Historical heritage and the disconnect
Acropolis of Athens is an ancient Greek settlement sitting on top of a rocky hill in Athens. ‘Acro’ means the ‘highest point’ and ‘polis’ means ‘city’. And although ‘acropolis’ is a generic term, ‘the Acropolis’ usually refers to the one in Athens, which has been an important historical site throughout multiple major civilizations. Located on a rock that rises around 150 meters, the site is seen anywhere in the surrounding neighborhoods, and conversely, you can have sweeping views of the central Athens at the top of the rock. Once I got there, its imposing height and the physical dimension helped me understand why Athenians have associated symbolic significance with the Acropolis for thousands of years, which must have helped them to believe in the old stories and myths that, in turn, have shaped their identity.
Initially, I was planning to visit Acropolis after one day of relaxation in Athens, but I ended up going there right away to make sure that I can be there on the sunniest day of the week. The neighborhoods around Acropolis were well-organized and well-developed, most likely to promote tourism, and it made an interesting contrast with the residential district where I was staying, where I saw ‘ordinary’ Athenians just going about their lives and small businesses.
To do justice to the major historical heritage, I had taught myself about the history of the Acropolis for hours the night before. And the knowledge helped me realize that what I saw on-site is quite different from what people in the ancient world thought of the Acropolis visually. A lot of it has been destroyed or stolen, despite the multiple rounds of restoration efforts in the past. I could only get a better glimpse of how people used to think of it, by looking at some paintings of it from hundreds of years ago at the National Archaeological Museum. In this regard, it was sad to realize that most visitors, myself included, could probably relate themselves to it much better by taking selfies against sweeping views of Athens or easily recognizable installations, rather than from the piles of remaining stones that cannot tell many stories.
But even if we restore them perfectly one day, I doubt that it will significantly change the way we see them. We already have a different world view, and modern priorities in our lives lead us to ask different kinds of questions. When I think about it, I have already felt this kind of disconnect at many other major historical sites, including Macchu Picchu, Pyramids of Giza, and Moscow Kremlin. There were often frustrating limits to how much I could imagine what life had been like there in the past. Except for our almost-identical biology, we see and describe the world in different languages, both physically and figuratively. So maybe it’s a bit of a fantasy to believe that some unchanging human spirits have been passed on to us from the beginning of human history. Perhaps it is more helpful to recognize the disconnect, and remember the fact that our contemporary world view is bound to become less relevant in the eyes of our distant descendants.
@ Acropolis of Athens, Greece, February 27, 2020
