THE ILLUSION OF East and West

DR. ATHENA DESPINA POTARI shares her insights on Hellenism, the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean and cultural cradle of Western civilization, and the birthplace of Western science, politics, democracy, and philosophy.

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Her interests in Hellenism lie at the intersection between philosophy, epistemology, and consciousness, and she shatters the notion of East and West that has permeated our thinking for hundreds of years.

Her studies reveal that the Hellenistic tradition is also a spiritual tradition of awakening, divine devotion, purification, virtue, non-duality, and self-realization that are usually associated with the spiritual traditions of the East. She shows us that the East-West divide is our illusion.

In the Ancient Hellenic. language, "El" stands for the Light of Being or spiritual Light. As its root-syllable expresses, (H)El-lenism is a worldview, a civilization, and a spiritual tradition which centers around the ontology and practice of Light. The Sciences, and above all philosophy, are methodical routes towards selfliberation and the realization of Light. Focusing on the notions of Eros and universal consciousness, Hellenism is, in its very essence, a path of Enlightenment.

Hellenism

What most people know about Hellenism is that this ancient civilization, born in the heart of the Mediterranean, is the cultural cradle of Western civilization. Its heritage is marked by an impressive devotion to scientific research and the pioneering commitment to Reason or Logos. All of the above justify its status as the birthplace of Western science, along with politics, democracy, and philosophy.