Winter 1999/2000

A few years ago on one of my first trips to Lisbon, then Cultural Capital of Europe, I was struck by its similarity to Athens in the 1950's. The ubiquitous shoeshine boys, the tiled rooftops, the trams, the Alto Barrio and the monastery of St. George reflected the Plaka and Mt. Lycabettus. Beyond the physical similarities, though, there were more basic underlying elements; the sea, the port and their importance in the history and development of both countries.

The recent death of Aimilia Rodrigues, perhaps the greatest Fado singer of all times, brought back my memories of the mournful songs of lost seamen, the loneliness and the sadness of their absence. It was the sea that propelled the Portuguese in search of a new route to Cathay; it was the sea that brought them wealth and freedom; it was the sea that brought the Greeks their freedom many times over, notably in the Battle of Salamis against the Persians in 480 BC, and more recently in their fight for freedom in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The names of Captain Miaoulis and Laskarina Bouboulina are engraved in the Greek mind and on many a city street for their heroic naval battles. Themistocles, the general in command of the Greek Fleet in Salamis, provoked the battle with Xerxes, the Persian King, knowing well that the future of the Greeks would be doomed without a victory.

Piraeus, seven kilometers south of Athens, now an integral part of the Athenian landscape, was prominent in antiquity, but only revived commercially after the opening of the Corinth Canal at the turn of the century. Aristophanes describes Piraeus, (Cantharus) as being noisy and full of soldiers and rowers,who gathered around the trierachs, the ship commanders. Artists were busy painting the palladia , images of Pallas Athena holding shield and lance, that were mounted as talismans on ships' prows. Oarsmen examined their calluses and flute- playing maidens offered themselves.

Just north of Piraeus are the Perama shipyards, sitting at the foot of a mountain peak called Guzepena, (named after the daughter of a Turkish general). I visited it once, and looked down into the Bay of Salamis. The spot were I stood is called Thesi Avgo, ''Position Egg''; this is where King Xerxes sat and watched his fleet being routed by the Greek Triremes. Nearby a lady dressed in a traditional costume from the island of Carpathos asked me in a sing- song dialect who I was. She looked relieved upon hearing that I was not an official, and beautiful in her outfit, so reminiscent of 1821. Walking later through the Perama shipyards, I noticed a huge vessel was being demolished; its faded lettering said ''PATRIS". Just one of the ships that had transported Greek immigrants on their month- long journey to Australia before and after the Second World War.

My grandparents came from Hydra; they settled in Piraeus as oil and soap merchants. Their company was appropriately called 'Pallas Athena'. The green soap, as precious as gold, was transported to every island in Greece with large wooden vessels called ''kaikis'', which were able to withstand the tumultuous seas of the Aegean.

Piraeus today bristles with Greek tankers, coastal ferries, and commercial vessels. Greeks have one of the largest merchant fleets in the world. Shipping magnates like Onassis, Niarchos and Goulandris are household names. They were not only masters of the sea, but used their wealth to create museums, cultural centres, and philanthropic foundations, promoting Greece and things Greek.

Greece, like Portugal,has mourned the loss of many of its sailors. The songs sung in the Piraeus taverns, the Rebetika, are reminiscent of the Fado. Despite the sorrow, the sea gave the Greeks and the Portuguese the mobility to expand their physical and mental horizons; it spread their influence, culture, and ideas around the world. Athens and Lisbon, similar in looks, similar in their relationship to the sea. In my files I find a small poem I had written on a Portuguese napkin:

Lisbon

Cultural Capital of Europe

In grandeur and grace

Embraced.

Lisbon

Down-trodden

Stone squares,

High flying, fluttering

Laundry,

Gracing its wrought iron portals

Discovering its present