Chapter 19 longing for greece

Greece is so different. Chinese who are accustomed to worshiping Bodhisattvas must have been quite surprised when they first saw a nude statue of Venus.The traditions of this Aegean country—what citizens, elections, etc.—have nothing to do with our history of divine right.It turns out that the entire Western civilization went to Greece to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors.In fact, the fate of Greece is even more pitiful than that of modern China: in the nearly two thousand years from the time of Alexander's Macedonian Empire to the end of World War I, Greece has never been independent at all; Romans, Ostrogoths, Venetians, and Turks took turns Sitting in the village, the German army was the actual ruler here during World War II.Greece's fortunes were so bad that the sympathetic Chinese suddenly softened their hearts.Looking at the healthy statues of Greek gods again, I feel that it is not so surprising, and I even discovered some advantages of them: when the palaces supported by our ancestors with golden nanmu corroded over the years, those ancient temples in Greece Still standing, after all, they are made of stone.

In my opinion, no matter how later generations make use of the topic in comparing Eastern and Western civilizations, any civilization is originally worthy of respect, and there is absolutely no need for us to compare it with our own culture before expressing our position.As the American proverb goes: "Apples are apples and oranges are oranges." I yearn for Greece precisely because it is different. When I came to Athens excitedly with a head full of Greek mythology and Homer epic, I was disappointed.The whole city is covered by gray concrete buildings that are not high or low, which is really mediocre; the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis Hill is full of tourists, which adds to the irritability in the scorching summer.In addition, the temple is being repaired, and the beautiful stone pillars are blocked by scaffolding, which makes them lose their elegance.I had no choice but to hastily took a commemorative photo to show that I came here for a visit-in fact, who was it for?Anyway, not for myself.It seems to be to show off to others in the future.

In the evening, I went to a well-known "Aristotle" restaurant for dinner. The food was nothing special, but the price was impressive: a sea prawn as thick as an index finger was priced at four dollars for raw materials, plus cooking and service fees. Up to five dollars.I smiled and said, "This price makes me feel like I'm in some desert country, not this seaside city." What's more, when the bill was handed over, there were two or three dishes that I hadn't ordered at all.While being surprised loudly, the guests at the table turned their heads: "There are also quite a few discrepancies in our bills, and the Greeks' wisdom is all used in this regard."

I remember a French friend told me that she has always yearned for Beijing, but after visiting the Forbidden City and the Ming Tombs, she thought it was not as good as she imagined, so she shouted "distance is a necessary condition for beauty".I also felt the same way in Athens: the most famous historic site here has long been surrounded by modern businesses, but in the lobby of a state-level hotel, I discovered what a "long history" is from the worn and faded sofa cushions.It’s not surprising when you think about it. The TV shows, photos, texts, etc. about the ancient city we’ve been exposed to all try to portray the best image from the best angle, plus our perfect and beautiful fantasy skills, how can we stand up to the routine? What about taking a quick look at the flowers?I can't help but doubt the significance of travel as never before.

My friends in Athens advised me not to be disappointed.They said, "Want to see the real Greece? Go to the Aegean." I listened to them. After seeing the blue color of the Aegean Sea, I feel that the rest of the sea is always chaotic and unclear.Here are all rocky coasts, and the so-called beaches are full of coarse stones, with very little sediment, so the water several meters deep is crystal clear, and fish can be seen swimming. Going deeper, the overlapping waves absorb and shake the sky light to their heart's content, turning into an opaque and extremely pure blue, which seems to have a sticky feeling, which makes people feel that their minds are rippling along with it, and then they understand How well Homer described the Aegean Sea as "the color of rich wine".

In this wine-like sea, I am more and more intoxicated day by day: the tall windmills and leisurely gannets on the island of Mykonos make me almost lazy with pleasure and relaxation; The beautiful murals and the formidable castle made me feel awe in a long and short sigh.And the most memorable ones are Dinos (Delos) and Santorini (Santorini). Dinos Island is very desolate, so desolate that on this island of tens of square kilometers, no one lives except for two or three administrators who guard the island.At the foot of the mountain, the once tall and straight Temple of Apollo, the sun god, collapsed; on the top of the mountain, there is only one platform left of the once glorious Temple of Hera; on the hillside, hundreds of stone houses without side roofs are still in order , the wide stone street is still clean, and the semi-circular amphitheater can still accommodate 500 spectators at any time.In the millennium around the fourth century BC, Dinos Island was the political and religious center of the republics in the Aegean Sea, and its commerce was also very developed.It is said that as many as 10,000 slaves are bought and sold there every day.In the harbor of Dinos Island back then, merchant ships gathered and it was very lively.The quadrennial Harvest Festival is the most important festival in all of Greece.During festive seasons, residents from surrounding islands come here to gather here one after another to pay homage to the gods, drink wine and watch theaters all night long.But the good times didn't last long. Once the Romans attacked, the Greek soldiers guarding the island were wiped out.The red-eyed Romans didn't stop, they hacked and killed more than 40,000 civilians on the island.For a while, he cried and shouted, and his flesh and blood flew everywhere.Probably because there were too many murders, even the mighty Romans did not dare to stay on the island for a long time.As a result, Dinos Island, which was in full bloom for a while, became a no-man's land. The smell of blood and corruption on the island has not diminished for years, and the passing ships are too late to hide, so how dare they dock?

This famine lasted for more than two thousand years. The wreckage of the broken sword has been turned into mud, where will the wandering ghosts make their home today?Dinos Island is a famous windy island, and the doors and windows of the houses in the past were very small.When the strong sea wind passed through these doors and windows, there was a strange whimpering sound, which made people chill.Knee-less weeds grew luxuriantly, and stretches of stone pillars and stone platforms protruded half of their bodies from the grass, white and gloomy.I was overwhelmed by this desolate island, and I didn't dare to speak loudly, and my face was hurt by the wind.

