Competition: Country music

In Competition No. 2753 you were invited to submit a new national anthem for Greece.

The entry was split between those who present Greece’s woes as being mostly self-inflicted and a more sympathetic bunch, who acknowledge the wider forces that may have helped to bring this once great nation to its knees. Both camps are represented in the winning line-up. W.J. Webster takes the bonus fiver. His fellow winners pocket £25 each.

Hellas! Hellas!
All Hellenes cry ‘Hellas!’
Our great descent is known to all
Who’ve heard of Europe’s story,
From giants too many to recall
Who laid our claim to glory.
Here history first got its name,
We gave the epic birth;
Geometry owes us its frame,
We even measured Earth.
Democracy was our idea,
And where hubris may lurk:
Our tragedy showed men should fear
How nemesis will work.
Hellas! Hellas!
All Hellenes cry ‘Hellas!’
W.J. Webster