That is why it is called Babel, because the Lord there made a babble of the language of all the world. THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE, Gen. 11.9

We had not seen each other for over thirty years -- the last time was in the Doktoranden Seminar, a few days before leaving Munich and the University. But when he called, it seemed like yesterday.

"I am in Athens," he said. "Do you still hate Hegel?"

"More than ever," I replied.

The first hour of our meeting was taken by "remember this..." and "remember that..." Then we came to talk of politics. Knud was now a diplomat with the EEC -- and had many questions:

"What is happening to you people? You seem to retrograde -- to regress. All the colleagues in Brussels have the same problem: They are unable to understand the Greeks. You seem to have forgotten that you once discovered logic and rational thinking. You act and react like obstinate children."

"Don't continue. I am following closely the German, French and English-speaking press - I am tired of reading about our 'chauvinist hysteria' etc. etc."

"Well, how do you explain all that?"

I was prepared for the topic. In the last two years, most of the foreign friends and acquaintances whom I met, in Greece or abroad, had voiced similar remarks. I almost had ready made answers. But Knud the Dane, was a difficult case. Trained as a philosopher before going into international law, he was not going to be satisfied with general statements. I would have to dig a little deeper.

"You are talking of Macedonia, I suppose?"

"Not only - not exclusively. Of course, your resurging nationalism is the first issue. But also your attitude in all international questions. You seem to be swimming alone against the current. Siding up with Milosevic -- or for that matter, with Saddam Hussein! Giving standing ovations to Karacic - a man hated and despised in the whole Western world. And not only do you seem to endorse people who violate human rights abroad. You also ignore these rights in your own country. What about freedom of speech? People are condemned here, just because they express different opinions. That poor high school student got one year in prison because he wrote that Alexander the Great was an imperialist. What about religious freedom? You are discriminating against Greek citizens, only because they belong to a different religious denomination. 'Only an orthodox Greek is a genuine Greek' this was written by officials of your own Secret Services."

"You seem to have a fine hearing in Brussels. The Greek government tried to suppress this report."

"It may not be representative - but it is indicative. You seem to be reverting to a closed society, fanatical and intolerant, with a strong isolationist attitude permeating all your thoughts".

"Did you come here to pass judgment on us?"

"Another problem - you are unable to endure criticism. Any article which does not support or praise you, is labeled as anti-Greek and seen as a token of a world-wide anti-Greek conspiracy."

"Is that all?"

"OK, I admit having been too harsh. But I am trying to provoke you. I want answers, explanations, interpretations. I desperately need to understand you."

"'Ay, there's the rub'. Remember Babel?"

"The Biblical one?"

"Yes, and how the Tower was never finished because God 'confused their speech'. We speak different languages".

"But you still speak perfect German!"

"Come on, you know what I mean. Greece and the West have been talking in different idioms for the last years. I am not saying you are wrong, or we are right. I am only ascertaining a fact. Incomprehensibility. We don't understand you - you do not understand us. And, as time goes by, we drift more and more apart. It is now really very difficult - almost impossible - to communicate."

"When did this start?"

"Well maybe nine and a half centuries ago - with the Schism. Or perhaps eight hundred years ago - when the Crusaders sacked Constantinople. It was a mistake, they meant to liberate Jerusalem. Well yes, I am exaggerating. But the fact is that the roots of our misunderstandings go far back in time. You Westerners think -"

"But you are also Westerners - members of the EC. You have put the foundations for the Western civilization. And you, personally..."

"I will play the role, I used to play in the Seminar - advocatus diaboli. I am trying to explain to you how Greeks react - even if I do not agree with them. I was saying that you Westerners, never managed to understand Greeks. You thought that the descendants of Aristoteles should be Aristotelians (in the way you, in your medieval scholasticism, had interpreted the Magister). Well no - we are not only the children of the rational Aristoteles, but also of the mystical Plato and the more mystical Plotinus. Of the Eleusinian mysteries. Of Dionysos. Of Byzantium. Of Anatolian sages. Our branches extend to the West, but our roots start far away in the East. We are so complex, we have a lot of trouble trying to understand ourselves. And there you come and say we are not rational. Of course we are not rational!

"You seem to be proud of the fact!"

"Not at all. But I am indignant. It is easy to be cool and rational when your history is a linear ascent into Enlightenment and Progress. But it is very difficult to be rational when your history is a series of traumata caused mainly by the people who exhort you to be rational."

"Don't tell me that you also ascribe to the theory 'its all the fault of the West'."

"Definitely not. But a lot of things happened to this country because of Western interventions. And anyway, we are not trying to find out who is at fault - but why it is so difficult for us to understand each other."

"So, let us look at the problems themselves."

"Before going into any rational argument, let us try to understand why Greeks react in this way. You always assume Greece belongs to the West. It does - and it does not. There has been a strong anti-western current in Greece for centuries. It has religious, national and ideological roots. Grouped inside this current you will nowadays meet an amazing mixture of characters: leftists (for whom western means capitalist or imperialist), extreme right ultranationalists, fanatical orthodox believers (neo- and old) and intellectuals. But mainly you will find populist politicians, cultivating the conspiracy theory of history, plus their victim: the simple man in the street who assumes an underdog mentality towards the 'Great Powers'. (The great alibi. 'They' are responsible for everything). So Greeks never felt they really belonged to the West. (They all say: I studied in Europe, I will travel to Europe - as if Greece was located in Asia). Our relationship to the West was always a love-hate affair, expressed wonderfully in two Greek words: Xenophobia and Xenomania. Phobia and mania are emotions - and therefore: when we talk to the West (or about the West) our language is emotional. It not easy for us to think rationally on this issue. Or for that matter, on any issue - we are very emotive. Mediterraneans, with a long history, loaded with pathos and agony. (Greek words again!) Enthusiastic, excitable, warm, friendly, insecure and short tempered. Especially if national or personal issues are concerned."

"Whereas we stand there detached, cool and rational..."

"Exactly. You talk the language of reason - we shout our heads off in demonstrations and rallies. Babel. No communication possible."

"But..."

"Mind you, I do not agree with this way of reacting. I think it has done us only harm. In modern Greek history, the politicians and the parties that cultivated emotions have always set us back. The modernizers were rationalists: Capodistrias, Tricoupis, Venizelos. Even personally I cannot follow this trend. Maybe I am spoiled, having spend many years in Western universities. But that does not mean I cannot understand it."

"And you think we should understand it too."

"At least take it into consideration. You know - when I talk to Greeks, I try to make them understand you. I tell them that you cannot base a foreign policy on phobias, enthusiasms, suspicions, and feelings. For us Macedonia is not simply a geographical area, it is a symbol. The Serbs are 'brothers'. We identify with them because they are orthodox, and because they fight Muslims (meaning Turks) and Catholics (meaning 'Papists'). All these things are rooted in the national unconscious id and would require many years on an analyst's couch - should there ever be one for nations..."

"You fancy yourself as a therapist?"

"For God's sake no. Some times as an interpreter - since I can understand both languages. Not that anyone listens to me. Never envy the fate of mediators. Let's have a beer!"