In the desolation and desolation, I found five intact stone lions (according to the administrator, there were nine in total, and four were damaged).Standing tall, they are as big as real lions, and they all look like lionesses.Their streamlined figures are still round and smooth after two thousand years of wind and rain.On the full head, the facial features have been blurred, but the calm and steady aura still exists, with an awe-inspiring and inviolable expression.At first, I blamed the careless Greeks for leaving this priceless national treasure on this desert island, but the administrator told me that the shape of these stone lions is very mechanical, and it is not easy to break if it is not for human reasons.Besides, they are the symbols of the island, and if they were removed, Dinos Island would really be lifeless.After a pause, he continued: "Don't look at us living on the island, but we are just guests, they are the masters of this island."

When the boat left the island, I was the last one to go.Looking back at the huge ruins, I am no longer afraid: the five strong and gentle stone lions will definitely guard Dinos Island well. Civilization was born and collapsed, but once was enough, so that future generations will always have reference content.People have tried various methods of immortality unremittingly, but unexpectedly, they got eternal life in the stone they carved. Santorini and Dinos can be said to be the complete opposite.According to legend, this island is the only part of the ancient Atlantic country that sank to the bottom of the sea after a volcanic eruption.Every half century or so, the island experiences a devastating earthquake.The last time it happened was in the fifties.Arguably, this should be enough to make Santorini a desert island.

But strangely, people evacuated and came back; houses collapsed and were rebuilt again. People are so busy and happy that they are deaf to the spell of nature.Which one is more terrifying than Dinos Island, natural disasters or man-made disasters? The main city of Santorini Island is on a 300-meter-high cliff, and the pure white flat-roofed houses are scattered unhurriedly. From a distance, it looks like a cloud falling from the blue sky.On the winding mountain road, there are teams of mules and horses carrying tourists up slowly.Every time we come to a turning point, these livestock also know how to stop for a while, so that we outsiders can make a fuss about the surrounding scenery.The mules are used to the business of packers going up the mountain, and they probably know some travel psychology.It's just that if they encounter a fat tourist, the mules also know how to avoid the heavy ones and take the light ones, and they will run away from them far away.It wasn't until their master got angry and yelled at them to come over that the eldest reluctantly came forward, still breathing.

Anyone who has climbed to the top of Santorini will be refreshed.There are almost only two colors here: blue and white.The former is the untainted sea and sky, and the latter is the clean houses and streets. In this blue and white world, I was amazed at the simplicity of the Greek residents. It was a combination of simple cubes: flat roof, straight walls.The outer wall of the wall is very rough, as if the masons on the island were very careless and never smoothed; the island is not too windy, so the doors and windows are nailed with solid boards.Two ordinary pieces, small and strong, and the surface of the board is not planed.When planting flowers, I only picked the flattest types, and planted them carelessly in rough clay pots half the height of a person, letting the brilliant little flowers climb all over the low-rise walls. The Greeks also pay attention to the place: that is the purity of the color.The dome of the church and the doors and windows of the house are all painted sky blue—— How is it different from the color of the Aegean Sea?Just paint it, why does it seem that the same bucket of paint is used, there is no difference in shade between the east and west of the island?Maybe everyone discussed it and simply used the sea as a common reference?There is also the white of the walls of each house, as pure as sunlight filtered.If the color faded a little, someone adjusted a thick white ash and wiped it all over the sky until it was as bright as new.Even the gaps in the stone road are painted the same white.I saw a person holding a bucket of white paste, kneeling at the street corner, carefully painting with a narrow brush, preventing any white from splashing on the slate. If such simple colors and simple folk houses are scattered among the red walls and golden tiles, they will definitely look shabby; but they form a mountain and an island in Santorini Island, reflecting the same pure sea water and sky, they will be beautiful. It is indescribably refreshing.Because many people live close to the mountains and the houses are scattered in different heights, the neighbor's balcony becomes the roof of their own house; The stone ladder of my own house has become another neighbor's shade.There are thick or light gray shadows in the narrow alleys, which are cast by the half-opened doors and windows of the residents on both sides.In this high and low staggering, the surrounding scenery appears vivid, without any suspicion of monotony and rigidity. It was in this extremely clean environment that I realized that it is not surprising that the Greeks created a healthy and elegant culture. Sitting under the olive tree, looking at the end of the sea, thinking about the ebb and flow of the tide, you will have a philosopher; admiring the wife with fluttering skirts in the sea breeze, looking at the healthy and lively children, and carving gods into their appearance, There are sculptors; life is not too difficult to guard the fertile soil, so a few old brothers talked about heroes' stories with fuel and vinegar while drinking; With theater and drama, it is quite natural.As for the remaining energy, I want to show my muscles in the warm Mediterranean sun, compete with my peers from far and near islands to throw distance and strength, or to commemorate a soldier, run the distance he has run (marathon), and it is no coincidence that the Rodeo was born. In my opinion, European Romantic art is too much velvet and lace, and the portraits of dignitaries are so lifelike; Baroque art is too sensual, and the human body is painted red, red and white, fresh and bright as if waiting for a price. Gu's meat market.However, Greek paintings and sculptures always maintain a kind of serenity and simplicity.Man, and man himself, was the subject of Greek art, and the images of these men always emanated the soul of the gods, and man became immortal. The beauty of Greek civilization comes from harmony.And a harmonious civilization is produced in this harmonious nature.The real cultural tradition does not only exist in archaeological significance, but also a mood and attitude that has been fully integrated into the lives of the people. This is the Greece I really yearn for.