by cheri block
I’ll be in Athens in a week or so, the cradle of democracy.
I’ve put Little Cheri to bed and reminded her to take those rose-colored glasses off, lest she imagine the ideal Greece.
She is resisting because half of her fun in life corresponds directly to her ability to stay in the child state. She was hoping to walk down to the port at Piraeus and eavesdrop on an ancient conversation at Cephalus’s house there.
Luckily, she will be traveling with Judge Blah, whose maturity is beyond his years.
Should she express disappointment that riots and tear gas and Molotov cocktails are part of the Athenian landscape now (perhaps even clouding the golden aura around the Acropolis), Judge Blah will pull the hot air balloon she is riding in right down to earth with one stern yank.
Boom!
Thank the gods (especially Athena) that little Cheri is now down on solid ground, ground rumbling with Greek anger.
Judge Blah has made his pronouncement: The rich Greeks are tax avoiders, especially those who own pools.
What would Socrates have said about that? (Before saying anything, Socrates would have made a pass at Judge Blah).
Aristophanes might have written a comedy entitled “The Pools”.
To ready herself for her class on the Athenian citizen Alcibiades, Adult Cheri is reading Plato’s Symposium as part of her assignment.
My goodness. Little Cheri is curious about all the lying down on couches, eating, drinking, flute girl admiring, and homosexuality enjoyed in the Symposium.
Adult Cheri is trying to understand the difference between love and Love in the Symposium. When Aristophanes gets the hiccups, Little Cheri is distracted and amused.
Parent Cheri is annoyed to the max that the one time in her life she will visit Athens, the democracy is in an economic mess.
But this mess is not a new Greek State or state.
Ancient Greece.
Hooray, says Little Cheri!
I completely understand your concerns, but don’t worry, you will see past all the modern noise and experience it as it was. I had the same experience (in my Anglophile days) on my first trips to St. Petersburg, Africa, and believe it or not, London, but you see what you are looking for and you’re only limited by your imagination. Have a great trip and we look forward to hearing about it.
Thanks for that. Maybe I can figure out how to use Judge Blah’s tiny laptop and write a few posts.
Either my camera or my computer gets to go in my bag.
My camera wins.
Yes Cheri, little or otherwise, have a good trip and remeber The Little Prince: “On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur”.
This being said, things are never as bad as the media make them look.
You are correct about the media when it comes to publicizing protests although I read that the Greeks in Athens are furious.
Thanks Paul.
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Just bring some extra cash and bail ‘em out. Then enjoy the remainder of your stay in peace.
That phrase reminds me of a joke about journalists.
When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, instead of rushing to his house to cover the amazing invention, the journalists rushed to the candle makers to find out how they felt.
Yeah, the suicide rate among horses tripled when cars were invented. The invention of the light bulb made this dark side of technological progress even more ironing. Ionic, I mean. So you’re going to Greece? Kewl … I’ve got chills, they’re multiplying … and I’m losing control …
They are furious. The Greek daughter in law of a friend of ours is just back from Athens, arrived Tuesday, from introducing her new baby to her Greek family. On their way to the airport their taxi was pelted with stones. The driver probably took them through a bad spot.
When you touch pensions and safety nets people do get angry, even more so when dictated by outside powers: the IMF and the Eurocrats.
It remains to be seen if our group will go. We are awaiting word in the next 5 days or so.
We’ll see. Meanwhile, I am doing my homework.
I’ve been in the same mood as you lately, Cheri.
Sucks when a place and people spoils the grandeur in my imagination with the banality of … bond ratings.
On the other hand, I’m with Judge Blah on this. In fact, I’m now going to try to dig out a passage from Polybius that seem strangely relevant…
Oh shoot. You’re with Judge Blah on this?
Damn.
Pingback: The Greeks: plus ca change… « The Hannibal Blog
Cheri, check well the news before going, it’s wise to avoid possible riots (often exaggerated by the press) but the beauty of going to Greece, to parts of Southern Italy etc – I am not saying anything new – is the time machine thing. We don’t go there to see things working, but to enrich our mind & heart with something a bit ‘caught in the past’.
