I remembered Eniochus in the belief that, regardless how much of History is forged, its consequences are evident in the simple folk. They suffer these consequences and act according to them. They canΥt escape. From the times of ancient Greece and up to the modern day, we have been living in conflict, which is even more obvious after the 1821 Greek Revolution and encloses the transcendence of the outer limits. In my attempt to restore this central line of hope and make something out of this conflict, I resorted to this timeless symbol.

Alexis Damianos
Taken from the book Alexis Damianos by Yiannis Soldatos,
Aigokeros, Athens 1993.

Where is the East?
By Yiannis Bakoyannopoulos
Eniochus is an immense dramatic epic, in which abundant naturalism coexists with symbols and poetic exaltation; it is a "diagonal" tour of recent Greek history, from 1940 to the present; a look that defines the tenacious quest of conscience. A personal destiny, GreeceΥs destiny, forces of History and magnitude of myth.
Eniochus, an ancient brass statue, standing in Delphi, a sentinel of integrity, a timeless symbol. Eniochus has eyes and not empty sockets; he constantly watches. And the brave lad that stands before him looks. He will be tried, he will fluctuate, he will steady himself to cross the gushing river of History, so he, too, can gain the prospect of eternity; he will be a soldier of a war both won and lost; he will be found in the dark prisons of the Occupation, ruled by Greek traitors and conquerors Π a prison is full of ghosts, people of all sorts, facing experience and death. Memories of the outside world, dreams, betrayal. And an anonymous man, who is tortured but does not break.
The human soul is made of steel. He will be battered by the guards, sold out by his inmates, but the lad will give him a crust of bread. The bread of Communion. And the Anonymous man yells: "Guards, look out!" A command which resounds from the distant Byzantine glory.
Death, drunken burial in the bosom of nature. And the brave Eniochus will go on his way. Mountains, the Resistance, a manly fight with the treacherous soldier, fog, silence, prayer, and the love of his wife, almost sacred, in the village home. Freedom does not bring peace. It brings new hardships, brothers at war with each other, exile, the death of the innocent teacher/leader, Heracles, and the "ejection" into the "filthy" modern age. Where is the East? Where is the possibility of a new beginning?

Kathimerini, 3/4/1995