LITERATURE - C. P. Cavafy

A film on the poem 'Ithaka' by the Greek-Egyptian poet Constantine Cavafy.

We spend much of our lives trying to fulfill our distant ambitions: wanting to create the circumstances in which, finally, we’ll be happy. It’s an enchanting idea but, ironically, it means that most of the time we’re restless because we’re not there yet. The present is just the tedious, dreary period we have to get through until, in the future, we can relax and enjoy ourselves. Ithaka shows us there is another way.

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CREDITS

Produced in collaboration with:

Reflective Films

Title animation produced in collaboration with

Vale Productions

[Lalaine...]

"You should enjoy the little detours. To the fullest. Because that's where you'll find the things more important than what you want." - Ging Freecss

[saurabhsingh]

i find alain to be a gift of existence for our times, he has flipped my life upside down. ohh what a man, hope one day i could see him.

[ΜαριλέναΣαμαμίδου]

Είμαστε περήφανοι για τον ποιητή μας!! As a Greek this is very moving

[olgamarinho]

As once said the philosopher Miley Cyrus:
"Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb."

[yohaizilber]

The poem suggests that the journey itself can be a source of happiness and fulfillment, rather than just the attainment of a particular goal. It suggests that the process of learning and growing, and the experiences we have along the way, can be just as important as the end result.

[geokon]

In Greece we learn this poem at school. One of the few that has stayed with me. This author has many other great poems such as "The City", "Walls", "Waiting for the barbarians", "Thermopylae" etc

[useful_finds_]

The longing to a bygone Byzantium is a really strong feeling I have just like the longing for other eras of Greek history where I feel nostalgia for a time I haven't lived

[hspsperspective]

"We'll have found our fulfillement along the way".. amen to that

[vitoanania]

This playlist (together with the Philosophies) is probably the best thing in youtube; hope they continue and cover all authors

[johnnygraves]

"Ithaka was the friends we made along the way"

[elenich]

I came across this poem many times as a teenager (also in school, naturally), but now in my -nearly- forties, it takes a new meaning. Back then it was about living in the present, and yet now I realize how important that is, as it is difficult and tricky to invent your own Ithaca...Thank you for the video!

[jamesheath]

Videos like this can be life changing. It’s amazing how much useful and helpful stuff is available from other kind people.

[ambreena]

The ability to appreciate the process more than the outcome is a result of extensive inner work. At the end of the road when the journey outshines the destination, you suddenly realise how much you've truly grown ❤️

[Thanasis.Christodoulou-Lumiere]

I really hope that this video helps thousands of people to discover the genius spirit of Constantine Cavafy. He should have actually been placed among the top poets of all times, but unfortunately, since his poems were written in Greek, he remains unknown for most of the world. Thank you School of Life.

[zoesakellariou]

Congratulations for this post. Kavafy is one of the most admired poets in Greece. So much wisdom in his poems. Personally, i love his poem "Oso Boris" which means "As much as you can".
Thank you for another well thought-out video!! Keep up the great work!

[jeanvictoria]

There's a Mexican song by José Alfredo Jiménez called "El Rey" (The King). There's a little part in this song that shares the same idea of Ithaka: También me dijo un arriero, que no hay que llegar primero, pero hay que saber llegar":

"Also, a mule driver told me that you don't have to arrive first,
but you have to know how to arrive"

[margo]

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

[perihelion]

This video really touched me, as this is a poem I love deeply. I really needed to be reminded of it; thank you. Perhaps I should learn it by heart and say it to myself, like a prayer.

[ninjaguysith]

Ithaka makes you set out on your journey, but defining your Ithaka is so hard.

[chessematics]

"It's not about the destination, it's about the journey."