Konstantinos Konstantinidis – Amphiktyon
Ever since we changed our faith,
we forgot the gods of our forefathers;
those whom once we honored,
today we have given over to the dogs.
It is sorrowful to reflect
that the gods who gave birth to learning,
who inspired philosophy and art,
were left to dust and ridicule,
and to the hostility of every scoffer,
once man ceased to think for himself
and ceased to create art.
Human and familiar gods,
who dwelt upon Olympus,
with passions, virtues, and weaknesses,
walking beside humankind,
helping them,
and who have not grown weary even now.
People felt them as neighbors and kin,
flesh of the flesh of our nation;
yet we replaced them
with foreign gods.
Different customs, a different worldview,
a different understanding of man and life;
and with them changed our values,
our reason, our way of thinking, and our philosophy.
We forgot the native gods,
after centuries of imposed force;
yet their names still survive,
as a distant echo of memory, in “Mythology.”
The neighbor’s dog is called Hera.
A she-wolf of foreign breed,
who dearly loves me and waits for me from afar,
the last lover left to me;
and another who saves lives at sea,
without ever seeking glory or praise.
Thus the queen of wealth, the wife of Zeus,
has returned, unwittingly, to everyday life—
not to temples and altars,
but to the courtyards of ordinary people.
It Is Time Also for the Ancestral Names to Return to Our Children
According to tradition, our first gods
were kings, heroes, and benefactors.
Our ancestors deified them,
believing they deserved the immortality of memory
and festive celebrations.
Today we praise and glorify others;
yet Athens continues to illuminate the world
with its spirit.
The ancestral gods left behind no miracles;
they left ideas, philosophy, theater, science,
and faith in the power of the human mind—
the highest of gifts.
For this reason, it is time to remember them;
not in order to return to the past,
but to recognize our roots
and become united.
To bring forth the spirit they engendered:
freedom of thought,
the search for truth,
the harmony between humanity and nature,
before the veil of Eurybia covered them.
The Greek eagle remains double-headed;
one head looks toward the East,
the other toward the West.
It is time for it to reclaim its eastern head as well.
The destiny of Hellenism has always been
to bridge worlds,
to synthesize rather than divide,
to create rather than destroy.
And perhaps one day the ruined temples
will cease to be merely monuments.
They may once again become symbols of memory,
education, and living culture.
Then the forgotten gods
will ask for no worship.
It will be enough that we remember
that once they taught humankind
to raise their eyes toward the heavens,
not out of fear,
but out of wonder.
(14 June 2026)
Amphiktyon – Lieutenant General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Writer – Member of the Greek Society of Literature
Amphiktyon Blog: http://www.amphiktyon.blogspot.com
Amphiktyon Official Site: http://www.amphiktyon.org