In the heart of the Mediterranean, Mount Athos has for ten centuries sheltered monks and their secrets behind the thick walls of its monasteries. On its slopes cling the villages of monks who preferred the rustic life to that of the rule. Only a winch connects the world to this cliff of silence, whose entrance is forbidden to any beardless person, woman or female animal. No being can be born here. They only die there, without tears or monuments. Prayer is the main activity of the monks. Such is the serene life of these men who, after much prayer, have nothing else to do but follow the rhythm of seasonal occupations or indulge in more noble pursuits such as study, painting or engraving. Mount Athos may have lost some of its former prestige and influence, but it remains true to its raison d’être: an immense prayer to heaven that precedes the passage to the afterlife.