The Euro has not only not made the Europeans better off but it has inflicted an historic defeat upon European capitalism; secondly, rather than proving helpful in the crisis that followed 2008, what the Euro has done – the Euro’s architectural design amplified massively the tsunami that hit the continent of Europe … and consequently led to the current political disintegration of the political centre. Yanis Varoufakis, Oxford Union 2015, Youtube 55.42
The fragmentation of the Euro zone is at an advanced stage. ibid.
The stronger it [Euro] is, the weaker the population living under it. ibid.
It has not just been a failure, it has been pointless … It was less than pointless, it was destructive. ibid.
We [Greece] were the apple in the eye of German bankers. ibid.
There was a deluge of credit cards that people were receiving in the mail. ibid.
They shifted the gigantic losses of the idiotic banks on to the shoulders of the taxpayers – it’s called austerity. ibid.
This is malice by design. ibid.
Deflation begets monsters. ibid.
The extraordinary life of Princess Alice, the Duke of Edinburgh’s mother and the Queen’s mother-in-law is one of the best kept secrets in Royal history. Born in Windsor castle, she begins life as a privileged royal. But from the start, Alice is no ordinary princess. She was deaf. She served as a nurse on the front line. She goes on to face huge personal challenges and is committed to an asylum. But she would overcome these struggles to help those in need. Princess Alice: The Royals’ Greatest Secret, Channel 5 2020
Reporting of Alice’s death is minimal; it makes just the fourth item in the night’s news. ibid.
The Greek monarchy is not a stable one. Greece had only existed as a county in its own right for seventy years following the break-up of the Ottoman empire. ibid.
Out of the latest tragedy Princess Alice emerges with a renewed sense of purpose. But her return home to Greece throws up another test: one that takes her into a clandestine battle with the Nazis. ibid.
The new government had inherited a dirty little war in Greece. The Queen’s Wedding, Channel 4 2007
A cradle of civilisation, the Greeks of the ancient world hothoused everything from democracy to medicine. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes, Channel 5 2020
Odysseus: a legendary warrior whose cunning won the Trojan war. After the victory there begins a long journey home to the far west of Greece across these seas. His story – The Odyssey – is a brilliant tale of triumph over adversity and danger, inspiring books, movies and adventures. ibid.
A place full of mystery and wonder and tens of thousands of years of history and human experience. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes II
I’m following the trail of Odysseus who we’re told journeyed from the battlefields of Troy in what’s now Turkey back home to the Island of Ithaca in the far west of Greece. ibid.
Delos: ruins right across this island – it’s Greece’s greatest outdoor archaeological museum. ibid.
Santorini – Thera to the ancient Greeks – where I discover the island’s deadly volcano and the story of the lost city of Atlantis. The most southern of the Aegean Cycladic islands, it’s a place of myth, fire and brimstone. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes III
An entire prehistoric civilisation dating back over 3,600 years. The terrible thing is the people here did have foreknowledge of the disaster. ibid.
My voyage takes me to the largest island in Greece … In ancient history Crete was a superpower. In myth it was famous birthplace of gods and myths. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes IV
Knossos: this is a huge palace that covers over six acres … There are images of bulls everywhere here … Crete is home to of the most famous legends of all time: the Minotaur, half-man, half-bull. ibid.
Peloponnese: a peninsula connected to the Greek mainland by bridges over a 6km canal … Home to one of the greatest Bronze-Age civilisations – the Mycenaeans. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes V
Known for producing some of history’s toughest fighters from the warrior heroes of the Bronze-Age Greeks about three and half thousand years ago to the ancient Spartans who dominated this wild landscape a thousand years later. ibid.
Corfu: Odysseus’s arrival here is super-dramatic … [Poseidon] has made Odysseus’ life completely miserable. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes VI
Corfu became a British protectorate leaving monuments all over the island … Odysseus described this island as Heaven on Earth. ibid.
Ithaca: Odysseus goes under cover. Only the dog Argos, his faithful pet, recognises him. Odysseus was right to be wary: at home all is not well. ibid.
I’m travelling the world exploring secrets and wonders. And adventure by land and sea to the most fascinating places. Bettany Hughes’ Treasure of the World s1e1: Greece, Channel 4 2021
Greece: birthplace of an astonishing culture that gave us fantastic art, pioneering medicine and bold ideas. ibid.
The Acropolis: For over 3,500 years it’s borne witness to the incredible Greek civilisation. ibid.
Ottoman rule continued for a little over 100 years, until in 1821 the Greeks launched a revolt in a bid for independence. ibid.
When you come to visit Sparta it can be hard to imagine that this was once one of the most influential game-changing civilisations in the story of the world. ibid.
Greece: The old decaying president of that republic has failed to get a pro-Euro government going. Tariq Ali, lecture Zagreb 15th May 2012, ‘The Rotten Heart of Europe’
This blackmailing of Greece not to quit the Euro zone … An atmosphere of fear. ibid.