The ‘wine dark sea’ beckons all those who dare plunge into its abyss and rewards those of pure intentions. The Aegean Sea is poetry in perpetual motion. One look at its resplendent mirage on a bright morning is suffice to stay under its spell eternally. As Henry Miller once remarked “it takes a lifetime for someone to discover Greece, but it only takes an instant to fall in love with her”
But don’t take our word for it. Whether visiting, conquering or simply passing by, people across the moving sands of time have invariably fallen under its spell. This is, after all, the sea of gods and goddesses, monsters and slayers, myth and reality. From Herodes Atticus to Lord Byron, Greece, and Athens in particular has held visitors captive under its magic. Now more so than ever the old fables and stories passed down have become more poignant and relevant. Time is not immune to the folly of man. History does repeat itself, often in Thucydidian but similarly in very Odyssian terms.
The allegories and stories once weaved by Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles and his kin still resonate today. Human nature doesn’t change, it only mutates and regurgitates itself in different forms. Once understood, those challenges appear lesser. If there ever was a time to bring back the Classics then surely this must be it.
Greece then, is ground zero for humanity. A place where the foundations of our modern world were laid and a place that is once again proving to be the litmus test for what it means to be free. Greece is the alfa and the omega.
