reportedly been injured and killed amid the rocketfire These are caused by burns or stray rockets even though there are usually local fire and ambulance services on standby two men were electrocuted while throwing fireworks and one was maimed while holding an electric cable during the festive "rocket war" But for visitors who want to get a nice view of the breathtaking fight from a safe distance Mount Aepos is recommended as a viewing point Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/ each year during Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations members of two rival churches hold a traditional “rocket war” by firing thousands of homemade fireworks toward each other while services are held The goal for each side is to hit the bell in the tower of the opposing church has been celebrated by the churches of Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani for at least 135 years Gathered here are images of this year’s battle To receive an email notification every time a new photo story is published, sign up here We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions Locals in the town of Vrontados on the Greek island of Chios marked Orthodox Easter with a centuries-old tradition known as the "rocket war" As part of Easter celebrations thousands of homemade rockets are fired that lit up the night sky at midnight on Holy Saturday as they fired streams of rockets at each other as part of an Orthodox Easter tradition Throughout the annual "rocket war" Easter Mass continues inside the churches on the island of Chios The spectacle dates back to the 1800s - when Greece was ruled by the Ottoman empire - but now rockets are used instead of cannons Parts of the local area are boarded up with metal barriers ShareSavePeople cheer as power comes back on in MadridResidents applauded as the lights came back on in Spain's capital, after a huge power cut brought the country to a standstill. 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New speed climbing record set in the Swiss AlpsA climbing pair shatter the record for completing the daunting north faces of a famed trio of Swiss mountains. when Turkey occupied the small island of Chios the local Orthodox Christian population wasn’t allowed to celebrate Easter two churches came up with a cunning plan to keep the Turkish authorities away while they celebrated Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead: they staged a fake war using cannons and fireworks the parishes of the Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani churches unleash thousands of homemade firework rockets on each other creating one of the world’s most surreal pyrotechnic displays Photographer Marco Kesseler witnessed the event last year “Up until the Saturday before Easter it’s a very secretive process,” he tells TIME “They build these rockets all year long turning the wood into charcoal that they mix with sulfur and potassium nitrate to make a basic gunpowder.” These homemade rockets are then stocked in houses up in the mountains – away from prying eyes the village is almost deserted,” says Kesseler they wouldn’t tell you anything.” “It’s all about the celebration of Easter and people really get into it,” says Kesseler “The rockets are brought out with a kind of fanfare One of the teams has this incredible barricade that goes across the valley and they use scaffolding poles and planks to create this walkway that’s 10 to 20 feet up in the air they launch some rockets to test their aim more than 100,000 rockets are shot across the valley illuminating the village under the gaze of hundreds of spectators a ceasefire is called between both sides to allow parishioners to enter their respective churches for mass “They start again while people are in the churches,” says Kesseler “before calling for another ceasefire after midnight The goal for both teams is to hit the opposite church’s bells The team with the larger number of hits wins the war but since it’s always impossible to count all successful hits both teams agree to a draw and a rematch is called for the following year “It’s their excuse to continue this tradition,” says Kesseler the village’s streets are littered with spent cartridges and sticks people come to collect old sticks either to reuse them the following year,” says Kesseler “It’s an incredible spectacle.” Marco Kesseler is a freelance photographer based in London Olivier Laurent is the editor of TIME LightBox. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @olivierclaurent members of rival churches sitting across a small valley stage a "rocket war" by firing thousands of homemade rockets towards each other while services are held The objective for each side is to strike the bell of the opposing church has been celebrated by the churches of Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani for at least 125 years Gathered here are images of this rocket war from the past few years We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican, scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025, a humanoid-robot half-marathon in China, and much more Images of the people, animals, and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions, photographed by Olivier Morin Traditional Greek shipowner substitutes older supramaxes with larger newbuildings Vrontados SA, a traditional Greek shipowner managed by the fourth generation of the Los family, has inked another two kamsarmaxes in Japan in a move that brings its total orderbook at Sasebo Heavy Industries to four vessels. Vrontados’ newbuildings, to be delivered in 2020 and 2021, will replace a string of older supramaxes, which the company has been shedding since 2018. