Marmarites is a kind of pancake that is baked on stone, generally of marble, on an open fire on the eve of the Epiphany, so that the Calikantzari (that is, goblins, trolls and/or hobgoblins) would take them up and leave the rest of the house at peace. In the villages of Antimachia, Kardamena, and Kefaloson the island of Kos, this custom, largely lost in the depths of time, is revived each year on the eve of the Epiphany.
It is a mixture of flour and water, baked on heated marble in round pieces that are eaten with honey or dipped in petimezi on the eve of the Epiphany, which is a fasting day, while on other days, they are fried, dipped in egg batter and sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey or petimezi.
In past decades, when the island villagers were mostly farmers and livestock-breeders, they offered marmarites in the shape of a cross on the eve of the Epiphany to their animals (cows, sheep, and goats, etc.) to show them their gratitude.
