"Gemma" by D. Liantinis

The translation of Gemma is now available to buy as a kindle e-book. A POD version will follow shortly.

Gemma (referring to a star in the constellation Coronae Borealis) is a collection of sixteen interrelated lyrical essays dealing with poetry, philosophy, education, science, the nature of tragedy, religion, life, eros and death. It was first published in Greek in 1997.

Information about the author and reviews of his books in the Greek press (unfortunately only available in Greek) can be found on the official website which is maintained by the copyright owner. The wikipedia entry in English is also quite informative.  

The translation of the book covers ~250 pages. Below is a quick summary of the chapters:

α. Margaret's Question ..... 

 Deals with the myth of Faust and how one ought to explore questions about the existence of God.

β. v = d * H .......... 

 Is about the importance of the discovery of the expansion of the universe by Edwin Hubble and about beauty in nature.

γ. Concerning Circe …..... 

 Gives a novel interpretation of the encounter between Ulysses and Circe in Homer's Odyssey.

δ. Onan and Cain …....

 Starting with the Biblical figures of Onan and Cain, he explores two contrasting world-views: the ancient Greek and the ancient Jewish and assesses their impact on Western civilisation. In parallel, he explores the complementary concepts of Eros and Death.

ε. He who slept with men ..…

 Explores the nature of Socratic tragedy.

ζ. Cyclopean ........……

 Provides an interpretation of the myth of the Cyclops from the Odyssey and peels away the layers to reveal a set of instructions for how one should live out their lives.

η. The Hellenic Greek ....……

 Attempts to assess critically the difference between the quality of the civilization of ancient Greece and the status of modern Greece in the world today.

θ. Δp Δq >= h ……

 Discusses the meaning of Heizenberg's Uncertainty Principle and Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment in relation to what one can truly know.

ι. This is Missolonghi! ...……

 Is arguably one of the more poetic chapters. An investigation of the life of the pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles leads to an analysis of the ancient Greek attitude towards death.

κ. A minor arbiter ..........……

 Deals with Eros as the Art of Departing

λ. Nekyia ……

 Revisits the descent of Ulysses into the underworld (Nekyia). The nekyias of Aeneias, Jesus, Dante and Freud are then laid out and described in some detail and their common features are identified and analysed.

μ. Helen of Sparta .....……

 Deals with the myth of Helen of Troy. This is then used as a basis to talk about beauty in life, reason and nature.

ν. God is dead .....……

 Deals with the crisis of western civilization.

ξ. The Ironists ….......……

 Analyzes the quality of the irony of Socrates, Sophocles, Jesus, Dostoyevsky and C.P. Cavafy. Discusses the true nature of tragedy.

ο. Narcissus ...........……

 A lyrical journey through the constellations of the night sky. A parallel journey from ignorance and fear to knowledge and delight.

π. Sonne über Austerlitz .......................

 A final statement.