What is that one picture that best describes your city / country / state?

A2A Pegah.

I was going to post something smart-alecky about my country, Australia. But I see that it has already been covered:

• Shayne Bradbury’s answer to What is that one picture that best describes your city / country / state?
• User-10398731632804616022’s answer to What is that one picture that best describes your city / country / state?

I will instead post something about my country, Greece.

I am not a visual person; I am a words and music person. So I am going to use a picture that invokes the words and music I have in mind.

I am tired of Greece being laughed at. I am tired of Greece being venerated. We’re a country, same as any other. I am tired of us being hostage to our ancestors. We’re a country of living people, and we recognise ourselves in the neighbours we’ve told ourselves to disdain. There’s more to us than our past oppression. There’s more to us than our past glories.

There’s more to us than marble.

And yet.

File:Naxos, Portara quer 2016.jpg: — Portara – Naxos Island, Greece

Σε τούτα εδώ τα μάρμαρα κακιά σκουριά δεν πιάνει
μηδέ αλυσίδα στου Ρωμιού και στ’ αγεριού το πόδι

No evil rust will seize these marble stones;
no chain the Roman’s or the breeze’s foot.

—Yiannis Ritsos. Music: Mikis Theodorakis

1974 concert, George Dalaras singing. That brief spell, when my country had hope for a better future.