Even though Greece is heralded as one of the most influential civilisations of all time, I still don’t think they get their full bouquet of flowers. This civilisation was the literal mouthpiece of the world, connecting east to west, and introducing millennia-old mythologies and ideologies to Europe. If it wasn’t for Greece, we wouldn’t have the Romans, Byzantine Europe, Orthodoxy, Engineering, Medicine – the list goes on. Even our modern-day understanding of ‘spirituality’, and ideas around enlightenment, stoicism, and politics would be radically different.

The Ancient Greeks took great pride in their knowledge, building enormous libraries to store these ancient texts. They spectated orators who would air their grievances (or propaganda) toward the government. They believed creativity and imagination was something that could help cure a sick mind. They were polytheistic, practicing democracy even in the context of faith. They understood the important of physical strength and psychology. They weren’t perfect. I’m pretty sure in todays terms they’d be coined pedophile-serial-boy-rapists, but hey, that’s another conversation for another time. The fact is: The Ancient Greeks strived for perfection.

There’s an ancient site in Santorini not that many people go to. It’s called Ancient Thera. It’s on top of Profitis Ilias mountain. Both the Greeks and the Romans were there and left architectural remnants of both civilisations. Immediately you can spot the Greek masonry. The stone looks like it was cut with a laser. The gaps between each stone – well, there aren’t any. It’s an engineering masterpiece. You can see this at the Acropolis also, I just like the example in Santorini more.

Did you know that when the Greeks built the temple columns, they’d be constructed in segments, with a small wooden cube fitted between each piece to allow a little bit of movement, but also a secure fit. The cutting of these stones were so precise that when archeologists deconstructed some of the colums the wood had petrified. Not one drop of oxygen had reached that piece of wood for millennias. I just can’t wrap my head around that.

Now, lets talk about Greece at present.

The issue is not that this culture no longer lives within them. The Greeks are without a doubt, one of the most intelligent cultures I’ve ever met. From their linguistics to their mythological history, they have a firmer grasp on the philosophies of life than most, maybe similar to how I imagine Taoist’s or Mongolian tribes do. They have an innate relationship with nature, with food and community. They even demonstrate an understanding of generational wealth, with grandparents leaving their properties to their grandchildren in their will.

But the difference between Greece ‘then’ and Greece ‘now’ is money. Greece is poor. Not even a bit poor. They’re piss poor. It’s the second poorest country in Europe, sitting just above Bulgaria.

There’s something poverty does to a man. It makes him desperate. It makes him sneaky and deceptive. It makes him lie to his own mother. This is modern day Greece. He’s an overly-confident businessman who believes he’s savvy enough to have a piece written about him one day. His favourite movie is Wolf of Wall Street. He shitposts on reddit about capitalism. He is dishonest, greedy, and will do half a job and demand double the money.

I see this with my own two eyes. I see the lack of care in craftsmanship. The rejection of beauty. This masquerade of being a great civilasation that taught the world democracy, medicine, and gave us the Olympics, but you can’t even find an english language option on a government website.

Workers have no pride. The women at the government offices are some of the unfriendliest, coldest humans you’ll meet. A plumber will come over to fix one issue yet create another due to his lack of care – that’s if they ever turn up. You’re sent to the four corners of the world to officiate some kind of document because no one knows what the fuck they’re doing. There’s no communication, no organisation, no funding, no love.

It’s sad. This isn’t a complaint about Greece. I have enough space in my heart to accomodate their last millennia of history and what it’s done to them. I’ve seen them lose their hair over debt. Seen shops come and go due to outrageous tax laws. Seen highly-educated people work in coffee shops due to dried up job markets. It’s not their fault, it just seems like they’ve given up.

It’s like the kid at school that was destined for great things. They had top grades, applied themselves to everything they did, had a loving family and whatever else those kids need. Then he rebels, gets in to the wrong crowd, makes a series of shitty decisions and now lives in his parents basement in his 40’s. He’s ashamed. He’s ashamed he never lived up his peers aspirations. His friends have moved on and got married and have good jobs whilst he’s struggling to hold a job down for more than six months. He’s been crushed by his own greatness – or lack thereof.

I don’t know if it will change. Maybe too much water is under the bridge. Athens’ is definitely too far gone. Attempts to reclaim the city are few and far between. Greece has been sold out to Israel, the Arabs, America – everyone but the Greeks. They can’t afford to go anywhere, do anything, even take the boat to their beloved islands as the ferry industry’s been monopolised and tickets are disgustingly expensive. They live in a suspended animation, watching huge skyscrapers be built on the shorelines of Attika and the islands, whilst they struggle to even make ends meet. It’s a moden day latin-america infrastructure.

The Greeks have lost Greece, and who owns Greece now doesn’t mind that. There’s money to be made. Hotels to build. Beaches to privatise. People to fuck over. And just like how we inevitably become our parents, the Greeks have become slaves to their economic masters. Half of Exarchia district is priced out due to Israeli’s buying up everything. Say goodbye to renting a place on your own. Your 600EU salary won’t get far when average rent is 400EU per month. You’re fucked. You’re better to stay at home and lament how the good old days were. You know, before the famine, before the Nazis, before the Ottomans enslaved you, before the Romans boot-legged your culture, you know, 2500 years ago. Weren’t those the days, eh!