Los Angeles Times (February 26, 2012)
The Parthenon, Delphi and other heritage sites will generate revenue as sets for ads, films and other promotions. Some modern Greeks find this unsavory. Yet, 2,500 years ago similar measures were taken by Greeks confronting an earlier financial crisis. “Pericles would no doubt admire modern Greeks for using cherished relics to bootstrap themselves out of crisis. So would Thucydides, Pericles’ great fan and chronicler. Both men were modernists and pragmatists, willing to regard even a sacred shrine as a revenue stream. In tough times, they understood, a brave nation does what must be done.”
The Parthenon, Delphi and other heritage sites will generate revenue as sets for ads, films and other promotions. Some modern Greeks find this unsavory. Yet, 2,500 years ago similar measures were taken by Greeks confronting an earlier financial crisis. “Pericles would no doubt admire modern Greeks for using cherished relics to bootstrap themselves out of crisis. So would Thucydides, Pericles’ great fan and chronicler. Both men were modernists and pragmatists, willing to regard even a sacred shrine as a revenue stream. In tough times, they understood, a brave nation does what must be done.”
Tags: Delphi, Financial Crisis, Greece, Parthenon, Pericles, Revenue, Thucydides
