Interpreting Apostolos Vavilis
Who is Apostolos Vavilis? Is he a genius of a crook or an innocent victim of the authorities on an heroic crusade tÔ save our country? Perhaps he is both these things at once… Vavilis’s appearance in a television interview with the intrepid television journalist Makis Triantafyllopoulos did not really show his true nature. However, what was indisputably revealed was his natural talent for acting, evidenced by his obvious eloquence and instinct for drama. Equally impressive was Vavilis’s use of stage props, including a priest’s cassock, monk’s cap and rosary beads – which had been ordered for him in Athens by Triantafyllopoulos. Quick but cautious, using only restrained gestures and avoiding cliches, Vavilis had the appearance of a contrite sinner in confession and, indeed, appeared to be enjoying the part he was playing (in the full knowledge that half of the country was watching him on television)… Vavilis appeared both as a crusader in the war against drugs and a spy for the police. But he is not the only one; there is a legion of such crusaders and volunteers… Only two things were clear from the interview – that Vavilis cooperated for many years with the police, and that he met Archbishop Christodoulos before going to Jerusalem to help elect Irenaios. The chief significance of these events is that the authorities in question are trying to refute them…
