At the end of 1979, I spent a month in Greece making a film documentary for Irish state television to mark Greece becoming the 10th member of the European Union on January 1st, 1980. Recently, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker said the reason Greece joined then was because ‘we didn’t want to see Plato play in the second division’.1 For those fashioning the new European project, it was unconscionable that Greece should remain outside for political and ideological reasons. As was apparent at the time, this was regardless of Plato’s level of fitness, or even if the European Premier Division could afford the ultimate transfer fee: the final reckoning of which has still to be calculated.
In the intervening decades I have travelled many times to Greece and consumed its history, both ancient and modern. As a frequent visitor to the sites (the Parthenon, Delphi, Epidaurus, Olympia, and others) it became increasingly obvious to me that there was a dissonance between what I was looking at and what I was reading. How could all of this extraordinary display—the Glory that was Greece—have been created by a society which, according to the prevailing academic orthodoxy, had only a primitive economy. My journalistic impulses and training in the dismal science gradually conspired that I should investigate this dichotomy further. Ultimately, this led to my completing a PhD in Classics, the thesis of which is the basis of this book.
This publication offers me an opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to a number of people whose generous assistance and advice has made this endeavour possible. My thesis supervisor, Prof. Brian McGing, provided both invaluable counsel and unstinting support throughout my years as a doctoral student. From many other members of the staff at Trinity Classics department I received much help and encouragement during the writing of both the dissertation and this book. I would like to thank Dr. Martine Cuypers for her patient efforts in tutoring me in ancient Greek and in superintending my efforts in that regard for this book. Dr. Shane Wallace was a willing and congenial source of advice in Classics research for the uninitiated, and helped navigate me through my encounters with Greek inscriptions. My external thesis examiner, Prof. Hans van Wees of University College London, was instrumental in having this book published, the final version of which has profited enormously from his advice and suggestions. Additionally, I would like to express my appreciation for the valuable suggestions and comments made by Brill’s anonymous reviewer.
As with all ostensibly individual enterprises, a wider community of support is vital. I owe a debt of gratitude to many people, but especially to the following; Peter Barry for reading the material, Dr. Mary Codd for statistical support and to Dana Stroiescu for her electronic publishing skills. The artist Mieke Vanmechelen, from whom I commissioned a suite of drawings, has recreated aspects of classical Athens for which little or no material evidence exists. These drawings have added a valuable visual dimension for which I am deeply appreciative. I would also like to acknowledge the support she received for this work from the Thomas Dammann Trust. As usual, however, none of the above is responsible for this work’s remaining faults or flaws, the responsibility for which rests solely with me.
Barry O’Halloran
Dublin, July 2018
Guardian 3.7.2015.