visiting greece. lovely snow-capped mountains rolling fields dipping valleys and breathtaking views. the cradle of civilization, they tell me proudly. the intellectual foundation of western thought philosophy science and literature. the ancient monuments are magnificent. what manner of hand shaped those pillars carved those likenesses? what manner of mind thought of kronos and chairos when i only think of time? or calls a dateline the appointed time, infinitely more elegantly and efficiently? what manner of training gave us Socrates Aristotole Homer Alexander and such?
what happened? that i should look at thessaloniki today and cannot conceive of it in its heyday. that i should walk the streets of athens and be aware only of an anticlimax. the utilitarian buildings. the graffiti. the unemployed. the strays. the run-down the unwashed the cheap touristy knock-offs and the things that don't work.
what happened? that i hear of chinese israeli german american japanese korean innovations but not of greek? that one thinks of greece more in terms of the greek life in american colleges than in terms of modern philosophy architecture or scientific discoveries?
when did the sublime become so defiled?
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