Olivier Rolin traces a lineage of ruined cities, from Troy to Gaza
In a new essay, the writer treats the fall of Troy not as ancient history but as the template for every besieged city since — Carthage, Srebrenica, Mariupol, Gaza — reports Le Temps.
Olivier Rolin's new book returns to the destruction of Troy, which likely took place some thirty-three centuries ago and was later immortalized by Homer in the Iliad. According to Le Temps, Rolin does not treat this as a closed chapter of ancient history but as an archetype repeated across millennia of warfare.
The paper describes the book as a 'rêverie', a 'divagation' blending private and public history, in which Rolin follows what it calls our dark passion for war and destruction. Troy, in his account, precedes a long line of martyred cities, among them Carthage.
Si vous ne vous souvenez pas de la destruction de Carthage, vous vous souvenez peut-être des énormes bulldozers blindés israéliens — j'ai peine à le dire — écrasant les décombres de Gaza pour ouvrir la voie aux chars, éventrant les cimetières dont les morts de la veille se dressent sous leur lame, tels des ressuscités, avant d'être broyés sous leurs chenilles.
Olivier Rolin, cited by Le Temps
Rolin also recalls, per the same report, the words attributed to Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić calling for no hope of survival or future life to be left to the inhabitants of Srebrenica. For Rolin, Le Temps writes, Troy stands as the mother of besieged cities, reaching 'jusqu'à Hiroshima, jusqu'à Mariupol et Gaza.'
Le Temps calls the essay an elegant meditation, though the outlet's account gives no title, publisher or release date for the book.
Sources
This article was written from these reports.
