A new [political] era

"A Great Procession of Priests And Laymen": old leader out, new leader in

This issue of Cinematic Politics features a Cavafy poem titled "A Great Procession of Priests And Laymen."

It's a poem describing the joy and triumph of Christians over the Pagans. The new Emperor, a Christian, replaces the pagan one.

If we substitute "Christian" for Democrat and "Pagan" for Republican, the poem aptly describes our current political era.

But Cavafy also issues a warning, the last verse: Careful what you wish for.

The slideshow below features the poem in the original Greek (left pages), and in English translation (right pages), a few verses per slide, followed by the entire set of images, and the entire poem. Click on the image for a pop-up.