“It is evident that in every period of its development, Western European civilization has tried to free itself from the Greeks. This effort is imbued with the deepest dissatisfaction, because whatever other peoples created, seemingly original and worthy of admiration, suddenly lost its color and life in comparison with the Greek model, withered and turned into a poorly made copy, a caricature.
Thus, a constantly rekindled rage erupts again and again against this independent Greek people, this small, arrogant nation that had the audacity to call “barbarians” forever all foreign elements that had not been created on its territory…
None of their critics was lucky enough to find the hemlock with which we could get rid of them once and for all. All the poisons of envy, slander and hatred proved insufficient to shake their magnificent self-control.
That is why people feel shame and fear towards the Greeks. Unless, of course, someone values the truth above all else and dares to admit this truth: that the Greeks hold in their hands the reins of our own and every coming civilization, but almost always the chariots and horses of later civilizations are of poor quality and unable to follow the charioteer (Heniochos-Greek), who then turns their guidance into an ironic game.”
Friedrich Nietzsche – book “The Birth of Tragedy”
