58 Antidote Essays… «But why does Hellenism fail to rise to the occasion, and instead of being a teacher of democracy, it seems more like a bad student? Why are we about to end up like the "old mats of nations" that Makrygiannis talks about?» «Article by article, we set out to make an effort that resembles what archaeologists and art conservators do when they find a beautiful ancient Greek statue. That is, to clean the bad rust that has accumulated on the Greek marbles.» «I am talking about the Hellenism of the fighter who liberated you by fighting "for Freedom and the Holy Faith of Christ." I am also talking about the Hellenism of the poet who names his work "Axion Esti," for the composer who sets it to music with sounds drawn from the Byzantine musical tradition, and for those interpreters who sing it with the philanthropic austerity of the joyful sorrow of the Greek measure.» «And if you want to better understand what I mean, no more words are needed. Gaze for a while at the statue of Nike of Samothrace. Listen to the Salutations of the Virgin Mary. Or watch the Trantellenes dance the Serra.»