The books we read, if due attention was paid in the act of reading, tell us, of course, about the topic that the author decided to cover in the text, and they also force us readers to see ourselves in the context of what we read. It doesn’t matter if what is related happens in other latitudes and in other times: as readers we transmit that experience and question ourselves in our present. Reading puts us on a solid footing in the real world. Reading is an activity that expands our understanding of life. That is why encouraging reading is a public policy in countries that seek an informed citizenry.

German archaeologist Tonio Hölscher announced The Swimmer of Paestum: Youth, Eros and the Sea in Ancient Greece (Barcelona: Crítica, 2022), in which he offers a renewed interpretation of the image of a swimmer – a diver – jumping into the sea from a tower apparently built for this purpose. It is interesting that this painting was discovered in 1968 in a tomb built around 480 BC. C. According to archaeologists, this drawing is a unique example of great Greek painting that embodied, with physical elegance and grace, vivid colors amidst the milky world of marble typical of that time.

in constant exposure

The fourth edition of the exhibition ‘Art, women and public space’ brings urban art to the City Museum for the first time

After questioning the interpretation of the mystical nature, which affirms that the painting represents the transition from life to death, Hölscher spins his argument in such a way that, two thousand five hundred years later, he offers us a unique portrait of the “world of euphoria and joie de vivre” of the youth of ancient Greece : “Thus, the scene becomes the antithesis of the absolute control with which we prepare them for ‘serious life’ today, through the well-trodden paths of the curriculum, limited by the demands of duties, certificates and exams stamped in a row”.

The studies of archeology have much to reveal to us about this country which is in such need of cultural horizons.

In this way, Hölscher, interpreting an old picture, draws attention to one of the questions that will never be answered definitively: the education of children and adolescents. Following the thoughts of the author, the Greeks enthusiastically opted for the development of body, spirit and love of risk. What concepts are public and private education in Ecuador based on today? Have you managed to balance your disdain for knowledge and enthusiasm for learning skills? Are our young people developing the tools to, little by little, become proactive citizens?

In archaic Greece, the young were the hope of the community, but leaving them alone was avoided. Young people moved without ties, but under the affective guidance of their elders. “Today, on the other hand, young people live under pressure to fit in and achieve material success, but are culturally and emotionally left alone,” says Hölscher (translated by Lara Cortés Fernández). On the other hand, in this book we discover the central place of archeology which, digging up our past, gives us coordinates for a better present. The studies of archeology have much to reveal to us about this country which is in such need of cultural horizons. (OR)