French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Pnyx hill beneath the Acropolis of Athens, Greece on September 7, 2017. NurPhoto/Press Association. All rights reserved.
Shortly after he became president of France, Emmanuel Macron visited Greece, where he addressed an audience in Athens. In an assured performance he surprised everyone by beginning his speech in Greek, before switching to French. Against the night sky, the Parthenon behind him and a young crowd in front of him, the place from which Macron spoke was well chosen. It was the Pnyx. The Pnyx is the hill on which the assembly (ekklēsia) of citizens in ancient Athens met to debate and decide on their common affairs.
The symbolism was obvious. After the years in which Greece’s modern-day democracy had been subject to the harsh disciplines of the European monetary order, Macron’s presidency represented a new beginning for Europe, a new beginning that was to build on the principles of democracy. Modern ambition was dignified by the image of an ancient source. Political renewal was underpinned by the memory of democratic origins, in particular by an image of democracy in which the people governed themselves directly. Democracy was to be conducted in the presence of the people.
