… from a Vanity Fair interview with Michael Lewis (inter alia, natch):
Which is a good segue to my next question. If you could buy the Acropolis, what would you do with it?
When I went over there, it was one of my missions to figure out what the Acropolis would cost me. I thought I would get a real-estate agent to drag me around and put values on the Greek islands and the various ruins, just to see what Greece could get if they needed to sell them. I got sidetracked, because the actual story got so much more interesting than I thought it was. So I don’t know what I would have to pay for the Acropolis, but assuming I could get my hands on it, I would, of course, turn it into a business.
The problem with the Acropolis is that they don’t manage the flow of people onto it. You get up there and the only thing you can see is the back of the head of the person who is taking the picture in front of you. And you can’t hear anything but the person behind you screaming to get out of the way because you’re standing in the way of their picture. There is no enjoying the Acropolis. It’s horrible. So if I owned it, I would start by rationing access to it and charging higher prices. I would also have an affirmative-action program where Greeks get in cheaply. I would make it more of a special event to get to the top of the Acropolis and wander around. I would have up-market tour guides, people who were experts in ancient Greece and in that site. It would be a privilege to go to the Acropolis rather than a right. I’m not sure I would make it a money thing. I want people to be able to earn their way up there. If they could demonstrate a proven interest.Like some kind of entrance exam.
Yes, an entrance exam. I would let them in for free. But people just generally aren’t willing to work, so just assume that half the people that show up would not bother to take the test.
… would certainly open up the site for Classics types …
rogueclassicism 