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Your data on TradeWinds TradeWinds is part of DN Media Group AS From November 1st DN Media Group is responsible for controlling your data on TradeWinds We use your data to ensure you have a secure and enjoyable user experience when visiting our site. You can read more about how we handle your information in our privacy policy DN Media Group is the leading news provider in the shipping, seafood, and energy industries, with a number of English- and Norwegian-language news publications across a variety of sectors. Read more about DN Media Group here TradeWinds is part of NHST Global Publications AS and we are responsible for the data that you register with us and the data we collect when you visit our websites We use cookies in a variety of ways to improve your experience such as keeping NHST websites reliable and secure personalising content and ads and to analyse how our sites are being used For more information and how to manage your privacy settings please refer to our privacy and cookie policies The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock Photograph: Konstantinos Anagnostou/Reuters Photograph: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for Ironman Photograph: Algi Febri Sugita/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock Instead of assuming we’d have the proper light to shoot the desired frame rates we shot tests with almost every kind of firework we could get our hands on to know for sure before we got to the location Since we’d be working with literally no ambient light besides what was coming off the rockets it was imperative to test all the available options to create ambient light that felt natural without going too far The Sony was earmarked for our RC unit, which was provided by Snaproll Media and it totally lived up to the hype -- No other camera on the market could have filmed the rockets in such extreme low light conditions from the aerial perspective other than the a7S We shot some of these sequences at up to 20,000 ISO from the sky.” Source: Variable Press Release Explore how the damsel trope has shaped storytelling—from classic fairy tales to modern media For much of the 20th century, women on screen often appeared as “damsels in distress”—sometimes as love interests, other times as sisters, mothers, or daughters—but typically as characters with limited agency compared to their masculine counterparts. Think Mary Sues and Manic Pixie Dream Girls These one-dimensional portrayals established a pattern that became a recognizable cinematic shorthand female characters are much more likely to solve their own problems and drive their own stories we still see echoes of the old damsel trope Sometimes filmmakers use it knowingly (with a wink) Let’s learn about the damsel in distress and how (if you like) you can use the trope in your writing A damsel in distress is essentially a female character who exists primarily to be rescued by the hero This character trope has been a staple in storytelling for centuries In its most basic form, the damsel has little to no agency of her own. She's beautiful, vulnerable, and completely dependent on the male protagonist to save her from whatever danger she faces. Her purpose in the story is rarely about her journey but instead serves as a plot device to showcase the hero's bravery and strength the damsels in distress are usually elemental in the climax: being all pretty and needy waiting for their “knight in shining armor.” A polite way to objectify women The damsel in distress trope—whether featuring a sister or female stranger—often reinforces traditional gender dynamics in literature and film By positioning female characters as helpless and in need of rescue these narratives frequently highlight traditionally masculine traits like strength and bravery while limiting female characters' abilities A damsel in distress can be identified from miles away They have the most stereotypical treatment in any film Below are a few common traits—a distressed damsel might have one or many at a time: A popular and sophisticated character based in Shanghai Kate Capshaw’s character Willie is indeed the beautiful burden of Indy’s life in the story She is materialistic and selfish and does get on your nerves “Why didn’t he just keep lowering her into the lava?” “This is not my idea of a swell time!” She is no Bear Grylls and definitely didn’t sign up for any of that insanity It's refreshing to see how Disney princesses have evolved from waiting for rescue to charting their own adventures Characters like Moana and Anna represent a welcome shift from earlier princesses like Cinderella and Snow White whose stories often centered on distress resolved through princely intervention While these classic tales reflected their eras' limited views of women's roles they weren't without merit—Cinderella showed remarkable resilience despite cruelty and even Snow White displayed kindness and compassion valued in her time I appreciate that Cinderella had her Fairy Godmother providing crucial magical assistance showing that women helping other women has always been part of these narratives even if overshadowed by the romantic endings Today's young viewers thankfully have a more diverse range of heroines modeling independence alongside the classics the damsel in distress of this screenplay checks off multiple traits—heavenly The film ends with Andromeda (Judi Bowker) being saved by Perseus (Harry Hamlin) Spider-Man’s lady is the perfect superhero love interest Mary Jane is another iconic example of a beautiful burden to the hero While MJ's difficult family background in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy provides context for her vulnerability her character deserves more dimension than merely being a rescue target The films suggest her father's mistreatment affected her choices and relationships yet they don't fully explore how such experiences often forge resilience rather than perpetual dependency and has a knack for danger—but she is the one who always needs saving Daphne is quite a fresh and dignified approach to the regressive damsel in distress trope Her character’s evolution throughout the seasons as a relatable and dependable