I read this article on The Alk3R Post, a cool blog which always posts interesting things. These sponge divers were a particular breed of men, very brave, and very famous in Greece. I have some of these sponges – in the sea they look black, and have to be treated and bleached to reach their final form.
Most sponge that we use today are synthetic, but in the old days sponge was collected from the sea bed. Some of the finest-quality sea sponge, a jelly-like marine creature with a body full of pores, can be found in the warm waters of southeastern Mediterranean.
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Letters from Athens 
When we first went to Greece, in the mid-1970s, one of the first things we bought were real sponges. In London, they were only used by the wealthy, but there in Greece, we could buy them for a fraction of the price. Sad that many had to work so hard, and others even die, to feed that trade.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I still have a sponge I bought on a long, long ago visit to Santorini in the mid 1980s. I have looked after it carefully, and it is STILL in excellent condition. I think an artificial one would have disintegrated by now…
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Yes, they’re quite tough!
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I’ve found the trick is to rinse them really well; if you leave soap in them, they start to rot.
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What an interesting blog post! I knew about our sponge divers here in Greece, but had no idea about sponge diving in Florida, or that Greeks played an important part in the growth of that industry. Thanks for sharing!
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🌹
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