... Nevertheless, we find it difficult to accept that King Agamemnon—or any other hero of the Iliad—might, in his capacity as a ruler, be nothing more than an adorned and armed upright ape, or some other decorated and "magnificent" animal.
Yet, based on what we have discussed thus far, our resistance to this idea does not stem from its inaccuracy; rather, it arises because accepting it would cause an entire system of perceptions—constructed over centuries of systems of domination—to collapse. We would begin to view many other rulers and "great figures" throughout history—whom we have been conditioned to regard as superior, to admire, applaud, and extol, and whom we are urged to emulate—in the very same light: as upright apes decked out in various ornaments and trappings (if we have not already begun to do so).
This is especially true in our own era, where the vast reach of television brings a daily parade of such figures—of both genders—before our eyes, all striving to dazzle us. But this is precisely one of the aims of this book: to contribute to the collapse of those notions of superiority—notions that, for thousands of years, various figures—whether decorated or not, whether dominant rulers or officials within systems of domination—have sought to instill in us. ...
- Andreas Georgiou, The perfect State: The night of the reptiles, Glaros Publications, 1987, page 171
- Ανδρέας Γεωργίου, Το τέλειο κράτος: Η νύχτα των ερπετών, Εκδόσεις Γλάρος, 1987, σελίδα 171
