An expression of independence

Today is Greek independence day, which probably has added significance bearing in mind this country's current difficulties.

It says somewhere at the top of this blog that no man is an island (thank you, John Donne) and by the same token no country is really independent.

We all, to varying degrees, depend on each other and who depends most on whom establishes the nature of the relationship between countries. Hence, the rather frosty feelings between Greece and Germany at the moment.

It would seem that Greece needs Germany to "play nicely" which is something that German politicians don't seem entirely willing to do at the moment. What Germans might well see as being fiscally rigorous, Greeks could see as intransigence. Time will tell.

In the meantime, today will see a parade along the Paralia in Skopelos to celebrate Greece gaining independence from the Ottoman empire in the 19th century. To say that Greece has had a tumultuous history since then would be an understatement and in many senses the fight for independence continues.

Part of the Independence Day parade in Skopelos
a few years ago.

Today is also the celebration of the Annunciation in which the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God. Those with a literal frame of mind will be pleased to note that this is exactly nine months to the day on which we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

While checking a few facts and figures for this posting I came across the claim, which I see no reason to dispute, that according to Greek law every Sunday is a public holiday. In addition there are four obligatory public holidays, one of them being today, and a number of optional holidays. I make no comment on this, no really, I don't.

Other events that have taken place on March 25 over the years include the foundation of Venice in 421 and the passing of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 which abolished slavery in the British Empire. But you knew all that already, didn't you?

I finish with some Greek music and dancing from a slightly odd Greek TV show in which the set is made to resemble a taverna and then every now and again someone gets up to do a bit of singing and dancing. Why they couldn't film in a real taverna to show you what happens when Greek people let their hair down, I don't know, but it will give you some idea.

To bead or not to bead, that is the question

Day by day, the weather here is improving which means you see more people going out for a stroll or βόλτα.

Generally these are single sex groups of Greek people. Why? I don't know, I suppose it's a cultural issue. One thing I notice in the groups of men, particularly if they are slightly older, is that very often some of them will be carrying κομπολόι. What you might call worry beads, although that does seem a slightly trite term for them.

No need to worry when you have these beads.

The  best κομπολόι are things of great beauty. They can be made from a material such as amber and are not cheap. Once the tourist season gets going, inexpensive sets of beads are sold in many shops and probably end up gathering dust in people's home all over the globe.

As an ex-smoker I appreciate the value of keeping your hands occupied. Part of the pleasure I took from smoking was having a variety of items to fiddle with, something I still feel the need to do despite giving up smoking more than two decades ago.

That's where a nice set of κομπολόι could literally come in handy. Skilled practitioners have a variety of methods for counting off the beads, which do not have a religious purpose like rosary beads. I'm sure I'd be quite happily occupied with a set of beads, even though I don't need them to stave off the temptation to light up.

But somewhere in my head there is a niggling doubt about using them if you are a ξένος, a foreigner. I suspect it might be slightly affected to use such things which are so deeply embedded in Greek culture. While some expats seem to be determined to be more Greek than the Greeks, I feel not unlike Popeye who famously uttered: "I am what I am and that's all that I am". In my case, a Brit abroad.

In any case, tucked away in a drawer with all the things that mean little to anyone but me is a set of beads which are arguably infinitely more precious than the finest κομπολόι. These beads were made from modelling clay by my eldest daughter when she was little. None of the beads is the same size or shape, some bear her fingerprints and they are threaded on a tatty piece of red cord, but I love them and that is all that counts.

Songs about beads are hard to come by, but if the purpose of κομπολόι is to help stave off worry then the Beach Boys singing Don't Worry Baby should also do the trick. They don't look much like surfers, do they?

* Beads picture by Dimitris Arvanitis and used under a Creative Commons Licence.

At least I've not lost my marbles

"Billes" by Xavier66 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billes.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Billes.jpg 

Among the more unusual things we brought with us to Greece is a small drawstring bag containing about 70 glass marbles, the type children played with many years ago. The picture above shows the sort I mean.

The bulk of them date from my late father's childhood and a few have  been added from my own childhood.

I think the reason we brought them with us was with the idea of making something with them. However, that never came to fruition and now, if only for sentimental reasons, they will remain in their bag.

And that, for the foreseeable future is the nearest Greece is likely to get to having anything with the word marbles in it coming from Britain.

Yes, this is a rather roundabout way of taking on the thorny issue of the Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Marbles, if you prefer.

While in Britain people may have to stifle a groan, if they show any reaction at all, if the subject of the Elgin Marbles comes up, in Greece feelings run much higher. So it was little surprise to me to read of Greek outrage at the recent news that the British Museum, which holds the Elgin Marbles, has lent some of them to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg for that museum's 250th anniversary celebrations.

The view in Greece seemed to be that if some of the marbles could be transported to Russia then surely there was no good reason they could not all come back to Greece and stay here.

The whys and wherefores of the whole issue are complex and generally people seem to take a stance and then work out the argument which supports that view.

"Elgin marbles frieze". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elgin_marbles_frieze.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Elgin_marbles_frieze.jpg

There is much talk of Hellenic culture, the legality, or otherwise, of what Lord Elgin did, whether the marbles would have survived if they had been left on the Acropolis, and the global appreciation of one of the glories of Western civilization. As I said, people tend to pick the argument that suits them.

The British Musuem seems fairly adamant that what it has, it holds. Meanwhile, the new Acropolis Museum in Athens has a display which clearly shows the parts of the Parthenon Frieze which could be filled in if the British Museum - and other museums - bowed to Greek demands.

A straightforward explanation of the Parthenon, and the marbles debate, is contained in Professor Mary Beard's excellent book Parthenon. It's clear and entertaining, but perhaps significantly, the good professor doesn't come down on either side of the argument. Too smart, I am sure, although she does present clear reasons for and against in the debate.

As a professional historian, Mary Beard may well feel the need to be slightly circumspect on such issues, but that's not a burden I labour under. So, in a nutshell, yes, I think the marbles from the British Museum and other museums around the world should come home to Greece. They belong in Athens and while they may never again grace the building from which they came, they should be close to it to be appreciated as one entity.

Will it ever happen? Obviously not on my say so alone, but surely the time has come for the marbles to be returned. What was legally acceptable in the 19th century would not be countenanced now.

I suspect that one reason the British Museum and other museums resist the idea of returning items such as the marbles is the fear it could open the floodgates for demands from many countries for the restoration of artefacts removed from them for display in museums. Maybe it would, who knows, but if it did surely that would serve to underline that when it comes to cultural heritage our debts are widespread.

* Many, but maybe not all, of you will know that to lose one's marbles means to lose one's wits. Curiously enough in my Chambers Dictionary the definition for this follows on from an explanation of the Elgin Marbles. Whatever some of you may think, I definitely have not lost MY marbles.