Case Study of Bolivar and Contemporary Greek Mythology Essay -- Nikos

The excessive element of the hero in both the poetic and artistic expression of Nikos Engonopoulos: The case study of â€Å"Bolivar† and the contemporary revival of Greek mythology It is, I think, in itself an heroic act to speak today of heroes and heroic excession in an era that is characterized as anti heroic. In earlier times – much earlier than the nineteenth century – the history of human achievement was not conceived of as anything but the history of heroic deeds which the distinguished dared to undertake and successfully managed to execute (J.P.Vernant 1989: 145) and whose memory is still alive. But, nowadays, achievement is considered to be the transient personal flaunting in fields such as politics, economics, athletics and entertainment. Those people, indeed, inspire admiration bordering on deification, reverence, in other words, equal to the admiration for heroes of earlier times, adoration of idols. Our time is antiheroic, a time in which idols have substituted for heroes and the necessity for selfassertion and personal benefit wins over this collective development. However, the question still remains as to the excess in human potential and the choices confronting an adventurous temperament extinguishing or at least neglecting fear in the face of danger. No matter how extraordinary and insane it might be, very often, heroic behaviour continues to enchant. This happens, possibly, because of the element of excess which is characterised, more than at any other time, by a convergence of the desire of modern man not to be hemmed in by individual â€Å"musts† of the technological civilization and a desire to return to the charm of the fairy-tales of his childhood years. This effort to accept the reality is neve... ...nica Mc Goldrick, 1995. 16. Todorov Tzvetan, 1995, Les abus de la memoire, Arlea, Paris. 17. Gellner Ernest, 2002, Nationalism, Alexandria Athens. B. Articles 1. Engonopoulos Nikos, May 1956, Zygos, â€Å"Are there common points of contact between modern art and the ideal of Greek art?†, Athens. 2. Friar Kimon, 1978, Modern poetry, â€Å"Simon and Schuster†, New York. 3. Gonzales F., 1976, Collection Voix, Maspero,  « Battle, N. Engonopoulos, Bolivar, Introduction, traduction et postface », Paris. 4. Vasiliou A ., 1978, Modern thought, 20, â€Å"Engonopoulos – Empirikos and Greek surrealism†, Athens. 5. Diamantopoulou Evangelia, May 2000, Elelef, 3, â€Å" Fear and fearless heroes in Theophilos Hadjimichail’ s paintings†, Athens. 6. Diamantopoulou Evangelia, 2002, Anef, 5, â€Å"Aphrodite, goddess of ancient Greece, goddess of the sea: the artistic proposal of Theophilos†, Cyprus.