I remember this Danish guy in Indonesia (end of 1970s), a place with the time machine set much farther in the past. In an open air market, where all was done by funny bargaining, he exclaimed surprised: “WTH, but here there’s no fixed prices!!”.
We all laughed. We were a lovely couple, Fred and Valerie – she, English, he German: they’ll save us a few days later since we had a bad motor-bike accident) and us Italians (my wife and I plus another guy from Bologna).
Your comment over at Andreas’ rang true like a tuning fork.
And yes, you are right about just enjoying the disorganization of it all ( not a riot, of course!)
I believe we are going, or the group we study with would have called it off by now. Did I tell you my homework?
1. Lots of Thucydides ( too lazy to list all the pages)
2. Plutarch (same)
3. Alcibiades I
4. the Avi Sharon translation of the Symposium
The tutors are four professors from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
I’m hoping to blog a bit while there if I can figure out Judge Blah’s tiny computer…
Good list, but I’d erase Thucydides – VERY boring apart from a few wonderful passages: I much prefer Herodotus – and add a novel such as Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, Roman ok, but totally inspired by the Milesian Greek tales (which didn’t survive) thus providing an excellent introduction to ‘non idealised’ antiquity. It might interested you that Apuleius was possibly a forerunner of Boccaccio and Chaucer. Or, if you prefer only original Greek stuff, why not Greek comedies?
Hi,
The reason for Thucydides is that the entire seminar is about Alcibiades.
I am starting to think about a big topic that I can make small for my masters thesis. I will definitely take a look at Apuleius and his works’ relationship to Boccaccio and Chaucer. Thanks for a great idea.
I can choose anything, from antiquity to modernity, from architecture to history, from literature to philosophy.
You are the expert and know so much about Greek/Roman history. I am your slave in that regard (only).
Wow, my slave … are you trying to use seduction to attain any goal? Don’t forget I am no a real scholar and your charm might be lost.
Alcibiades, such a fascinating topic! Although sad as well, because of his connection to Socrates and especially to the ruin of splendid 5th century Athens, a terrible tragedy, which befits the Greeks after all.
And, since your charm always works, I’ll add also Petronius’ Satyricon is Milesian, and the story of the widow of Ephesus (and the Roman soldier) especially. Wow, check it, it is delightful and it makes every man desire to be that soldier.
PS
It’d be fun if you could blog, and keep us informed a bit.
Oh yes. I will! I have some fun ideas rolling around in my mind about how to blog from Athens.
I am also going to Paris and Normandy, so will be gone for two weeks. Lots to think about, do, and most importantly–write about.
Heaven, really.
My only regret is that Paul Costopolous is not in my purse. He speaks French and Greek…My French is non-existent, except for the usual words. Too bad, I haven’t had time to learn it.
You can always snap a photo with your iPhone and use the free WordPress app to post it.
Mind you, I haven’t personally done that yet. I have the app, just never seem to interrupt an activity to record it.
On second thought, maybe you should ignore this and do something very old-fashioned and obsolete: enjoy.
Pingback: Over at the Hannibal’s. Can We Really ‘Know’ the Greco-Romans? 1 « Man of Roma
I didn’t get to say goodbye, Cheri, but I will have a bowl of oyster stew to wish you great travels! Why eat those little sea creatures? Tied completely to my positive father complex and a favorite Greek establishment I frequented as a young night school undergrad. Oh yes, and also oysters ongoing link with love.
When Aphrodite – that gorgeous Greek goddess of amor – emerged from the sea, some say she rode upon an oyster shell and quickly birthed Eros, giving us the word “aphrodisiac.”
Judge Blah may smile with such historic information!
Good Morning from Northern California, Mary Jane!
You did get to say good-bye because I haven’t left yet. I am packing now, making lists, paying bills, talking to the dog sitter ( Dinah knows and is mopey), and testing my electronic gadgets.
Oysters..hmmm. My positive father complex tells me to eat strawberries and ice cream.
My positive mother complex tells me to eat Feta cheese and vegetables.
I will alert Judge Blah immediately about the oyster effect.
