Eroica (heroically)

A nostalic composition by the sensational Marios Strofalis. The collection of photographs in the slide show depicts immense Hellenic personalities of the past - among others the one and only Konstantinos Kavafis, the brilliant Manos Hatjidakis, Nobel prize-winning poet Odysseas Elitis and George Seferis while it opens with rare photos from Athens in the 1920's.
Revisiting these hauntingly nostalgic images, if one has a familiarity and long connection with Greek people.. one cannot ignore the fact that however small the country, its impact on humanity is too often under-rated and that the survival and growth of Greece has never been an easy business.

Greece at its best has been a birthplace of culture and this has always been its wealth, its abundance.With a mythology so rich embedded in its very language, with the understanding of the compassion, the anger and even the fears of 'the gods', there's no comedy or tragedy that you can teach a Greek nor can you better explain the concept of irony to him. The mere meaning of democracy and tyranny,
the difference between syp-pathy, em-pathy and anti-pathy
poly-nomy, auto-nomy and anti-nomy,
mono-poly, duo-poly and oligo-poly
pluto-cracy vs demo-cracy vs theo-cracy
and hundreds if not thousands of concepts more that are Greek principles by birthright that have evenhandedly gifted the rest of the world with their own wealth.

Claiming that Greeks also have to make excellent bankers, financial analysts and politicians is like expecting all people to be the same when they are not. Almost like giving little mirrors and bangles away to an indigenous people in south America who are nomads and years later expecting them to be like you, dress like you and talk like you. Greeks are apparently also a little different. While Anglo-Saxon cultures have excelled in banking and insurance, the Greeks have freely gifted them most of the words and concepts which their contracts are worded with.

But apparently there is some trade-off...
The current sticky situation in Greece is an ugly one but not a new one for the Hellenes who have spent their entire existence conquering and being conquered and cycling between rise and declines. The test of time shows that after Nemesis (Νέμεσις) has washed away the Hubris ('Υβρις) there will again come a peaceful time for the Hellenes and they will stand on their feet again. The question is will Europe be able to eventually see through its 'defeat' and embody new meanings to its new state when Greek words have finished.

More eloquently said.. by the great Manos Hatzidakis

I just realized that what I tried to describe as the beautiful feeling of spring in Greece (in my last post), has already been said, more poetically, more eloquently and at least 40 years in advance by the brilliant composer Hatzidakis..

Nana Mouskouri

'The Greeks' have a tragic tendency to praise talent and importance after death. This may be partly due to wisdom, as indeed one's entire role in life can only be fully judged by what this person leaves behind. On the other hand, this austerity of judgement may also embody - in a nutshell - why Greek culture has failed to progress significantly since our country was granted independence and was re-established as a state after 1821.

As a Greek citizen, this factor is indeed quite saddening at times when repeatedly in history it has proved to require death, before the acknowledgement of a hero or a patriot who has paid his/her dues to serving their conscience and justifying patriotic means at the same time.

Nana Mouskouri is a Lady (with all the meaning of the word) who has served Greece and yet has hardly been acknowledged or appreciated by the Greek state anywhere near as much as as she has earned and deserved through her long career in music and later politics. After having sold over 300 million records worldwide and having represented Greece with utmost grace and persistence, for just over 50 years, it is blatantly clear that she deserves a great deal more recognition from the Greek state and Greek people than she has received. If she were British she would have been Knighted by the Queen to say the least.

Politics: Nana Mouskouri was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1993. She took over from the previous ambassador, the recently deceased actress Audrey Hepburn. Mouskouri's first U.N. mission took her to Bosnia to draw attention to the plight of children affected by Bosnian war. She was deeply moved by her experience in Bosnia and went on to give a series of fund-raising concerts in Sweden and Belgium.

She was elected a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 until 1999, when she resigned from her position as an MEP, reportedly because as a pacifist, she refused to back wars.

As it goes and as one Greek to another, from a much younger generation than you Nana, and with the humility appointed to me by no one else other by my conscience, I say THANK YOU Nana, for your devotion to art and humanity and for your unrecognized efforts for Greece.

An m'agapas by Tania Tsanaklidou

Not by any means a new hit. 'An m'agapas' is perhaps one of the most characterstic and beautiful hymns that marked living in greece in the late 70's or early 80's in Greece. Tania's extraordinary voice led her to a very succesful carreer with a refined audience at a safe distance from Greek Pop. 

An m'agapas means "If you love me.."

If you love me.. I'll steal colours of the fire and a white linen. 

The two of us will re-sketch life. 

If you love me.. there will be no grey for you to watch, 

you'll hold me 

and to ceremonial shores you will take me. 

But if all these, which seem like crazy dreams, become a roar. 

If all these, and whatever I've imagined, doesn't come. 

It will be a loss, the light will become dark, and will vanish, 

because perhaps.. for me the world is you.. only you..

Beautiful scenes of Greece and Greek monuments

I wanted to share this video I found on youtube with some of the nicest images of ancient Greek monuments I have come across, compiled together. The music by Vangelis also seems appropriately monumental. Enjoy!

Welcome to the GreekJewellery Blog

First entry to this new journal. Well I'm certainly not planning to keep this blog strictly Greek Jewelry so I'd like to share the brilliant voice of Eleni Tsalgopoulou as a welcoming chant. "Ego s'agapisa edo" is a love song with an earthly appeal of simplicity.



Ego s'agapisa edo,
Pou nasai tora, pou girnas..
Se pio kainourgio ourano
xhromata kleveis..

Ennoioses pali ta ftera,
Ti sou'vale xana fotia,
Se pio limani, pio stathmo
Kardia gireveis..

Pos na kratisei to kormi apopse i nihta
Tora o kosmos ehei hasei mia strofi
Ego den milisa gia thavmata, den eipa
Den sou stathike kanenas pio poli

English translation: Hmm a little of the poetry is inevitably lost but this was my best attempt.

I fell in love with you here,
Where could you be now, where are you wandering,
Which sky and where,
are you stealing the colours from?

You felt your wings again,
even though you were blazed on fire.
At which harbour, what station
are you searching for another heart

How can the night sustain the body,
Now the earth has missed a turn,
I never spoke of miracles,
No-one stood up for you more than me

I fell in love with you here
back in the moons (days) of rain
You waited so long, for a rest,
A smile from you was enough for me,
to watch you awaken.
Never did I imagine,
that you would forget.

How can the night sustain the body,
Now the earth has missed a turn,
I never spoke of miracles,
No-one stood up for you more than me

My little harsh man of honor,
wherever you are, wherever you wander
Don't ask about me there
I fell in love with you here