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| Giovanni Battista Lusieri Monument to Philopappos, Athens 1805 oil on canvas National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh |
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| Giovanni Battista Lusieri South-east Corner of the Parthenon, Athens 1803 watercolor National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh |
ATHENS
It is my love for Athens, city famed through the centuries,
that writes these words, a love sporting with shadows
that warm and soften my yearning. For nowhere, alas,
can I find that city whose glories have been sung,
a city that for long countless years has lain hidden in the depths of Lethe.
I suffer as a guileless lover suffers when he cannot see his beloved in the flesh
and, at a loss, gazes upon her picture, fanning the flames of love.
Poor man that I am, a new Ixion, in love with Athens
as Ixion was with Hera. Not seeing her, he embraced a phantom.
Alas for what I suffer and say and write!
I live in Athens but see no Athens,
only hallowed, wretched, empty ashes.
Where is your greatness, long-suffering city?
All has perished and turned into myth:
courts and judges, tribunes, ballots,
laws and speeches made in your assemblies,
silver-tongued orators and councils of elders,
festal processions and army generals,
admirals of the fleet, muses of every kind,
and the power of words.
Dead is the glory of Athens.
Nothing remains, not even a dim trace.
I cannot see the Athens sung in song,
so forgive me for casting its image with my pen.
– Michael Choniates (ca. 1140-1220) – was born at Chonae in Asia Minor, studied in Constantinople, and was appointed archbishop of Athens (1182-1204). When Constantinople was captured by the Franks in 1204, he left Athens and retired to the island of Chios. His writings, which include homilies, speeches, poems, and letters, shed light on the poor conditions in medieval Athens.
Translation by Peter Constantine, published in The Greek Poets (New York: Norton, 2010)
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| Dimitrios Constantin Monument to Philopappos, Athens 1865 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Dimitrios Constantin Temple of Zeus Olympios, Athens 1865 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Dimitrios Constantin Acropolis from the southwest, Athens 1865 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Dimitrios Constantin Corner of the Parthenon, Athens ca. 1858-60 albumen silver print Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Dimitrios Constantin Propylea from the west, Acropolis, Athens 1865 albumen silver print Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| William J. Stillman View from above the Parthenon facing east, Athens 1870 carbon print Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| William J. Stillman Eastern Façade of the Parthenon, Athens 1870 carbon print Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey Propylaeum on the Acropolis, Athens 1842 daguerreotype Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey Tower of the Winds, Athens 1842 daguerreotype Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Edward Steichen Isadora Duncan in the Parthenon, Athens 1921 gelatin silver print Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio |
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| Parthenon (West Pediment) Surviving fragment of Oreithyia statue ca. 430 BC marble British Museum |
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| Parthenon (West Pediment) Surviving fragment of Athena statue ca. 430 BC marble British Museum |