Did you enjoy the Olympic Games? Are you one of the many people saying: "Look at those Greeks, they made it after all, this rather 3rd class, tiny country and they did a fine job?"
I am Greek, and watching the openings on TV here from London, I felt a bit proud that night. On the other hand, maybe I was just the relief that I would not continue to hear from all sides: "Now look at yourselves, four years of chaos and you didn't succeed, punks!"
After months of hearing that and reading the statements in the International press, one starts to grow tired and tends to develop a pocket sized temporary patriotism.
Back to normality - the Games are already history and the Greeks proved to be a Europeans. Are they?
There is a character in Greek theatre I have always loved, Karangiozis, the hero of the Greek Shadow theatre.
Long before the days of television, radio or even cinema there existed a different form of entertainment in Greece derived from folkloric traditions. Known as Shadow Theatre, or "Karangiozis" in Greek, it included paper-made puppets, which were handled by one puppeteer who stood behind a white screen (a piece of cloth or a sheet were also used) that was illuminated by some source of light.
Shadow Theatre was developed in many lands, including China, India, Persia, Indochina and Asia Minor. It was often associated with the worship of the dead as well as with deities of the 'other world.' It was borrowed from Egypt in the sixteenth century. There seems little doubt that the Arabs borrowed the shadow play from Java. Arab trading and raiding expeditions kept them in continuous contact with Java. Now the question as to whether there was any indirect influence via Egypt of the Javanese on the Turkish shadow play is difficult to answer; yet there are several points in common between Turkish and Javanese shadow plays. Turkish shadow theatre appears to be the product of a historical process whereby the Mameluke-derived shadow-play technique was taken over by the Turks from a technical point of view only. In addition, it can be assumed that the Turkish shadow theatre borrowed movements, postures, and costumes of the Ottoman puppet theatre along with human actors such as Ottoman jesters and grotesque dancers, both of which had been in existence long before the advent of shadow theatre.
Greece is among the very few European countries that adopted shadow theatre, abandoning, however, its religious aspect and adding the provincial Greek culture's own uniqueness to it.
"Karangiozis," as it is named in Greek for its main protagonist, is played by a puppeteer (known as the 'Karangiozopaihtis') who stands behind the illuminated screen and masterfully moves the paper or leather-made puppets. They are brought to life by the 'Karangiozopaihtis', altering his voice according to the character and by changing the story line depending on his inspirations.
In fact, he is responsible for all aspects of the play, as he is the mime, the writer, the musician, the singer, the stage-designer and the director.
 It is not so much the Shadow theatre itself or the plays (that can be rather childish and are all more or less the same), it is he, Karangiozis, the hero and the other figures of the play, which, like in the Italian Commedia Dell'arte, always are the same characters.
The protagonist is the smart-mouthed, black-eyed, anti-hero, Karangiozis (Karagoz means literally "Black-Eye" in Turkish), impoverished, but always lively and full of life. He lives with his family in a pitiful shack in a large town, across from the Ottoman "pasha's" enormous palace. He has no profession but is always willing to get involved with anything. Of course, he always fails at everything, gets into trouble and finally ends up getting whipped or beaten, returning to his shack, hungry as before. As he is usually out of work, Karangiozis engages in minor thefts, which, instead of hiding them, he ends up telling everyone, and justifies the petty crimes as the only means to support his family. Karangiozis has a humped back that symbolizes the weight of the world. He has a big nose and one arm three times longer than the other. His long arm, supported by a rod, which the Karangiozopaihtis moves vigorously, is a representation of his thefts.
There are a number of characters that all play an important part, but no play could ever be possible without the Pasha or Veziris: the highest Ottoman Turkish official, representing power and wealth.
He is portrayed as just and kind to his subjects, who are none other than his victims. The pasha is rarely shown; rather his voice is heard giving orders. Big Brother in the Ottoman style!
The way in which the characters are moved by the Karangiozopaihtis, the innocent beatings, the strange and ragged clothing, the unsatisfied greed along with the continuous babbling, cunning word games and numerous linguistic mistakes are what gave Karangiozis a special place in the hearts of Greek audiences.
He once represented the struggle of the Greek people, particularly under the yoke of Turkish occupation and still represents a Greek characteristic difficult to be anticipated by someone non-Greek. Most of the stories performed are about his efforts to get money by impersonating some esteemed person like a sea captain, a military officer, a doctor and using his intelligence to achieve the small triumphs that eventually lead to larger disasters when he is usually exposed. Within the plot is a lot of improvisation and historical references and lots of symbolism that makes the show enjoyable to children and adults as well as intellectuals and people with a more simplistic view of life.
This sounds rather outdated and surpassed in the 21st century, but taking a closer look at the Greek society and the economical and political situation of Greece, maybe there is still relevance, only that Karangiozis is struggling under a different yoke now.
Back to the Olympic Games and the European status of the 2004 Greeks..
