On Happiness: In search of the "we love you because...it is you", in search of the "well-done", the "praise"
at "the Agora, the Theater, and the Laurels"
The talk and the act at home and in society. The few good deeds and the accomplishments of a lifetime (e.g. not dropping school, not being considered immoral etc).
Cavafy (1863-1933), the Greek poet who lived in Alexandria, Egypt
(Egypt was a British protectorate at that time)
An archaic parable-like style; telling a small ancient tale illustrating a lesson
Featured verses from a poem
(note on the title of the poem: a Satrapy is a province of the ancient Persian empires - Reflects a "state" of abundance)
You long for something else, ache for other things:
praise from the Demos and the Sophists,
that hard-won, that priceless acclaim—
the Agora, the Theatre, the Crowns of Laurel.
the praise of the people and the sophists,
that difficult and priceless “Well Done”;
the Agora, the Theater, and the Laurels.
In search of the "we love you because...it is you", in search of the "well-done", the "praise"
at "the Agora, the Theater, and the Laurels"
The talk and the act at home and in society. The few good deeds and the accomplishments of a lifetime (e.g. not dropping school, not being considered immoral etc).
(cf facebook post from the Cavafy Archive further down this page)
Posts from the Cavafy Archive facebook page
1. Returning to Cavafian Alexandria
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Sophist leaving Syria
These two verses are written on the painting below
Sophist, now that you are leaving Syria
with plans to write a book about Antioch,
Ο Καβάφης του Νίκου Εγγονόπουλου
Η περίφημη προσωπογραφία σε βυζαντινό στιλ του Κ.Π. Καβάφη δημιουργήθηκε από τον θαυμαστή του, τον ζωγράφο και ποιητή Νίκο Εγγονόπουλο. Ο πίνακας βασίστηκε σε φωτογραφία που τράβηξε ο Κυριάκος Παγώνης το 1932, λίγο πριν το θάνατο του Καβάφη κι ενώ ήταν ήδη άρρωστος. Εξηγεί ο Εγγονόπουλος: «Ήταν πολύ καταπονημένος, αλλά είχε μια φλόγα μέσα του, αυτή τη θεϊκιά φλόγα. Και αυτήν τη φωτογραφία δεν ήθελα να την αφήσω έτσι και με τον πίνακά μου την καθάρισα. Ο Καβάφης ακόμη και στα γηρατειά του ήταν έφηβος, ωραίος, δε μπορούσε ποτέ να είναι κουρασμένος». Στον πίνακα αναγράφονται οι δυο πρώτοι στίχοι του καβαφικού ποιήματος «Σοφιστής απερχόμενος εκ Συρίας»: «Δόκιμε σοφιστή που απέρχεσαι εκ Συρίας/ και περί Αντιοχείας σκοπεύεις να συγγράψεις» http://bit.ly/1GtNbo9. Στη φωτογραφία το έργο «Κ.Π. Καβάφης», του Νίκου Εγγονόπουλου, 1948. Αρχείο Καβάφη, Ίδρυμα Ωνάση. #CavafyArchive #ΑρχείοΚαβάφη
6. Taking a look out of his hotel window in Attica he said: "Here reigns the measure and harmony of Ancient Greece."
Ο Κ.Π. Καβάφης είπε κάποτε, βλέποντας το αττικό τοπίο απ’ το παράθυρο του ξενοδοχείου: «Εδώ βασιλεύει το μέτρον και η αρμονία της αρχαίας Ελλάδος. Επάνω από τα φυλλώματα των δέντρων, διαβάζω: μηδέν άγαν. Επάνω από τους λόφους εκείνους, τους μακρινούς: παν μέτρον άριστον.»
Η δήλωση αυτή αναφέρεται ότι ειπώθηκε από τον Καβάφη στο βιβλίο «Ο Καβάφης είπε» (εκδ. Πρόσπερος) του Τίμου Μαλάνου, ο οποίος κυκλοφόρησε κατά τη διάρκεια της ζωής του μια σειρά μελετών για τον Καβάφη.
Ανακαλύψτε την επίσημη ιστοσελίδα του Κ.Π. Καβάφη: www.kavafis.gr.Φωτό: Fred Boissonnas #CavafyArchive #ΑρχείοΚαβάφη#OnassisFoundation
7. Other Posts
Μάρτιαι Eιδοί
Τα μεγαλεία να φοβάσαι, ω ψυχή.
Και τες φιλοδοξίες σου να υπερνικήσεις
αν δεν μπορείς, με δισταγμό και προφυλάξεις
να τες ακολουθείς. Κι όσο εμπροστά προβαίνεις,...
Leonard Cohen inspired by Cavafy
https://twitter.com/OCCNY/status/797172644164542464
"Upheld by the simplicities of pleasure, they gain the light they formlessly entwine"
Melodized Poetry
from this link
" The Greeks, who more than any other people in the world, have remained mariners without interruption throughout history; they have loved the sea, they have thought of it as a beautiful element, they have been happy at sea, a friendly environment for them - an extension of themselves. They enjoyed the feeling of independence, and the optimistic outlook it gave them. They enjoyed its freedom and the freedom of the spirit."
Thalassography
Lyrics, Music, Interpretation: D. Savvopoulos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTB_Ly_N9gI
Lyrics: L. Nikolakopoulou
Interpretation: E. Arvanitaki
Music: Ara Dinkjian
"Shall we continue a bit our great “Orient Journey”? There are some listenings that I want to share with you even if I do not understand what they are talking about. They enclose so much melancholy, so much melody, so much refinement and sophistication from the time that passes by and brings them to us in their current form. This one became known to us in Greece when E. Arbanitaki sang it with the lyrics of L.Nikolakopoulou and the title ''Complaint - Exile''' ".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEZHU-cbzzE
"it's called Bingyol (Bingöl), after a former Armenian town in Turkey. At the end they explain it's about a young man trying to find his way home to Bingöl where his love awaits him, and he misses her so much that he cannot open his mouth to drink water or even cry from this pain."
Lyrics in greek with latin characters and english translation
Baria brachiolia i lipes
Heavy bracelets the sorrows
pos m'agapas den eipes
that you love me you didn't say
to cho parapono, mana moy, stoma moy
I have it as a complaint, my mother, my mouth
ki as pethene to soma moy
even if my body was dying
(repeat of two lines above)
Sou stelno m'ena gramma
I am sending you with a letter
toy feggarioy ti lama
the blade of the moon
par' ti kai xtipa me, mana moy, trela moy,
take it and hit me, my mother, my madness
ki an klei I psyche soy, gela moy
and even if your psyche cries, laugh to me
(twice two lines above)
Psila voyna kai esis ton astron thories
High mountains and you looks of stars
Potamia achna, elatia, dafnes, myrties
Rivers faint (faintly seen), firs, laurels, murtles
tin kardia moy, ah, fotia moy, opios dei
my heart, oh, my fire, who sees
na tou pi na rthi konta moy, min argi
tell him to come close to me, not to be long
Ksenitia moy, erota moy, fos ki aygi
My exile, my love, light and
dawn
prin ragisi ap'to sebda moy oli i gi
before all earth cracks from my sorrow (earth=gi, cf.geo)
Aidoni esi, planeytra staxti poy kes
Nightingale, you, seductress, burning ash
me poio krasi methai ta matia toy, pes...
with what wine he is intoxicating his eyes, tell...
(repeat of lines in blue above)
Version imprimable