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| By Christos Roumeliotis |
You came
from miles away from the other side of the World!
Have a nice
rest in this historic city of Athens!
Ascend the
stairs of its eternal myths!
Talk
with the mythical kings who ruled this city!
Visit
the temples of the gods who protected it!
Admire the
works of creators of culture!
Follow
the way of thinking of its politicians and leaders!
Visit,
along with thousands of other visitors, the Holy rock of Acro-Polis!
Devote
little of your time to the superb Parthenon temple!
Walk the
streets and the squares, the alleys and the monuments of Athens!
Enjoy
the flavors and aromas of the old and the new Athens!
But if the godly heroes and mythical Kings
lived today what would you say?
Take a
look at a small hymn honoring those who have contributed
3000 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST - MYTHIC
PERIOD
Oh
Mythical King Cecrops, serpentine King!
Lawful
dweller of the sacred rocky Palace!
Fatherland
of the Ionian tribe descendants!
Oh Mythical
King Cecrops Great Monarch!
You
abolished the human sacrifices!
You brought
the Culture, The Writing, the Reading,
and the Ceremonies to your City – Polis –
State!
1300 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST – MYCENAEN PRE-HOMERIC
PERIOD
Oh Mega
King Erechtheus, High priest, probably Son of Goddess Athena!
Progeny
maybe of Egyptian Kings!
You
saved Athens from hunger you brought plenty of wheat for bread!
You ruled
appropriately and bestowed the name of your mother
to the
inhabitants of this Polis-City "Athenians"!
We, the
humble inhabitants of today, We pay honor
to you!
1100 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Oh Great
King Codrus! You offered your life to save this beautiful peninsula
called
Attica on the southernmost edge of the Balkan Peninsula!
1000-900-800 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST (DORIC PERIOD)
Oh suffering
citizens of Athens, Athenians, in
darkness thrown for nearly 3 centuries by the Dorians.
Oh Big Theseus
splendid King, son of Aegeus and perhaps offspring of Princess Aethra and
Poseidon!
You unified all villages of Attica. You
assembled the multiple tribes of Attica into four!
You
assembled the social classes in Panathenaia!
You created a glorious celebration ceremony with Games the so called “Panathenaea” around Acro-polis!
We own a
crown of gold, glory and honor to you and to your friends Alcmaeonidae and
Megaris, Corinthians and Sikionis!
We
deserve honor also to Dragon 6th BC, as he made Athens again rich, strong and
with more justice!
639-599 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Oh Solon
wise Legislator, progeny of the King Codrus!
You
erected the foundations for Democracy!
561-527 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Oh Great
Democrat Peisistratus!
Hippias
and Hipparchus populists and pseudo Democrats Excesses power!
You were
granted by the farmers of Attica!
But what
would you do without the help of the wise artists and writers ?
507 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Oh Cleisthenes splendid legislator,
reformer and constitutionalist!
You established the 10 tribes and their
representatives 500 senators!
You created with the Ecclesia the senate
of Athens!
Oh Tyrants
of oligarchy, or Ten Generals & Rulers of Athens!
No one
is excluded from expulsion!
If
arrogance, nepotism, ambition overwhelms anyone and ignores the commands
of the
people and the Gods and harms democracy!
521-486 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Oh foolish King of Persians Darius!
Υou committed a terrible mistake!
And Υou also foolish next king of Persians Xerxes with your General Mardonius!
Υou committed the same mistake
underestimating the force of the United Greeks!
in 490 BC
in Marathon Battle!
in 480
BC at Thermopylae Battle!
in 480
BC at Salamis island naval Battle!
in 479 at
Plataea Battle!
You misjudged
the Greek Unity and the strength of their
naval fleet!
Under
their leader Admiral Themistocles!
You were
thrashed and returned humiliated to your homeland!
And You Themistocles,
You received
in return for your contribution, the bitter exile 472-471 BC!
432-402 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST GREEK
STATES IN CIVIL WAR
Oh Athenians
commercial and war ships - fleet owners, rulers of the Aegean Sea!
Oh Spartans
rigid warriors, rulers of the Heart of Peloponnesus the Doric Land Arcadia!
Fate for
you the bloodshed and incessant anguish State Civil War!
Oh Great
General Pericles visionary and prematurely Ruler!
You lost
your life from plague epidemic in 429 BC!
