Other
Personal All Time Classic Music
A small collection of timeless Greek compositions and performances that have stayed with me over the years.
1) To Vals Ton Hamenon Oniron
Composer: Manos Chatzidakis
https://youtu.be/KV0vPtPv3lw
2) I Melagholia Tis Eftihias
Composer: Manos Chatzidakis
https://youtu.be/m4-_Gk76pCU
3) Tha Simanoun Oi Kampanes
Performer: Grigoris Bithikotsis
Lyrics: Giannis Ritsos
Composer: Mikis Theodorakis
https://youtu.be/BD9GfcIEE6Y
Poetry and Quotes
A curated selection of poetry, excerpts, and reflections that resonate with me.
These pieces revolve around responsibility, humanity, and the journey of life.
1) Responsibility
“Love responsibility. Say: It is my duty, and mine alone, to save the earth.
If it is not saved, then I alone am to blame.”
— Nikos Kazantzakis, Ascesis (1927)
- More information on the book:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saviors_of_God - Nikos Kazantzakis Museum:
https://www.kazantzaki.gr/en - Documentary in English: https://youtu.be/BVsSSkUJCkQ, and in Greek: https://youtu.be/vOeoRrhmuZw
2) Humanity as the Solution
“In our gradually shrinking world, everyone is in need of all the others.
We must look for man wherever we can find him.
When on his way to Thebes Oedipus encountered the Sphinx, his answer to its riddle was: ‘Man’.
That simple word destroyed the monster.”
— Giorgos Seferis, Nobel Prize Banquet Speech (1963)
- Full speech:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1963/seferis/speech/
- Documentary in Greek: https://youtu.be/V92VPDYHg5Q
3) Ithaka
“As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.”
— Konstantinos Kavafis, Ithaka (1975)
- Full poem:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51296/ithaka-56d22eef917ec - Documentary in Greek:
https://youtu.be/BPZ4HVkcoYU