Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras “waxed poetic” on Tuesday morning with the Iconic Ionian isle of Ithaca as a backdrop to announce the end of the memorandum era for the thrice bailed-out country, a day after the third bailout – signed and delivered by his coalition government in the summer of 2015 – officially concluded.
“The memorandums have ended; the country again regains the right to determine its fate,” Tsipras said, saying an eight-year “Odyssey” for the country has ended.
The choice of Ithaca was highly symbolic, as Homer’s Odyssey features mythical hero Ulysses (Odysseus) taking 10 tortured years to return to his island kingdom after participating in the Trojan War (recounted in Homer’s Iliad). “Ithaka” is also the title of a famous poem by Greek Alexandrine poet Constantine Cavafy, alluding to a sense of “homecoming” and a long, adventurous journey that is often more significant than the destination itself. http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=74
Along those lines, Tsipras said the country’s course over the crisis years was not easy, “but there was always a destination, even in the darkest hours … harsh austerity measures were taken, while democracy was affronted … bankers became prime ministers and prime ministers became bankers … the Greek people did not accept this fate, which was decided by others.”
In turning to his leftist-rightist coalition assumption of power and his government’s own third bailout, he said the Greek people “three years ago took a historic decision to take the helm from those who led the country to the rocks and to give it to new skippers. We assume this duty with responsibility … we passed through many waves; the crew changed, others were afraid of rough seas, yet others wanted to overcome them,” he said, turning again to the poetic:
“We have now reached our destination … we are fully aware that we have new battles before us… the modern-day suitors are here; they’re the ones who want to see the ship battered in rough seas … Ithaca is only the beginning,” he said, using metaphors from both the Odyssey and Cavafy’s poem.
