After the Defeat

“After the destruction of the Athenians at the Aegospotami, a
little later,
after our final defeat, free discussions, the Periclean glory,
the flourishing of the arts, the gymnasiums, the symposia of our
philosophers have all vanished. Now
gloom, a heavy silence in the marketplace, and the impurity of
the Thirty Tyrants.
Everything (even what is most our own) happens by default
without
chance for appeal, defence or justification,
or even formal protest. Our papers and our books are burned,
the honour of our country rots. Even if an old friend could be
allowed
to come as witness, he would refuse out of fear
of getting in the same trouble – he would be right of course…”

Yannis Ritsos, After the Defeat
Stones, Repetitions, Railing
Translated by Nikos Stangos