Interlocution

“The Odyssey is the first pillar of contemporary Greek culture. There are obviously some deeper unresolved issues behind this delay that we do not like talking about. The Odyssey, however, exists in our contemporary culture thanks only to a second, complementary pillar, and that is Karagiozis [a wily and ridiculous character central to traditional Greek shadow theater, whose home is a humble shack]. And I don’t mean that at all facetiously. Odysseus not only takes a very long time to reach his destination, he is also adaptable. He is not a great warrior, but he is flexible and multifaceted, ready to submit to transformation and the journey home.

The disdained Karagiozis represents the comic and the ridiculous (which alternate with the tragic), an inanity that coexists with a type of wisdom, and a grotesque physicality. I think that these two pillars, the adventure and journey home on the one hand, and the shack on the other, are two characteristics that prepare us for a lot more.

Odysseus and Karagiozis are the two unsurpassed ‘superheroes’ of Greek culture."

Yorgos Tzirtzilakis, a professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Thessaly