In the second part of her journey to Dimitsana, Katerina Batzaki turned away from the visible for a while and sought the voice of a place: in songs passed down from one generation to the next, in words that have survived through the centuries, and in the people who decide that something from the past deserves to live on.
Protopresbyter Fr. Christos Kyriakopoulos, a researcher and collector of traditional songs, took us on a journey through the musical memory of Gortynia and the Morea. He spoke about the voices and melodies he sought out and recorded before they disappeared.
Young classical philologist Rania Antonopoulou brought a new generation’s perspective to ancient words. She spoke about language, ancient texts and memory, as well as the meeting of philosophy and place, drawing on her experience with the philosophy professors who had gathered in Dimitsana for the conference.
Because a place does not survive through its stones alone.
It survives whenever someone remembers, sings, reads and chooses to pass something on to the next generation.
