Analysis precedes resolution. In order to untangle the web of contradictions that manifest as overlapping crises at the societal level, we must first free ourselves, opening up to the world we observe in such a way that energy returns to itself. Structured, not chaotic.

This book does not observe Lavrio from some privileged modern standpoint; it observes modernity itself, (from within) Lavrio. And what does it see? It sees me, but also you, modern fellow traveler, trying to relate to something; hoping for something; identifying with something.

Sociologically speaking, it is not the object that matters to analyze, but the way we relate to it and to ourselves. How is the distortion of our relationship with the world made socially possible? What does the dialectic of alienation and coordination mean, and why does it concern us? Why is it socially more beneficial to engage with King Alcinous rather than Odysseus; with Geppetto rather than Pinocchio?

These and other questions are posed by the psychocial research I recently conducted in the southeast corner of Attica, in this "lavra," the gallery where present, past, and future meet; present, future, and aorist; you, me, and our world.