Liturgy Under the Acropolis – Nikiforos Vrettakos

Greek Popular Theatre of Manos Katrakis

First performance: September 10, 1982

Liturgy Under the Acropolis is the second composite poetic work by Nikiforos Vrettakos, published in 1981. It was preceded by Prometheus or, The Game of a Day in 1978. The reshaping of the ancient myth, as noted by renowned Hellenist Vincenzo Rotolo, “struggles to restore man back to the centre of the world, with several allusions to our own time, while the second one attempts an exquisite representation of significant experiences in Greek history and the Greek spirit. It is a highly complex theatrical work with a multifaceted and polyphonic structure, where extensive prose songs are skilfully incorporated into the metrical text, which, in some parts, echoes or reworks traditional songs and liturgical hymns”. The performances of Liturgy Under the Acropolis presented by the great Manos Katrakis at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus deeply moved audiences from all walks of life, confirming the purpose of poetry and its capacity to awaken an individual, or even a nation, in critical times such as the present. The fact that a poetic text was republished three times within the first two years of its release is also significant, considering the challenges faced by this type of poetic discourse until today.

From: Nikiforos Vrettakos, Liturgy Under the Acropolis, Themelio Publishing, Athens, 2012.