In a statement made in Spring 2002, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the HellenicRepublic, George A. Papandreou, said: "The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens will provide a unique opportunity for cultivating Citizen's Diplomacy. In a gesture towards our cultural and democratic heritage, Greece has revived an ancient ideal: the Olympic Truce. Our dream is to bring about a global ceasefire, to coincide with the 2004 Athens Olympics. The institution of the Olympic Truce represents one more contribution of Hellenism to promoting world peace in the twenty first century. We are also introducing a Cultural Olympics - a cultural exchange that will bring together artists, performers, writers, and intellectuals from around the world. Greek values such as democracy, peace, and freedom will play an important role in this exchange of ideas. The 7-million strong Hellenic Diaspora will also contribute to this global cultural dialogue…."
On June 25, 2004 he added:" "We believe that after the Games, Greece will be known for what it is today, not just our ancient ancestry. And I am sure that we will be proud of the picture we will portray."
In addition, the final statement on August 10, 2004 revealing what the Games do for the national economy, Mr. Papandreou noted «not only will it be burdened by debt after the Games, but it will be revitalised Greece is now looking like a strong nation, with skills, culture and vision for the future."
Come on, say it: Greece is bankrupt, and there goes the Olympic dream and the dream of being a valuable member of the European community!
Or to be concrete, the Greek dream to get somewhat out of debts!
The dream of not only having a big number of stadiums (that all will be empty) but schools, hospitals…
Public opinion was manipulated to believe that the 2004 Athens Olympics would provide the country with great influx of foreign currency and therefore great wealth. Three years prior to the Games, the responsible person for the project had led the Greeks to believe, that the project needed the same figure as the amount the French had calculated for the 2008 games (back then)). The difference is that the French had calculated a cost of 750 million US Dollars and the Greek calculations referred to 750 billion Greek Drachmae (before the Euro was introduced to Greece). The Greek calculated cost in comparable value to the French budget was an enormous value of 2 billion US Dollars, an amount that equals the whole estate of Aristotle Onassis.
Unemployment rises, there are no plans for development of anything productive and Greek Administrators have asked the British to tell them when the Greek Social Security Organization (IKA) will go bust or perhaps for some alchemistic recipe to support infinite numbers of pensioners without any existing workforce. (Nobody is prepared to trust local calculations, not because the method of calculation is unknown, but because such calculations are not based on fact but on hype) It is time that these people (the Greek administrators), who are not willing to make the calculations for which they are paid for, but resort to external companies for fantastic solutions, to realize that nobody can offer them unreal solutions to existing and real situations, where not enough wealth is produced to cover the requested expenditure. Moreover, these administrators, who sit in their desks and demand from the multitudes to waste their time and effort, in order to comply with their bureaucracy and their laws to fix stamps and signatures on their pieces of paper, which aim (their pieces of paper) at restricting the multitudes from being able to work and produce some necessary wealth. The forecast, on this matter, is that pretty soon, there will be not enough wealth, not only to pay the pensions of the aged, but there will not be enough wealth produced, even for them to receive their own regularly paid salaries. Their myopia prevents them from being able to realize that someone has to be able to produce some wealth, for any wealth to be available and instead of encouraging people to produce wealth, they have been, for years preoccupying themselves, by formulating regulations to block and restrict any possibility of honest work and production
A few decades ago, Greeks abroad, Greek seamen and Tourists to Greece provided needed foreign exchange for the Greeks in Greece to use and pay their debts for consumer goods bought for their needs, abroad. Borrowed foreign exchange from abroad has to be paid back and in order to pay it back,Greece will need to export goods and services that are valuable and exchangeable and also to serve greater number of Tourists arriving to Greece. All the unemployed whose production lines were closed down will now need to become servants and serve cold drinks to Tourists on the Greek Seaside. The tourist season lasts mainly during the summer months, but during the rest of the year, while the tourists who came are busy in their countries, working and producing, what will the new servant do to survive? If you suggest applying for unemployment, the chances are almost non-existent and at the best of cases, any unemployment fund will provide a daily maximum of the equivalent cost of a cold drink and maybe a sandwich.
So much about that! The glory, the pride and the importance of organizing the Olympic games or being considered Europeans or not! After all, what difference does it make?
Karangiozis, an old tale in modern times: It is the story of an outsider making desperate attempts to become assimilated into a world structured on concepts he neither relates to nor understands. It is the unwritten history of the Greek people trying to conform to the laws, customs, values, fashions and politics of Western Europe that had been imposed upon them by the countries that helped liberate them from the Turks. The Greeks with their own local traditions were trying to do things in a way that even though seemed superficial to them were essential to progress with the rest of the world. Doesn't sound that outdated after all.
Dionyssios Savopoulos, a Greek songwriter expressed in one of his ballads what, many modern Greeks might feel but never would admit openly:
"What destroys me and what saves me is, that I always dream like Karangiozis"
Go on, little Karangiozis, sweet dreams!
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