'Ulysses / Perseus' Jean-Pierre Vernant Polity Press, 2010
This is a tiny book, that if it is because the 126 pages is small, with plenty of room, font large and wide spacing. As the subtitle announces the cover, "Short lecture on the heroes of antiquity ' simply contains the transcription of two public appearances of the author, speaking of the two heroes of the title.
Vernant (1914-2007) was a historian of ancient Greece, the influential philosopher in his native France and war hero in the Resistance against the Nazis. The two conferences transcribed in the book occurred in 2001 and 2003, when he was already an octogenarian. Surely the aim of the book, published in 2004, before his death, with the original title of 'Ulysse suivi Perseus. Petit conférence sur la Grèce ', is to serve as a tribute to an old and respected intellectual, hearing him talk about his favorite topics, so it's a shame that contains very little to contribute to lovers of the Greek classics. The vast majority of both conferences consist of a summary of the adventures of Odysseus and Perseus, insurance of school: "Listen, guys, I'm not used to talking to people your age: I am a very old man, a great-grandfather. Ago early twenties, I told these stories to my grandson, who now teaches, and has already surpassed the 30. " It is very endearing to hear what the old expert retelling the stories of a lifetime, but on paper and translated, the effect is lost somewhat. Page after page tells us what they did both heroes who summarizes and a book or a movie, which most readers and known. If not, maybe this book will serve to awaken interest in the original stories, but the usefulness of this volume in particular is extremely limited.
The two conferences are followed by several questions from the audience, and maybe there is something more human, and personal enrichment. When inevitably asked how he became interested in Greek mythology, Vernant says,
"was still a schoolboy back in the 1920's, when Carnot was in high school. I studied Greek, I remember it was in a in the final year of high school when we translate the 'Odyssey', and in particular the song that appears in Nausicaa. I remember how, as a child, I have written somewhere, "I was thrilled with the encounter of Odysseus and Nausicaa: (...) " Girl, do not know if you are a goddess or a mere mortal I've never seen anything (...). as beautiful as you, except when I felt the same astonishment of admiration old, in Delos, when I saw a young palm tree which stood, tall, directly into the sky. And you, you look like that palm tree and I have the same sense of wonder admiration. " I saw that, I saw that scene, the stream, washing clothes girls, Nausicaa ... Later, during much of my life, I was surprised when looking at them and ran into them, with those young girls who did not know beautiful, slim and young, looked through the eyes of Ulysses, like a young slender palm up, directly into the sky. "
is a small gem of memory-the art learned in school influence the perception of the future real world, that he who has shared his own experience understand perfectly the feeling evoked. Generations of students would feel the same, and writers from across Europe and Latin America, as Javier Marias, Nelida Piñon or Arturo Perez-Reverte, wrote similar scenes of School admiration for passages translated from Greek. Who would not have been something, because I never had to translate the Greek, or because the 'Odyssey' you look like an unbearable torture, it shows a picture of how arcane and ancient things were before, and what was lost. Although you can always recover. If it helps this small tribute of book publication and a lifetime of study, have not been in vain.
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