MANY Malaysians grew up in awe of Greek heroes such as Hercules, Achilles, Alexander the Great and King Leonidas after reading their exploits.
So heroic and so historic. But now it’s a horror story. Here is my two sen as Greece collapses under debts totalling 323 billion euros or RM1.3 trillion.
The much-storied nation is in a sorry state, on its knees, broke and humiliated. Its sagging shoulders bear a mountain of debts like Atlas, the mythical Titan.
Greece is literally running out of cash, that is euros, as its ATMs and banks fall short on money amid long lines of gloomy customers.
This beggars belief. Good old Homer would never have written such a sad chapter.
After all, Greece is a developed nation, not some failed African state. Arguably, Greece, of first world country status, should be the last nation on earth to go bankrupt.
The Greeks now pay the price for the sheer incompetence of their governments who borrowed heavily, spent stupidly and collected little in taxes.
In retrospect, when you think of Greece’s glorious past, the nation of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc., is none the wiser when it comes to financial philosophy.
Let’s reflect on this, Greece was the cradle of Western civilisation, giving the world literature, mathematical and scientific principles, political science, democracy and the Olympic Games.
When Greece joined the 19-member eurozone in 2011, no one saw this financial calamity coming, not even the Oracle of Delphi.
On Sunday, Greece, led by their young prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, a modern-day Hector, gave the thumbs down to the tough bailout terms by European creditors.
A sneering ‘no’ to their harsh austerity demands of more taxes and less welfare spending.
The creditors’ terms were just unacceptable. The Greeks knew it as even if they work like a Trojan for the rest of their lives, it just won’t settle their debts. It’s economically self-defeating.
Though the dictionary borrowed from the Greeks the word “spartan” (origin, people of Sparta), which means “frugality or avoidance of luxury and comfort”, the EU austerity measures were just too tough.
Zeus wouldn’t be amused. His people, who have won so many ancient wars, had no defence against their worst enemy in modern times — themselves, that is.
In fact, Germany, which is Greece’s biggest lender, has irked the Greeks in telling them to change their lifestyle.
The Greeks were furious with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for suggesting they take too many holidays and retire too early, and that the Greeks are not working enough, while Germans are expected to bail them out.
So, the two nations fought a few wars of words. Methinks the Greeks liken Merkel to Medusa, that Gorgon with a heart of stone.
Ironically, Greece was on the receiving end of the saying “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”.
You see... years ago, when the EU investors and creditors lent them endless “cheap euros loans”, the Greeks happily accepted. But alas, such sustained borrowing led to unsustainable debts.
So, the Greeks shot themselves in the foot. And with an Achilles' heel that just won’t stop bleeding, they now limp to the eurozone door, possibly giving up their membership.
But they should be mindful of the Greek saying: “If the sheep leaves the flock, it cannot live.”
No one seems to be able to rescue Greece from its drowning debts even as 246 economic professors sit in their bathtubs like Archimedes, wondering how to keep their country afloat.
The poor Greeks. They can’t even devalue the euros for geeky mythology fans like me to visit the Acropolis to boost their tourism coffers.
Well, that is, unless they print their own money again, the drachma, which would lead to another financial drama.
The lesson of the Greek tragedy is this: live beyond your means and you won’t have the means to pay back.
And go easy on your credit card. Our banks don’t insist on you taking austerity measures.