And, as the cradle of the world’s first democracy, Greece needs other symbols of national renewal than scepters and robes. It is through Homer that virtually all Western readers first encounter the Mediterranean world: its islands and shores and peoples knit together by diplomacy, trade, marriage, oil, wine, and long ships.
尤其是希腊，如今需要从过去步入到未来，但这个国家没有现成的王室。作为世界上首个民主发源地，希腊需要的是其他表示振兴国家的象征，而不是权杖和长袍。是荷马让西方的读者首次接触地中海世界的：它的岛屿和海岸，人们由外交，贸易，婚姻，食油，酒和大船联系起来。希腊可以用它现在面临的危机去开拓新未来，再次成为上述世界的支柱。