[lit-ideas] Morosini and the Turks
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:34:33 EST
I hope Geary reads Helm's posts. Apparently, Geary confuses the Arabs with
the Turks.
Both were pretty aggressive. The Arabs rediscovered Aristotle, but
translated him into Arab making concepts which were clear enough, like 'ousia'
almost
unintelligible to me.
In any case, you can always tell an Arab from a Turk (from Turkey).
Morosini knew how. This general was in charge against the Turks in the Attic
operations. We in Argentina delight in the sad anecdote involving Gen.
Morosini, because Argentines (who made it across the waves) tend to think of
the
Italians *who stayed* as rather _ clumsy_ in parts.
The fact is that Morosini was fighting against the Turks, who had garrisoned
in the Parthenon (high in the high polis [akropolis]). The Turks had what
perhaps was the bad idea of keeping the powder barrels in what Perikles had
designed to be the treasure-room of the Parthenon -- to keep all the riches of
the Delian League. And it is there, at the treasure room, that Morosini (I
have a neighbour called Morosi, so the name is doubly funny to me) aimed the
granade at.
Later, in his typically Italian apologetic tones, he tried to help lift the
frieses and pediments that were torn to pieces on the dusty sacred ground, but
according to Lord Elgin, it would have been better if Morosini had left the
frieses where he dropped them.
(This info is on a rather practical British Museum publication on the
History of the Elgin Marbles).
When talking of the Turks in Greece we should also pay a little tribute to
the Pan-Hellenic George Gordon, Lord Byron, who wrote, "The isles of Greece,
the isles of Greece", forgetting that Attica is _not_ an island, nor is
Sparta.
So what's interestingly _left_ as an 'island'?
Cheers,
J. L.
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