{"id":4555,"date":"2026-08-02T12:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T09:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/?p=4555"},"modified":"2026-08-02T12:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T09:06:40","slug":"the-perpetrator-and-the-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/?p=4555","title":{"rendered":"THE PERPETRATOR AND THE VICTIM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Konstantinos Konstantinidis \u2013 Amphiktyon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>meltemi<\/strong>&nbsp;winds were, in my time, the life-giving breeze that cooled the Aegean Sea and Greece during the summer. Meteorologists say that without them Greece would burn like the Sahara. In the past, these winds were generally mild, but in recent years they have become stronger and more violent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is precisely what organized arsonists exploit. On such days, they deliberately ignite fires at strategically chosen locations, where it is virtually impossible to contain them unless they are extinguished within the first few minutes. The main reason is that aerial firefighting aircraft cannot operate effectively when strong winds prevail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At such times, not only do deliberate arsonists act, but also irresponsible individuals who care nothing for the common good, disregard the laws of the state, and show no respect for the environment, causing wildfires through negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my opinion, those who intentionally set fires should face the death penalty, while those responsible through negligence should receive life imprisonment with compulsory labor devoted to restoring the natural environment. Perhaps then this obsession with setting fires, which has afflicted the Greek people, would finally come to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the Hellenic Fire Service:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>35% of forest fires are attributed to negligence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>20% are attributed to deliberate arson.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>45% remain of unknown origin, although it is estimated that this category includes both negligent and intentional causes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the issue of wildfires runs much deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. It Begins with Greek Mythology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Was it&nbsp;<strong>Prometheus<\/strong>&nbsp;who was to blame for stealing fire from Father Zeus before humanity had learned how to use it properly, thus risking burning themselves and the entire earth? On the contrary, while being punished by Zeus, he left matters to his brother&nbsp;<strong>Epimetheus<\/strong>&nbsp;and to his wife&nbsp;<strong>Pandora<\/strong>, who learned through suffering after opening Pandora&#8217;s Box. Unfortunately, their descendants have learned nothing from so many environmental disasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Coming to the Modern Era<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>a)<\/strong>&nbsp;Humanity is responsible for penetrating forest ecosystems and bringing civilization into highly flammable woodland environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>b)<\/strong>&nbsp;Modern man has neglected the natural environment by polluting the land, the seas, and the atmosphere, thereby destabilizing the entire ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. The Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From now on, unless effective global measures are taken to reverse the present situation, it is only to be expected that each passing year will bring increasingly destructive megafires, floods, the degradation of marine life, the extinction of numerous animal and plant species, and the emergence of new and unprecedented conditions affecting humanity as a consequence of environmental deterioration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not a punishment, but rather the establishment of a new balance\u2014one that only nature knows how to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet the &#8220;journalists of the wildfire&#8221;\u2014mostly women, but also men\u2014lament and shriek in front of the cameras, supposedly to move the public with scenes of devastation. However, no one has ever been seen presenting a deliberate or negligent arsonist on television, nor inviting environmental organizations, where available, to discuss the problem in any meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reason is that forests have become entangled in the vortex of profit-driven exploitation: wind turbines, hotels, new roads, housing developments, and similar projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wildfires create business opportunities for suppliers and contractors: more firefighting aircraft, more fire engines, reconstruction projects, rebuilding settlements, votes, kickbacks for politicians, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Human beings must become more humane. They must think rationally about their own future and the future of their children. They must change both their way of thinking and their way of living. This change does not require a return to primitivism, but rather a movement toward genuine progress and, above all, toward the moral and intellectual improvement of humanity itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This requires a return to the Greek spirit and to Greek education. Let us begin with Homer and Hesiod, so that we may ultimately arrive at the gods, at nature, and finally at mankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For man is, at one and the same time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>both the perpetrator and the victim.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>2 August 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Amphiktyon<\/strong><br>Lieutenant General (Ret.), Konstantinos Konstantinidis<br>Author \u2013 Member of the Society of Greek Writers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Amphiktyon Blog:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/blog\/post\/edit\/2689687352512687593\/953501859950173778\"><strong>http:\/\/www.amphiktyon.blogspot.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Amphiktyon Official Site:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><u>http:\/\/www.amphiktyon.org<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Konstantinos Konstantinidis \u2013 Amphiktyon The&nbsp;meltemi&nbsp;winds were, in my time, the life-giving breeze that cooled the Aegean Sea and Greece during the summer. Meteorologists say that without them Greece would burn like the Sahara. In the past, these winds were generally mild, but in recent years they have become stronger and more violent. This is precisely &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/?p=4555\" class=\"more-link\">\u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c7\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;THE PERPETRATOR AND THE VICTIM&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4556,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4555\/revisions\/4556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amphiktyon.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}