I, too, searched for that island. Introduction to Lemnos

Abstract

Giorgina Pi writes about the genesis of Lemnos (2022), a contemporary reimagining of the mythological
tradition surrounding Philoctetes. The project originated from the discovery of Greek islands—most notably Makronisos—used as concentration camps for political dissidents after the Second World War.
In these camps, prisoners were subjected to a form of “re-education” that involved the coerced
veneration of classical antiquity, including the construction of replicas of monuments such as the Parthenon. Lemnos weaves together the myth of Philoctetes with the largely forgotten history of these
islands, employing an original dramaturgy (by Massimo Fusillo) that blends Sophocles with
contemporary poetry by Adrienne Rich, Derek Walcott, and Greek poets such as Yannis Ritsos. Pi reimagines Philoctetes as a female figure, using the image of the wounded body as a metaphor for
dissidence. In this essay, the director outlines the various theoretical and practical perspectives through
which she chose to approach the myth.