Top View

 


text for the bilingual periodical publication Kallisteia,
Issue No.1, the beauty issue, 10/2001

TOP VIEW
 
The view from the top is always beautiful.
 
Views can be different, distant or close.
Views can also be bought, yet they are not for sale. Real estate agents know a lot about beautiful views, and they will tell you a good view can cost a lot of money. The higher the better.
Despite all of that, a view cant really be owned. What could be owned is a point of view. A point of view may be private, yet the view remains public. Access to a particular view is sometimes restricted -more exclusive- this is why one can claim to have a really unique view What they mean is that they have a unique point of view. In this way, specific views of the city have become high on demand.
 
In Athens, there are many different views, and many different points of view:
the view of the Parthenon, for example.
Views in the city can be rated, with reference to the Parthenon. You are certainly very privileged if you have a view of the Parthenon from your house. Thats why the Parthenon view of the city of Athens, has become a postcard view. Postcard views are always beautiful. Some postcards are more popular than others, just like some views in the city are more popular than others. But, postcard views are the MOST popular ones. They are the views to remember. The ones you can claim to have seen. They are objective views. Their beauty is appreciated by all.
 
The top view of the city cannot be rated.
No one can own its point of view, cause it is higher than built. It can be seen from the top of the hills, and the mountains -from the Acropolis, Lycabettus hill, Ymittos mountain, or an aircraft. It is a distant view. A more powerful view.
The top view of the city, is the view of its exterior. Its appearance. And it is always beautiful, no matter how ugly some of its features may be. The overview is always seductive.
Exterior views can sometimes be boring. The view of the city never is.
It is attractive. Just like the view from the airplane before landing, it excites the imagination. It is like watching the inside from outside. It is about having an outlook on things. It is about having an overall point of view.