female character is something that is not adored enough when damsels in distress were all the rage so what do you do if you want to write a helpless character who needs rescuing (Maybe it could even occasionally be—gasp—the male character.) A more satisfying approach doesn't eliminate rescues Female characters can face danger or need help while still demonstrating agency Give your "damsel" specific skills established early in your script that become relevant during the climax Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) initially seems like a superficial sorority girl at Harvard She solves a murder case using her knowledge of hair care Show psychological resistance when physical escape isn't possible Your character can maintain agency through their reactions Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) resists the Capitol's control through symbolic defiance No character should be fully inactive unless it’s important to their arc and they’re supposed to be stymied in that moment How does this experience change your character Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) is repeatedly captured and rescued throughout the film There are so many ways to create an interesting These elements can help you create richer stories that acknowledge vulnerability (without equating it with helplessness) The damsel in distress trope represents storytelling's past While countless films have relied on this formula of women awaiting rescue modern audiences expect characters with more complexity The evolution from Snow White to Moana shows how storytelling can present feminine strength without sacrificing emotional development too The best modern takes on these narratives recognize that real heroism isn't gendered—it's about courage and determination in the face of challenges members of rival churches sitting across a small valley stage a traditional "rocket war" by firing thousands of homemade rockets towards each other while services are held in the Greek village of Vrontados Below are images of this rocket war from the past few years Likely buyer emerges after brokers had earlier reported ArcelorMittal as behind the purchase of Capital Management's Olga V Greece's Vrontados Shipping has emerged as the reported buyer of a Japanese-built kamsarmax bulker that brokers previously said had been sold to ArcelorMittal. Early this week, both European and US brokers claimed the 81,000-dwt Olga V (built 2017) had been picked up by the Indian steel giant. But market sources now tell TradeWinds the ship has been purchased by Vrontados, making it an all-Greek deal. a palpable tension descends upon the Greek island of Chios members of the island’s two rival churches have annually taken up arms against one another as part of a conflict with uncertain origins the two churches launch more than 100,000 homemade rockets at each other’s bell towers in a tradition the locals call Rouketopolemos However, despite its outwardly violent appearance, Rouketopolemos has always been a peaceful tradition in nature. The “rocket war” is a mock conflict staged by both sides in celebration of the resurrection of Christ one theory suggests that the first “rocket war” was a clever ruse employed by the Greeks to distract the Turkish army occupying the island at the time While explosions dominated the landscape outside parishioners of each church were able to peacefully attend Easter Mass within This short film was produced by Variable and directed by Salomon Ligthelm A showcase of cinematic short documentary films, curated by The Atlantic. Low-profile Greek owner Vrontados Shipping is being linked to the purchase of a modern ultramax bulker controlled by compatriot Equinox Maritime. Sources claim the Cosco Dalian-built, 61,000-dwt Equinox Melida (built 2016) has changed hands for about $25.5m. A senior Vrontados official declines to comment on the deal. The Equinox Melida was put up for sale last month, but Equinox director Ghikas Goumas says the ship would only be sold “if we can achieve our target price”. DN Media Group is the leading news provider in the shipping, seafood, and energy industries, with a number of English- and Norwegian-language news publications across a variety of sectors. Read more about DN Media Group here. TradeWinds is part of NHST Global Publications AS and we are responsible for the data that you register with us, and the data we collect when you visit our websites. We use cookies in a variety of ways to improve your experience, such as keeping NHST websites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads and to analyse how our sites are being used. For more information and how to manage your privacy settings, please refer to our privacy and cookie policies. Japanese shipbuilder netting contracts from Vrontados Shipping and Pleiades Japan's Namura Shipbuilding is making inroads into Greece during its efforts to garner clients to build up a kamsarmax orderbook, sources close to the company said. Two Greek shipowners have booked as many as six kamsarmaxes at Namura amid continued talks with others, according to international shipbrokers. However, the companies in question, Vrontados Shipping and Pleiades Shipping Agents, would not confirm the orders. ROCKETS light up the night sky as islanders shun chocolate eggs to celebrate Easter by blitzing the night sky. Rival parishes on the Greek island of Chios decided to celebrate Easter by firing rockets at each other in a centuries-old tradition. The two Orthodox congregations sit on opposite hilltops in the town of Vrontados and launch tens of thousands of home-made fireworks at their opponents’ churches. but both sides lose count and so they declare a rematch for the next year dates back to the 19th Century when the Ottomans banned Easter and so islanders staged a fake war to keep Turkish authorities away has only been banned twice - during World War Two Nazi occupation and under Greek military dictatorship in 1967-1974