2024-03-28 12:18:32
Adonis Georgiadis was placed through a post on Facebook for the proposal of censure against the government on the occasion of the case of Tempi.
As the Minister of Health notes, this is a “gross political exploitation and instrumentalization of the tragedy of Tempe”. Meanwhile, he emphasizes that “it is now obvious that powerful Economic Interests do not want Kyriakos Mitsotakis to have the Political power that the People gave him in the recent National Elections. “Around these Interests, the Opposition rallied and all together, instead of political arguments, put forward the relatives of the dead, before whom we all bow down because that’s what we have to do,” he writes.
As he notes, “as a result of this, the Greek People have believed in their overwhelming Majority in the “Crime of Tempes” and in the “cover-up of the crime”. There is neither Crime in Tempe nor Cover Up. A tragic accident was due to a series of human errors. Does it hurt us? Yes! Does it piss us off? Yes! But we must not destroy our Country and Democracy by allowing those who exploit human suffering for the same political purposes!
He then cites the example of the Trial of the Argynoussa from Ancient Greece when the Demagogi took advantage of the mourning and pain of the dead of a Naval Battle and above all the consequences this ultimately had for Athens at the time.
The post of Adonis Georgiadis
Euripides’ advice and the Political Exploitation of the Tempe tragedy “Olbius who is a history buff”
On the occasion of the National anniversary of March 25, I thought of writing an article borrowed from our history and the knowledge that History offers us.
When Euripides wrote his famous phrase, “Happy is he who knows History”, he meant that Historical Knowledge protects you from repeating mistakes made by others in the past and thus avoiding their dramatic consequences. .
So seeing the gross political exploitation and instrumentalization of the Tempe tragedy, I thought I should find the historical counterpart to make the comparisons.
I think the trial that followed in Ancient Athens the triumph of the Athenians in the naval battle of the Argynoussa and especially the vulgar political exploitation of the mourning of the relatives of the shipwrecked for political reasons gives us the appropriate historical analogies.
Specifically, those who then wanted to overthrow the Government of Athens gave a public forum to the relatives of the dead, they logically cried and accused the heads of State (the Generals, for example) because it is logical for the relatives to do, in all centuries and eras, human pain is the same. But the public presentation of the pain of the relatives of the shipwrecked affected the vast majority of the Athenian People, who decided, under the weight of this Grief, to overthrow and condemn their Government for the “Crime of the Arginouses”… they finally came to power the Demagogues and 2 years later Athens was destroyed…
Of course, the Athenian people later regretted it and condemned the Demagogues who had seduced him, but it was now too late for both Athens and himself…
Today it is now obvious that powerful Economic Interests do not want Kyriakos Mitsotakis to have the Political power that the People gave him in the recent National Elections. Around these Interests, the Opposition coalesced and all together, instead of political arguments, put forward the relatives of the dead, before whom we all bow down because that’s what we have to do. As a result of this, the Greek People have believed in their overwhelming Majority in the “Crime of Tempes” and in the “cover-up of the crime”….
There is neither Crime in Tempe nor Cover Up. A tragic accident was due to a series of human errors. Does it hurt us? Yes! Does it piss us off? Yes! But we must not destroy our Country and Democracy by allowing those who exploit human suffering for the same political purposes!
Below I quote a summary of the event I am referring to, i.e. the Trial of the Arginous Generals. How did it happen. Who organized it? How they took advantage of the mourning and pain of the dead and above all the consequences that all this ultimately had for Athens then and I hope not for Greece now….
The Arginoussa Trial
After the victory at Arginousse, the generals had to submit a report of the events to the Municipality. Of course, the victory of the Athenians, the losses of the Spartans and the release of Conon from the siege were very important, but one of the generals, Diomedes, argued that the whole fleet should deal with the collection of the shipwrecked and the dead. Finally in the report, after the insistence of Diomedon and Pericles, the generals wrote that the bad weather after the naval battle did not allow for a collection of all the dead and shipwrecked. Initially, a celebratory atmosphere prevailed in Athens. But the oligarchic faction and the demagogues who dominated the city made sure to take advantage of this fact politically. The generals were forced to send a new report in which, without undoing the previous one, they emphasized that if there was any responsibility for the events, it lay with Thiramenes and Thrasybulus. The accusers of the generals seized the opportunity and influenced the Council which decided to depose all the generals except Conon to whom they sent new generals Adeimantus and Philocles.
