An Eye-Opener on our Byzantine Heritage
Forwarded by Hellenic Council YSEE of America
(New York, New York)
-The exhibition at the Onasis Cultural Center of New York entitled “Transition
to Christianity” held no surprises for all those who are well aware of the
influence the christian church has over the Greek state and its cultural
organizations. The exhibition although hosted by an independent cultural
organization, was organized by the Christian and Byzantine Museum of Athens,
which is a state controlled cultural entity. So there were no surprises when we
witnessed in the published catalog and on the display signs of the exhibit, the
usual fairy tales of the victorious christians about the supposed smooth
transition from the “idolatry” of the Hellenes to the “divinely revealed
wisdom” of the east.
Everywhere in the catalog Hellenic Civilization is characterized as “pagan”. The wholesale destruction of statues and Temples is dismissed as the work of a “few fanatics”. The centuries long disdain for Hellenic philosophy and science which resulted in a decline in almost every aspect of human life is presented as a passage to a new world that simply changed interests. The same lie is disseminated since the creation of the modern Greek state. This is why we initially thought that there was no reason to answer these ludicrous and frequently circulated tales of the modern admirers of Byzantium. But when we became aware of the statements made by some of the organizers in the Greek media both in Greece and in the United States we understood that we could no longer remain silent. We could not, in good conscience, leave unanswered the ridiculous claims some of them made, nor could we let them think that everyone is stupid enough to swallow their propaganda without voicing any objection.
Everywhere in the catalog Hellenic Civilization is characterized as “pagan”. The wholesale destruction of statues and Temples is dismissed as the work of a “few fanatics”. The centuries long disdain for Hellenic philosophy and science which resulted in a decline in almost every aspect of human life is presented as a passage to a new world that simply changed interests. The same lie is disseminated since the creation of the modern Greek state. This is why we initially thought that there was no reason to answer these ludicrous and frequently circulated tales of the modern admirers of Byzantium. But when we became aware of the statements made by some of the organizers in the Greek media both in Greece and in the United States we understood that we could no longer remain silent. We could not, in good conscience, leave unanswered the ridiculous claims some of them made, nor could we let them think that everyone is stupid enough to swallow their propaganda without voicing any objection.