You did
not witness the havoc defeat of Athens!
from the Spartan Admiral Lysander 404 BC!
General
Ruler Pericles!
You Are the
inspirer of the construction of the Parthenon!
You were
the mentor of the great artists Phidias Ictinus and Callicrates!
You were
so intelligent and You did brilliant work!
You
united in the Parthenon interior frieze,
The tradition
with the democratic renewal of Athens!
You
created a rare balance of the past and the present!
Parthenon
was the Treasury of Athens!
Parthenon
was the place with the golden and ivory statue dedicated to the Goddess Athena!
The
Parthenon frieze and the marbles of the metopes many invaders envied!
And so
many enemies respected the brilliance and did not touch during many centuries!
Honor to
the famous and anonymous architects, humble laborers, craftsmen!
Honor to
the slaves and cooks, who for 15 years have worked very hard 447-432 to build
Acropolis!
Honor to
those who worked for this Miracle called Parthenon!
CHORUS:
Oh Great
Athenian Rulers!
You
established countless Theaters all round the Greek World!
You created
thousands of artistic statues, monuments and Temples!
You did the
Pnyx the first Assembly of the world and the Agora of Athens!
You did
the Areopagus court and Poikili Gallery!
You
inspired the nations of the eastern and western world with your model!
And you Sages,Comedy
or Drama writers!
525-455 BC! Aeschylus poet
522-443
BC Pindar poet!
518-452 BC Vacchylides
poet!
496-406 BC Sophocles
poet!
494-429
BC Pericles General and poet!
480-406 BC Euripides
poet!
470-399 BC Socrates
philosopher !
445-386
BC Aristophanes poet!
427-387
BC Plato philosopher!
384-322
BC Demosthenes orator!
384-322
BC Aristotle philosopher!
342-292
BC Menander poet!
345-261
BC Menedemus Philosopher from Eretria!
Write
and sing about the past, present and the future!
Write and
sing for the good and the right of the battered Homeland Greece!
“We
the sages, poets, songsters and orators
We
have seen wars, unspeakable tragedies and disasters
We
met with fame and glory, ignorance and apathy, but also eternity
We
agree and we simply have to say
Many
invaders got jealous of or wanted to conquer
Athens with its Acropolis
They
committed more or less insult and received relentless Nemesis
1.
490-480 BC Persians by Darius and Xerxes
2.
431-404 BC Spartans by Archidamus B
and Lissander!
3.
357-307 BC Macedonian King Philip!
4.
357-307 BC Macedonian Alexander the Great!
5.
86 BC Romans to 160 AD!
6.
267 Heruli and Goths!
7.
435 Byzantines to 1453 AD!
8.
1204 Frank Crusaders !
9.
1204 Burgundians Raiders !
10.
1225 Latinos! From to 1308
11.
1225 Aragoni and Catalans!
12.
1387 The Florentines !
13.
1456 Muslims to 1826!
14.
1680 Venetians!
15.
1687 Francesco Morozini!
16.
1801 Elgin Anglo-Saxon removed sculptures from the Parthenon!
17.
1833 French!
18.
1941 German Nazi!
The
Land many invaders conquered but no one dominated the spirit of Athens!
Oh
Athenians occasionally apart and occasionally unified with the rest of Greeks!
With
struggles, sacrifices and blood you gave the proper response
to
intruders and trespassers of freedom and democracy!
Oh
Athenians be proud you endured through uncountable
time!
Oh
Greeks go further on into new fields of glory, freedom and democracy”!
2019
YEARS AFTER CHRIST!
Oh dear visitors
of the town!
Be given the joy of the monuments of the
City!
Tourism may be interrelated with Peace,
Culture and Solidarity between people!
Under the auspices of the Glorious
Acropolis, eternal abode of tradition of art and freedom!
Note (*): the above historical data is constantly
subject improvements!
Sources: Blue Guides Hachette-Giallelis,
Wikipedia, M. Karagatsis,
Luigi Mpeski, elements of the History of
Paparigopoyloy etc.
Date
19/9/2018. Christos Roumeliotis, e-mail: novus.sales@gmail.com
See also photos and texts at https://hasph.blogspot.gr
GREAT WRITERS OF ΤΗΕ ANTIQUITY BEFORE CHRIST
ODYSSEYS BY HOMER:
Homer’s Odyssey
(8th century BC) narrates the adventurous return of Odysseus to his homeland,
Ithaca, after the end of the Trojan War. The unsurpassed heroic epic of
antiquity can be seen as a masterful allegory for the travel of man through the
torturous paths of life. In the famous prooimion, the first few lines of the
poem, the poet is calling for inspirations from a Muse, who will aid him
narrate the story of skilful and cunning Odysseus.