As soon as the eight generals learned of the decision of the Municipality, they prepared to return to Athens. But two of them, Protomachus and Aristogenes, because they feared the power of slander, preferred to exile themselves. The remaining six because they were certain of their innocence or because they did not want to leave themselves defenseless returned to Athens. Upon their arrival, their trial began which developed into a political drama.
First victim of this scam. it was Erasinidis who was accused by the demagogue Archidemos of neglecting to bury the dead and misusing public money and was imprisoned. Another demagogue, Timocrates succeeded in capturing the other five generals. The pioneer of the prosecution of the generals was Thiramenis, who had contributed to the annihilation of the four hundred, but had probably fallen into obscurity, which is why he was a simple triathlete in the Argineuses. In their apology, the generals emphasized that they left the collection of dead and wrecked to competent men. If anyone was to be punished, they said, it was the triumvirate. But they added that they are not responsible either as due to the severe storm it was impossible to do anything. The Municipality seems to have been convinced of the innocence of the generals, but Thiramenis and his colleagues, seeing the bad development for them, requested and succeeded in postponing the voting, which was done by a show of hands, as it was getting dark and, as they said, it would not be clearly visible what everyone votes for.
In the success of the plans of the accusers of the generals, however, the celebration of the Apaturia at that time played an important role. Thiramenis saw to it that some people appeared in Apaturia dressed in black and with their heads shaved, as supposed relatives of the shipwrecked. This sight moved the Athenians. The demagogue Callixenos took advantage and demanded the impeachment of all the generals in the same trial, which was illegal. Suddenly someone appeared who said he was a shipwreck of the Arginousa naval battle and was saved by being caught by a bucket!
He claimed that the other shipwrecked men asked him, if he was saved, to denounce the generals because they did not take care to save those who proved brave for the country. The plastiga began to tilt towards the condemnation of the generals. But the rectors who managed the work of the Municipality Church considered the procedure illegal, but were forced to give in under pressure they received. The only one who reacted was the great philosopher Socrates who said that he was not going to break the law under any circumstances. Euryptolemus, son of Peisianactus, also supported the generals with fervor, but to no avail. Euryptolemus stressed that Theramenes should be the accused.
Finally, after a vote by a show of hands, the six generals (Aristocrates, Diomedes, Erasinides, Lysias, Thrasyllos and Pericles) were sentenced to death and executed because “they did not care for the shipwrecked”.
What happened after the execution of the six generals?
The death sentence of the six Athenian generals showed how easy it was for the Athenian Municipality to be influenced by orators and demagogues. He had the power, but he could not always distinguish between right and wrong. The Athenians, as in similar cases, regretted their decision and turned against those who deceived them. They considered the demagogue Kallikenos and four of his associates responsible for the fraud and imprisoned them. But they managed to escape. When amnesty was granted, Kallikenos returned to Athens (403 BC). But the Athenians, who had a great hatred for him, punished him very cruelly and left him to die. According to another version, Kallikenos committed suicide. However, the organizer of the conspiracy, Thiramenis, was not punished as he was acting behind the scenes and there was no evidence against him.
The sequel is known. The Athenians, consuming themselves in disputes among themselves and leading to the death of six great generals, did not take advantage of their victory at Arginuses. The Spartans reorganized under the leadership of Lysander and with the help of Cyrus the Persian they triumphed at the Aegos Potamus in 405 BC. The following year Thiramenes (tragic irony) signed a humiliating Peace Treaty for Athens which ended the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) which harmed Greece above all because it destroyed the vital forces and values of Hellenism …
Long live the Greek Nation! Long live March 25th!
Source: Reporter.gr