Starting this blog has been very difficult. Usually, it's not problem to make some snarky statements, or crack a joke or two, or play around a little with the honesty of what I'm trying to talk about. Sometimes I can get away with just geeking out about the really cool thing I saw today or some thoughts on this whole travel thing. But this particular entry has been started and deleted three times now and I'm struggling with the writing of it even now. I think that it's because of the importance this place has had for me for many years now. Being here is something that defies description.
When I was first introduced to philosophy in earnest (that is to say, when I finally caught on that philosophy was more than just having thoughts and thinking about them while pretending to know and understand everything... i.e. "adolescence"), I did a lot of research into the world of ancient Greece. I had a history professor who once claimed "Greece got [civilization] right the first time and we've been trying to replicate it ever since". I have a tendency to agree with that statement for two reasons. First, because that old man knew his shit (he held two Ph.D's in the subject of History) and had such a love for comparing events and their connections and importance throughout all of history it was hard not to take what he said as the fair and honest truth. The other reason was because, after looking into the validity of that statement on my own, I found it to be completely without question.
The Greeks got it right the first time around: Civilization, religion, reason, logic, farming, architecture, democracy, theater, art, rhetoric, language, the culture, the use of knowledge, the utilitarianism of workable skill, the home, the raising of children, the respect for nature, the humbleness of worship, the strength of protecting it's land, the humanizing aspects of their gods... I mean, give them a few more years to recognize their women as equals in the bureaucratic and military world (they were already equal contemporaries in the intellectual fields of mathematics and philosophy) and they would've been pretty darn perfect. Too bad the stupid Romans had to come along and fuck everything up.
That's just a joke really. Hadrian maintained the peace during a Golden Age that was unprecedented in Grecian history in which the city of Athens flourished in the bright light of civilization for nearly 50 years. When he died, his generals tore the country apart trying to gather all their own pieces for themselves.
The point I'm trying to make here is that I have wanted to come here for a pretty long time. Of course, I worried that the expectation would be the cause for disappointment once I arrived here. I knew that that ancient world that once stood as the stepping stone for all other western civilizations to stand upon was no more. Economic turmoil and the sheer degradation of time, political corruption, and lack of funding have taken their toll on this once great city. Any amount of time spent on its cobblestone streets, amongst its flea market, or in the constant presence of a plethora of graffiti will tell you that this city has its fair share of troubles. Last year, there were workers riots. In fact, before we arrived, there was another strike where all civil servants left for the day to protest new taxes placed on the working class to pay for the government's bail out of the national banks who owe monies to the European Union. Sounds familiar, doesn't it
Except, as I soon came to find out from talking to the driver and my travel agent about these sorts of things, this is just the way it is here in modern day Greece. The driver, in particular, said the one thing that changed my mind about the possible dangers of these riots and strikes. He said, "Yes, these things can sometimes be a little scary; maybe a hassle but... it's democracy, no?" That was when I realized that the struggle for democracy didn't end when we kicked the Brits to the curb. It's still being fought and argued over and struggled for every day in places like Greece. And, more importantly, that people don't fuck around when it comes to their democracy. They don't just sit at home watching American Idol hoping that other people with more of an agenda and less to lose fight the good fight. They don't just join a group on facebook and consider that their act of rebellion or political statement. They go out and they start some shit. They don't fear the cops' tasers or tear gas. They spray paint the walls with a big ol' circled "A" and say "fix this or else!"
That's democracy. And it's pretty fricking amazing in action.
Of course, Athens is sort of falling apart at the seams so... maybe it's just a matter of time before America's in that same boat. Maybe that's just the natural state of democracy: chaos and struggle.
Ah, hell. It beats apathy any day. Plus, it's pretty safe apparently. So, that's nice.
Yesterday, I sat on the stone steps of the Theatre of Dionysos and heard Sophocles' Oedipus whispered through the grass. I hummed tunes at the base of the Odeum and listened to the wind hum them back. I imagined the sounds of the crowd at the site of the very first Olympic games (where the contestants had to win in all 5 events to be considered an Olympic Champion rather than in one specialized sport). I stood at the top of the world right next to the Parthenon and touched the olive tree where Athena split the ground to win the contest to see who this land would be named after. I stood next to the columns where the Temple of Olympian Zeus sat as one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World for hundreds of years before war and fire and greed tore it apart. I looked down upon the ground where Socrates walked in the streets and smiled.
It was a pretty damn good day.
Rather than disappoint due to my long standing expectations of the ideal in my Platonic mind, Athens has done the exact and complete opposite. It has been everything I knew it could be: perfect.
-d@n
(As always, for more photos, please visit my facebook page where I have posted many. Thanks.)
2 quick comments (since I am really supposed to be working on my marketing presentation for tommorow!)
ReplyDelete1. Unfortunately I have to disagree with the greeks having it right way back when. The city states each had their own flavor and as much as Athens had some really great ideas and people, Sparta had some pretty messed up shit. You mention the family and raising of kids. In Sparta my understanding is the state basically raised your boys and they were raised to be soldiers. They were punished for getting caught stealing... not because they were stealing but because they got caught. Unfortunately Sparta overpowered Athens and I think was more pivotable to the eventual downfall of greek culture than the romans were.