THE HOMERIC HUMN TO APHRODITE:
Homeric hymns
are a collection of poems celebrating the major deities of the Greek pantheon.
They were performed in front of an audience during rhapsodic contests,
religious celebrations or events. In antiquity they were considered works of
Homer. Today they are considered works of the Homerides, rhapsodists who
continued Homer’s work in the same poetic style, during the 6th century B.C. In
this famous hymn “To Aphrodite” (7th – 6th century B.C.) the goddess is praised
for her unique beauty and her irresistible power to inspire love. After Zeus’
intervention, she falls in love with a mortal, Anchises.
ANTIGONE BY SOPHOCLES:
A worldwide
symbol for love and resistance, Antigone is considered one of the greatest
creations of Sophocles (496 BC – 406 BC), a pre-eminent tragic poet of
antiquity. She decides to bury her dead brother Polynices despite the ban
imposed by the King of Thebes, Creon. The clash between the two heroes reflects
the eternal conflict between written and unwritten laws. Antigone performs her
sacred duty towards a loved relative, marching heroically to her death. The
tragedy was presented in 442 BC.
PERICLES’ FUNERAL ORATION BY THUCIDIDES:
Thucydides (460
BC – 400 BC) was an Athenian historian and General, the father of history as a
science. In the second book of the History of the Peloponnesian
War, he inserted Pericles’
Funeral Oration, delivered in honour of the dead of the first year of the War
(431 BC – 404 BC), which ended with the destruction of Athens. The Funeral
Oration praises the political, economic, social, military and intellectual
achievements of the Athenian State, which was the cradle of democracy.
ASSEMBLY WOMEN BY ARISTOPHANES:
Aristophanes
(445 BC – 386 BC) is considered the “father of comedy”. In his works he
uniquely combined modern political satire with allegory and fantasy. After the
defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, the women of the city, led by the ingenious
Praxagora, dress as men, penetrate into the Popular Assembly and take over the
government. In this excerpt, Praxagora analyzes her innovative system to her
husband, Vlepiros.
LYSISTRATA BY ARISTOPHANES:
Lysistrata, one of Aristophanes’ (445 BC – 386 BC)
most important anti-war comedies, was presented in 411 BC. While the
Peloponnesian War is raging, Lysistrata, a brilliant and dynamic Athenian,
convinces the women of Athens and Sparta to abstain from their «marital duties»
aiming to end the hostilities between the two cities. In this excerpt, the
women who have conquered Acropolis, expel an elder representative of the
Popular Assembly,who has come to dissuade them.
SYMPOSIUM BY PLATO:
Is Eros a mortal
or a God? Plato (427 BC – 347 BC), a great ancient Greek philosopher who
defined the whole course of Western thought, negotiates the nature and
complexity of love in the Symposium (385 BC). This is a bold, intelligent and intriguing dialogue
between highly educated men, who engage in a philosophical conversation during
a lavish symposium.
RHETORIC BY ARISTOTE:
In the three
books of this work, Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC), a famous philosopher and
founder of Logic, examines the practice of rhetoric, which he defines as the
art of persuasion. At the time of Athens’ political and cultural acme, rhetoric
reached unprecedented heights thanks to the democratic institutions that gave
free citizens the opportunity to discuss all matters of the polis in the Popular Assembly, the Parliament and
the Courts. In this excerpt, Aristotle analyzes the characteristics of young
people.
SOME QUOTES....
ARISTOPHANE: The
earth (of Attica) shall belong to all, and the wealth as well...
ARISTOTE: Because
the young ones youth loves to excel...
ARISTOPHANE: Oh,
Wealth, mightier of all the gods..
SOPHOCLES: I was
not born for hate, but for love..
THUCYDIDES: The
whole earth is a tomb of great men...
ARISTOPHANE: I
was born a woman, but please do not envy me for that...
PLATO: And Eros
means the love for beautiful things,thank therefore Eros is a philosopher...
HOMER: I am
Odysseus, son of Laertes, known to the world for every kind of craft, and my
fame has reached the skies...
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