The
literal meaning of Thalatta
is ‘The Sea’.
Danielle
Fink (Marie) and Doug Howe (Freder) in Ferdinand Bruckner's PAINS
OF YOUTH
The
Greeks however have known it as
‘The Cry of Ten Thousand’ since 401 BC when it was recorded in Xenophon’s
Anabasis. The joyful cry was uttered as Xenophon’s exhausted troops finally
arrived at the Black Sea after a sixteen month journey over the Caucasus Mountains.
The sea meant ships, and the ships meant home. For the Greeks, the sea represents
their lance and their shield – a means both of peaceful conquest and a
defense of their freedom. This ‘Odysseus complex’ drives them, and
us, towards adventure, imagination and self-realization.