2. The current problems in greece I think are inherent to the problems with democracy. It is the same problem we have here which as you suspect will get worse. To keep with the Roman/Greek theme, I am reminded of the following: " panem et circenses" Or bread and circuses. The greek as with america have come to expect far too many handouts from their government and their governments are finally running out of money (or more specifically credit since we actually ran out of money decades ago). The solution in my opinion is not a stronger less representative government but rather the elimination of government (or put another way, eliminating the legitimacy of initiation of force.
Hey Travis! Good to hear from you, marketing presentation be damned :)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let's not forget Sparta was a nation of warriors. That was what they bred for; that was what they based their entire existence upon. They were also unconquerable for hundreds of years. When Greece went to war, it was the generals of Sparta who led them (a reality that I'm pretty sure most Greeks were happy for when the Persians landed on their shores and began pillaging their land, killing their citizens, and raping their women). The Spartans were a city-state of soldiers and so fulfilled the aforementioned Greek notion of utilitarianism I spoke of. Remember: even in a utopia like the Republic, there is a need and place for the military and its warriors. Mind you, this is coming from someone who is pretty anti-authoritarian/anti-military so to admit this truth is a strain on my own personal ideals of peace. But to assign a moral judgment against a culture whose sole purpose was fulfilling its place in its civilization because it seems "wrong" to you is a little presumptuous, I think. Also, this society existed thousands of years ago so to make ANY kind of judgment on it when we have no frame of reference other than what history tells us is also presumptuous on everyone's part (myself included). I wasn't there, so I have no idea how it was. Same way as how I don't judge other people's cultures when I'm not a part of them. I figure I don't really have a right to. Even when I disagree with the "bad stuff". It's not my culture and I don't live in it and it is based on thousands of years indoctrination that my ignorant western ass can't possible comprehend let alone cast a moral judgment on. Hell, I think most of what culture we have in America is retarded yet have no right to say nay to it (except to vote according to my informed conscience when I can).
When it comes to Greece, I can only go by what I've been told. I'm sure Greece was as violent, stupid, rude, flawed, and filled with ignorant people as any society in existence today. That's just people being people. There are plenty of people outside of America who think we Americans do some pretty retarded things when it comes to... well, just about everything. This includes how we raise our kids. And, despite teaching our children that stealing is "bad", that doesn't mean they don't also understand the negative aspects of the consequence of getting caught as well. If you doubt this, I urge you to try and remember being a kid and making that connection for yourself that it was better to not get caught doing something you shouldn't be doing than not doing it because it was "wrong". "In the land of thieves, the only crime is getting caught", as the good Doctor Gonzo was wont to say. If people really believed that the morality of an action dictated a person's course, all those sexually repressed Victorians would have never procreated. But they obviously did, so somebody was doing the nasty when they weren't supposed to. (Probably because it felt good. I wouldn't know since I am a eunuch who has never sinned. Ever.)
ReplyDeleteMy point is, it's my opinion that punishing your kids because they steal and punishing them because they get caught are kinda the same thing if seen from a kid's perspective. You just try and learn how to lie and sneak around better... or at least you THINK you do. I'm told by my mother that it doesn't really matter: parents are inherently smarter than you are and know everything. But, then again, I don't have kids so what they heck do I know, really?
Also, I'm pretty sure that the fall of Greece had more to do with the death of Alexander the Great than the conquering of Athens by the Spartans. Remember that Sparta was conquered shorty after by Thebes who were then, in turn, defeated by the Macedonians. After Alex died, his generals tore the country apart, squabbling over his table scraps like children and subsequently leading Greece down the ultimate road to ruin. The Spartans and the Athenians fought for decades (as did most of the Greece city-states). It wasn't until the Persians invaded that Greece was unified. And (bad movie aside) it was the death of a Spartan king that helped Athens unify in preparation against Xerxes' push from the east. The in-fighting between the Greeks for decades was nothing in comparison with Alexander the Great croaking without an heir and miles from home.
As for the elimination of government, let me take the liberty of reminding you of the last time we decided that the government needed to be eliminated. It was called the Civil War and it was very, very bad.
ReplyDeleteI know that's a judgment call I'm making there... but I think 700,000 dead Americans on both sides of that conflict might agree with me. Y'know... if they weren't dead.
Revolution is generally a very messy affair that usually involves riot gear and fire hoses and tasers and tear gas and unpleasantness. Oh, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. With the exception of that silly Gandhi fella screwing up the batting average, all Revolution has, historically speaking, been a total fucking nightmare. Personally, I'd like to avoid all that. But that's just me.
You are right about the whole thing about the citizens expecting their governments to govern them, though. I mean how dare they! The citizens only elected them and agreed to pay taxes to them so the same governing representatives could spend money on doing just that. How silly of them to believe that their elected representatives should fix roads and establish civil programs and dole out money to people who need it like the hungry or the disenfranchised. That's just absurd! And how dare they expect me to fill out the census! It's an invasion of privacy, I tell you! Why can't they just get this crap right? Jeez, stoopid government. It's almost as if they are made up of regular (albeit it: better educated and wealthier) citizens just like us. Sheesh!
Sorry about the snark and sarcasm. Couldn't be helped. I hope you read it as I wrote it: with humor in your heart and a complete lack of trust in anything serious. Despite my obvious cynicism, I actually DO hope for the best when it comes to the future of the world. Like Socrates, I am not an Athenian or a Greek... or even most times an American... but a citizen of the world.
Hope you're enjoying reading the blog as much as I am writing it. Thanks for the comment.
Sincerely,
d@n