George Johnston by Garry Kinnane;

Author:Garry Kinnane;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780522865493
Publisher: Melbourne University Publishing
Published: 1986-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER IX

HYDRA: The Serpent in the Rock

Sailing those waters we were once wise in what had to be done in a night of storm, should a beautiful woman rise on the tempestuous waves lashing at the boat and cry her aching question: ‘Where is Alexander the Great?’ Quick as a flash one had to be ready with the reply: ‘Alexander the Great lives and reigns!’ If this were shouted out the woman would vanish, the storm-wind quieten, the seas subside, and sunrise would come over an Aegean innocent again. To neglect that response, that cry of affirmation, was to be doomed. We knew that. We were warned about it, Cressida and I, the first time sailing off Santorin, another time coming into Patmos, with the sun rising behind Samos like the gold embellishment on an ikon.

Greece’s, of course, is a fatal beauty. It always has been, I suppose. So how important it is to understand the hazardous breathtaking mysteries, to grasp at wisdoms in the moment of peril, to stand upright and shout with loud and confident authority into the very howling mouth of danger, ‘Alexander the Great lives and reigns!’ (CSFN 310–11)

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