During this summer vacation, my decision was primarily driven by a desire to escape the sun, as Chongqing is notoriously scorching hot in late July and early August—earning its reputation as a “furnace.” So, at the end of July, I left Chongqing for an artistic journey across Europe. I traveled through three countries—Italy, France, and Greece—and stayed for over 20 days, nearly a month. In every city I visited, aside from daily necessities like food, clothing, and lodging, I spent all my time immersed in art galleries and museums. My phone is now filled with photos—it’s practically a portable European art museum.
Though I had visited Italy and France before, Greece was entirely new to me. As the cradle of Western civilization, I felt that missing Greece—and Athens in particular—would mean missing the very heart of Western culture. So, I made sure to go. At the hotel in Athens, I woke up one morning to have breakfast and looked out the window—there stood the Parthenon, crystal clear in the distance. That moment of surprise was truly unforgettable. Art thrives on surprise, and philosophy springs from wonder—from that sudden “aha!” moment when a flash of insight strikes you, stirring something deep within.
One morning, before 11 a.m., I went to a beach by the Aegean Sea. Schools of fish swam in the gentle waves, moving in perfect harmony like dancers—not farmed, but wild, yet so graceful they seemed like water sprites gliding through the waves. It reminded me of Zhuangzi’s story of watching fish in the Hao River—truly, I felt I understood “the joy of fish.” They radiated pure happiness.
But when the sun reached its zenith, it hit me: I had come to Greece to escape Chongqing’s furnace-like heat, only to find Greece even hotter. While Chongqing at least gets occasional rain, Athens seemed to have none at all. It was then that I finally understood Greek mythology—why Apollo, the Sun God, and Dionysus, the God of Wine, feature so prominently in its tales. The sun here is relentless! Take Apollo’s pursuit of Daphne: Did he catch her? Test your literary knowledge—no, he didn’t. Why? Because wherever the sun shines, there’s no escape. Daphne ran desperately, but wherever sunlight reached, Apollo closed in. Finally, she fled into the forest, but even there, the sun pierced through the leaves. In the end, she transformed into a laurel tree—forever beyond his grasp.
发表回复
要发表评论，您必须先登录。