Via was, according to Greek Mythology, a deity, the personification of violence. Bia, Kratos and Nike are mentioned in Hesiod's "Theogony" as siblings. Violence, in its current sense, is the exercise of physical or other force or the use of threats in order to impose the will of a person. Its root is Indo-European j(i)ya, meaning "dominion".
Violence, physical, psychological, sexual, domestic, political, came and connected with society, and unfortunately, with Greek too! So let's see how this violence fits with the values we inherited as Greeks from our ancestors, and let's refer to the book "Ancient Greece against violence" by the great and unforgettable French Academician Jacqueline de Romilly
According to the research of the brilliant Hellenist and friend of Greece, through the world of Medea, Prometheus, Orestes, Achilles, Antigone and many others, the Greeks developed a whole world that provides a critical arsenal, which not only remains active, but can lead thought out of many impasses. In her book, Jacqueline de Romilly points out that the Humanism of the 5th century BC. it is an unsurpassed lesson for all ages, plagued by violence. Thus she examines divine violence, violence in ancient tragedy, and everyday violence. It refers to the divine ferocity, when Zeus castrates his father Uranus in order to seize power - and it is the "divines" incomparably harsher than human acts of violence - to the violence of tyrants, who rule without law, to the everyday violence in society and violence of war. He finds that classical authors did not hide violence, but instead described and formalized it, as the Euripides in the Troades, Iketides, Andromache, and Thucydides in the Athenian-Milian Dialogue.
Jacqueline de Romilly looks back at the tragedies of the 5th century BC. and in historical texts, where he finds justice, meekness, mercy, values that acted against brutality. In their texts, the ancient authors describe the confrontations of the characters highlighting the value of human solidarity, respect for the human personality, pity for the weak. To deal with violence, they stand against it with positive values, rationality, persuasion, love of life, and adherence to laws, written and unwritten.
In the same book, the French writer complains about the violence expressed in the texts of her time (1999) in France, characteristically writing the following: "What a mad wind rages in French literature, what a blind rage inspires our writers. From the works of 15 authors, all the blood of the world is poured out. The 15 young barbarians present with their works a clear x-ray of the general confusion of our time".
I am not an expert to expose the causes of the birth of violence in the soul of young people, but I can refer to the importance of education to avoid it. Education, including home, school, books, media, always begins with parents, whose contribution often shifts from the provision of moral values to the provision of material goods. I believe that parents are the first to educate their children, to acquaint them with the environment, the place and the country where they live. To inspire them with faith in something higher, with respect for man, for the other sex, with love for animals, to acquaint them as much as possible even with the idea of illness and death. To cultivate in their children the correct concept of work and its unique value for their whole life, from youth to old age.
It is sad, in the last few days, the phenomenon of violence with an organized operation of destruction in the area of the Department of Biology of AUTH, where the construction of a new unified library and classrooms of the Faculty of Science has begun, a project extremely important for the students of the University of Thessaloniki.
Education continues at school, where an Ethics course is, I believe, necessary to provide students with simple concepts of morality, behavior in society and of course the consequences of violence. In the age of globalization it must be understood that the return to the principles and ideals of Humanism is imperative for a better life for all. I read in BIMA that modern Technology is also successfully progressing in Greece in the development of a mobile phone application aimed at combating gender-based violence. The truth, however, is that Technology does not prevent such phenomena, it only tries to cure them, and education remains the only correct and effective tool.
Jacqueline de Romilly's book, translated into Greek, could be a manual for the education of young people, as it highlights the values of our ancestors, which can awaken us to give today the ideal motivations to limit violence and terrorism in our country.
Prof. Stella Priovolou, president of the Body of Emeritus Professors of EKPA, dean of the Municipal People's University of St. Paraskevi.
Published in BHIMA of Sunday, 29 / 5 / 2022
photo https://pixabay.com/el/
