An unexamined life is not worth living, Socrates warned. Albert Camus cautioned against “philosophical suicide”—the moment we stop asking why and instead surrender to comforting lies, plastic trinkets hauled across skies by fuel-burning planes, and the sugar-hit of endless entertainment. The Roman circus has become Tik Tok reels of cute puppies, influencers, and nutters. A kind of global shadow, as Jung might say, has descended—one of irrelevance.
For Steve Maras, one of Adelaide’s most driven property developers and urban innovators, asking ‘why’ has become important, “it hones the vision”.
“When you’re always chasing goals—managing, building, leading—it’s easy to lose yourself in it,” Maras says.
“Ikaria reminds you of the importance of slowing down, so you can focus on what really matters.”
Ikaria, his ancestral homeland, is one of five “Blue Zones”—regions where reaching 100, or even 110 years of age is not uncommon.
On Ikaria time is liminal and a ‘good life’ in the Aristotelian sense, is at the centre. Blue Zones—Ikaria, Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia’s Barbagia region, Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, and Loma Linda in California—regardless of being scattered across the globe —share certain traits: a diet high in vegetables, deep community and family ties, physical exercise, and much life outdoors. They are the epitome of the quiet rejection of the daily absurdity of Sisyphean life—endlessly rolling the boulder uphill, only to watch it fall again.
“Even when you land at that 1950s-style airport, there’s this incredible sense of stepping out of time. “You immediately feel chilled, relaxed, at peace. It’s hard to explain, but it’s real,” Maras tells Neos Kosmos.
Maras isn’t one to idle. As CEO of the Maras Group and Chair-elect of the Adelaide Economic Development Agency, he’s played a major role in reshaping the city’s East End and championing creative renewal through programs like Renew Adelaide. He’s also the founder of the Living Without Limits Foundation, which supports families of children with autism and cerebral palsy. That sense of responsibility—both professional and personal—is something he carries with intensity, instilled by his father, Theo Maras, known as “the emperor of the East End” and a giant in both South Australian business and Greek community life.
In Ikaria, something shifts he says.
“We spend too much time at work—thinking about work, thinking about getting ahead, our next moves, how to stay on top.”
“Ikaria gives you clarity of mind— you’re floating in that magical Aegean Sea. It’s calm, clear, and warm.
“Ambition is lower on the pecking order. It’s about family, friends, the day ahead… the next Freddo Cappuccino.”
Ikaria’s, and the other Blue Zones’, secret isn’t an elite health regime brought to you by an influencer, or cutting-edge science. It’s simple, time-out-of-time, liminal space born of time spent with loved ones, daily physical exercise, walking and gardening, a diet rich in vegetables and other organic seasonal food, and most important, strong social ties, and a sense of belonging. It’s not far removed from the ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia—the good life, defined not by wealth or status, but by balance and meaning.
“I come here to reset,” Maras says.
“To attend the panigyria, to visit my 101-year-old great-aunt—my grandmother’s sister, the last of her generation. And, of course, to eat. The food here is next level—local, fresh, organic. I just had a late lunch of Ikariotiki salata, grilled calamari, spicy feta saganaki, makaronatha me hirino, local white wine, and portokali tou koutaliou for dessert.”
He laughs when asked if he “would do a Blue Zone sea-change?
“I’ll stick to my annual or biannual pilgrimage to get that much-needed fix now in my mid-50s.”
For Maras, this isn’t about abandoning ambition, nor abandoning the mission —it’s about refining tehir purpose and focus.
“Ikaria shows you what longevity really looks like—not just in years, but in quality. It’s a reminder to live more fully, and to give back in ways that matter.”
Amid the ocean distraction of contemporary life, Ikaria offers a kind space for the soul to breathe, and perhaps, begin to seek to know itself.
