34 years ago today the tanks of the Greek military junta tore down the gates of the Polytechnic School and tried to crushed the voice of the people demanding the restoration of democracy in the land that gave birth to it.
The above video is from the first of many concerts Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis gave in October 1974 after the fall of the 7 year dictatorship. Theodorakis had been tortured and sent to exile camps during the tyranny, along with hundreds of Greeks. The concerts were open to all and the Greek people flooded the stadiums to celebrate the restitution of the Greek Republic.
This video is part of the broadcast filmed by German television. The song "To Yelasto Pedi" (The Jovial Boy) from the cycle "The Hostage" by Brendan Behan was put to music by Mikis Theodorakis. The first edition of this song was sung by Maria Farantouri. "To Yelasto Pedi" is also known as the theme of the film "Z" about the murder of Lambrakis. Theodorakis added the introduction "It was 18th of November", lyrics by Vasilis Rotas.
Also on this blog: When tanks roamed the streets of Athens and Greeks stripped of basic civil rights, tortured and persecuted
Debriefing
- Flubberwinkle
- Athens, Greece
- Half of the day they call me "Athena" where I get paid to dabble with computers. The other half of the day I'm called "Mom", but I also have an online secret identity. I am bilingual, so what might look like Greek to you, probably is. I blog because it's cheaper than therapy and I like to make people laugh.
