Letter from Myconos
I am writing this letter from Myconos on Palm Sunday. My visit here has nothing to do with that of Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who is inaugurating some municipal building here. Coming across him on the island’s promenade, which was packed with wealthy weekending Athenians, I could not resist taking a snap of him. One of the advantages of visiting Myconos is to leap back in history, to play in one’s imagination with what is real and what is fake in the way we experience reality and history. Visiting the island, therefore, gives one the opportunity to play with many favorite themes and obsessions. And on top of that, Delos, the island believed to be the birthplace of Apollo (one of the sons of Zeus) and one of the richest archaeological sites in Greece, is only a short boat trip away. A terrible anniversary comes to mind, one that has marked our era and will continue to do so for a long time. It was exactly 10 years ago, on April 16, 1996, that a 22-year-old youth, Sahan Tamam Nabulsi, became the first suicide bomber in the modern history of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. A good time earlier, millennia ago in fact, during the Hebrew-Philistine conflict, the first ever suicidal act of destruction that we know of took place. This was when an Old Testament hero, a Nazarite named Samson, grasped the two middle pillars upon which the temple he had been led into as blinded prisoner stood, and leaned his weight upon them. And Samson said, «Let me die with the Philistines.» And, behold, the festively adorned and crowded temple of the god Dagon (a fish god, protector of the sea) fell upon the lords and upon all the people – about 3,000 men and women all in all. So those whom Samson slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain during his life. The story of Samson – the Hebrew hero with a weakness for Philistine women – is known from the Book of Judges in the Old Testament, plus the Cecil B. DeMille 1949 classic starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature, and ultimately by a Rubens painting. Which brings us to another pet subject. The National Gallery in London acquired the Samson and Delilah picture in 1980 for 2.5 million pounds, or more than 8 million at today’s prices. Some two weeks ago, Dalya Alberge wrote a commentary in the London Times (April 1) saying that scores of paintings thought to be by the 17th century master may not be his work. «My, what a fabulous Rubens. Is it real?» was the title of the article. «Long-held doubts about the authenticity of Rubens’s ‘Samson and Delilah’ are certain to be raised once more,” Alberge remarked. A few years ago, Efrosini Doxiadi, a celebrated Greek scholar (her study on the ancient Faiyum paintings has been ensconced on the best-seller lists of art books worldwide) and painter (a pupil of famous, Greek painter Yiannis Tsarouchis), told me: «I can show you what a genuine Rubens looks like, if we visit some Antwerp museums and churches. The National Gallery’s Samson picture is betrayed by brush strokes which are almost staccato and broken up, rather than having been done with one sweep of the wrist, which you see in all other Rubenses.» Ms Doxiadi, who was the first to claim that the Rubens in London’s National Gallery may not be a Rubens at all, is now preparing a study on this particular Rubens case. (One can read more about the story at www.afterrubens.org). So much for Rubens. Now, let’s go back to the genuineness problem that has tormented Greece so much for so many years: Who are the real Macedonians and who the fake ones? The question is most timely as the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, is this week going on his first trip to the Balkans since he took office in 2004. After a four-day sweep through five countries, he will spend Friday afternoon «in the latest state to become a candidate for EU membership – Macedonia.» So the BBC has prepared a «Macedonia Quiz» for the occasion, focusing on history, geography, language, culture and sport instead of politics. Here is a sample of the questions: Question 1: What is Macedonia’s official name at the UN and other international institutions? a) The Republic Formerly Known as Macedonia. b) The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. c) The Formerly Macedonian Republic of Yugoslavia. Question 5: What, in cooking, does the term «Macedoine» indicate? a) A finely chopped mixture. b) Marinated in wine vinegar. c) Flavored with paprika. Question 7: In which country is the ancient Macedonian capital of Pella situated? a) Greece. b) Bulgaria. c) Serbia. «You know, at the end of the fourth century BC it was the Macedonians who were in control of our islands. It was them who turned Delos into a major trade center,» I was told by Yannis Koukas, who, while running his Hotel Omiros on Myconos also publishes a monthly magazine. So, the Macedonians again! But Yiannis did not say to whom exactly he was referring. Illuminated by the bright light of a groovy Myconos, right answers mix with wrong questions and the curious case of a fake Rubens can be resolved only if one visits the afterrubens website.
