Latest news with #MatthewParris
Spectator
28-05-2025
- General
- Spectator
Why did the ancient Greeks have so many gods?
Writing in a lesser organ, Matthew Parris wondered whether most ancient Greeks 'really, sincerely, did believe in their bizarre pantheon of gods'. Belief in a single god was at that time limited to two peoples: Jews and Zoroastrians (and Egyptians once, briefly). To everyone else, perhaps the sheer variety of the world, the extraordinary generative power of nature and the impossibility of making secure predictions about anything suggested a multitude of powers at work. Since it was obvious that earth and sky combined to control nature – man's only resource – it was not unreasonable for the ancient Greeks to see those features as the first two gods and then, constructing them as a human couple (the family being such a central Greek concern), to assume they generated not only other gods but the whole physical world too. The farmer-poet Hesiod (c. 680 bc) named more than 300 such gods, from Zeus and the Olympian gods at the top to Night, Day, Sleep, Oceans, Mountains, Rivers, Winds, Hades and so on, all with different functions. Result: you name a feature of human life, there was probably a god for it, all the way down to gods of weeding, muck-spreading, reaping and mildew. But what did those gods require? Obviously, what humans required, that is, respect, in the shape of acknowledgement. That could consist of a prayer, an offering left on an altar, or (at the communal level) a hecatomb (100 oxen sacrifice). And what did humans hope for in return? Primarily, the means of life, especially 'the blessings of the gods visited on them, for ploughing and for harvest, each in its season, with unbroken regularity' (Isocrates). That was achieved as long as the rituals were properly carried out – the sole function of priests, male and female. But if, say, Athenians felt that the gods could help their political ambitions, that was something for the democratic assembly to discuss.
Times
15-05-2025
- Times
My holiday horizons have shrunk — but it's not the kids' fault
If you were to ask me to name my favourite newly discovered place on earth of the past half-decade, I could answer without a second's hesitation. It would be Casa Tino, a simple but spectacular fish restaurant with chairs and tables set right on top of the black volcanic sand of Playa Quemada, a half-forgotten fishing village on Lanzarote, that's very hard to find. Lanzarote is cooler than you might think if you go to the right places, but I don't. Matthew Parris went there a long time ago and looked down into a cave of blind albino crabs, watching shafts of celestial sunlight illuminate their path without their knowing, prompting him to ponder his own Messiah complex. I keep meaning to go and have
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
A road trip through Zimbabwe
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Zimbabwe's political troubles in recent decades have damaged its reputation – but don't let that stop you visiting this glorious African country, said Matthew Parris in The Times. I grew up there when it was still Rhodesia, so my love for it goes deep. But I have also been back since, most recently with British friends last year. We all found it "gentle, friendly and relaxed", and everywhere we went, people were glad to see tourists. There are "super" places to stay, and in terms of safety, its capital, Harare, is "light years ahead" of Cape Town or Nairobi. The Victoria Falls are amazing, and there are some great safari lodges – but don't limit yourself to these. Zimbabwe offers much else besides – so just "hire a car, get a map, and go". Years of economic difficulty have left Harare looking "knocked about" in parts, but its restaurants are good, its shops are "well stocked", and the jacaranda trees along its avenues still produce beautiful blossom in spring. We stayed at Amanzi Lodge, which has big thatched bungalows set in gardens "complete with tiny African squirrels and vervet monkeys". From there we drove to the "cool, green" Eastern Highlands, where we climbed Mount Nyangani (Zimbabwe's highest peak, at 8,500ft) and took a thrilling ride on the world's highest zip wire, the Sky Line, a 1,200-yard steel cable spanning the ravine in front of the spectacular Mutarazi Falls. The SkyDeck Mountain Retreat, nearby, has "glamorous, ultramodern" rooms, but we chose a cheaper option – one of the "sweet" little cottages, lit by oil lamps, in its grounds. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's "charming" second city, we stayed at the Bulawayo Club, an "elegant" institution with Edwardian billiards tables, portraits of "long-gone" settlers, and a single pith helmet hanging behind the bar. And in the Matobo National Park – "a tumble of rocky valleys and boulder-strewn peaks" an hour's drive from the city – we saw some of Africa's most "evocative" rock art: images of human figures and various animals that are "perhaps twice as old as Stonehenge".
