Stecište svih rokenrol hodočasnika sveta. Ovde, među velikanima koji- ma se divio, među filozofima, pesni- cima i ratnim herojima, počiva vođa Dorsa , harizmatični, seksi, problema- tični, talentovani guru jednog vreme- na. Njegov je grob, naravno, i najpo- sećeniji na groblju, stalno pokriven cvećem i pismima, večno opkoljen obožavaocima… Naravno, mit o Morisonovoj lič- nosti dovodio je na ovo mesto i one koji su pokušavali da ga iskopaju (pa je postavljen kameni blok), koji su krali njegove spomenike (skulptu- ra postavljena na desetogodišnjicu smrti nestala je 1988. godine), demo- lirali okolne grobove. Ostao je ipak da stoji epitaf na spomeniku, za koji kažu da je ugraviran po želji Džimo- vog oca. Na ravnoj ploči na grčkom piše: „ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ “. Kao da niz kontroverzi u vezi sa Dži- movim životom i smrću nije bio do- voljan, nova se misterija stvorila oko toga šta ovaj natpis zapravo znači. Up- kos tumačenjima koja se tiču demo- na i nekih zlobnika koji tvrde da mu je otac poručio da leži dole sa njima, treba poznavati starogrčki i tumači- ti ovu izreku onako kako treba, u du- hu vremena u kojem je nastala. De- mon je dobio lošu konotaciju tek sa hrišćanstvom, dok je za stare Grke predstavljao samo duh, dušu, ni do- bru ni lošu, onu koja nas vodi… Te je tako jedini pravi način da se pročita ono što piše na Morisonovom grobu – Veran sopstvenom duhu. (True To His Own Spirit). Bilo da ste ljubitelj muzike i Dor- sa ili ne, Per Lašez je divno mesto da provedete nekoliko sati u Parizu, na- ročito jer se ulaz ne plaća, što šetnju kroz istoriju čini zaista vrednom va- šeg vremena. KO JE PER LAŠEZ? Per Lašez, najveće groblje u Parizu, do- bilo je ime po jezuiti, ispovedniku Luja XIV, Peru Fransoi de la Lašezu (1624— 1709). Zemljište na kojem se nalazi pri- padalo je jezuitima sve dok ga država nije otkupila 1804, kada ga je Napoleon proglasio grobljem. Kada se tek otvori- lo, groblje je bilo suviše daleko od gra- da te nije bilo mnogo sahrana. Zbog to- ga su upravnici uz veliku reklamu 1804. organizovali prenos posmrtnih ostataka Lafontena i Molijera. Per Lašez je ure- đen kao veliki park. U njemu se nalazi 47.000 biljaka i 5.300 stabala.
liant people torn between their ambition to express themselves through art before being brought down by their own demons; but, most of all, they were visionaries with a deep feeling that something more exists... He spent just three months in Paris and died there, in the bath, at the age of just 27, officially of a heart attack. Unoffi- cially, he is still alive today somewhere in Africa. His body was buried under a veil of absolute secrecy at Père Lachaise Cem- etery in eastern Paris, which would go on to become, thanks to the“Lizard King”, one of the most important tourist destinations in the city. That’s because when people talk about the sights of Paris they talk about archi- tecture, geraniums on balconies, famous paintings, Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. After these three most visited sights in Paris, the fourth is a place that is not spoken about much, but which is visit- ed by masses. Jim’s grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, in the 20th arrondissement, is a gathering place for rock ‘n’ roll pilgrims from around the world. Here, among the greats that he admired, among philos- ophers, poets and war heroes, rests the frontman of The Doors, the charismatic,
sexy, troubled, talented guru of one pe- riod. His grave, of course, is the most visit- ed in the cemetery, permanently covered in flowers and letters, forever surrounded by adoring fans... Of course, the myth of Morrison’s per- sonality has enticed those who tried to ex- hume his body (leading to the placement of a stone block on his grave), those who stole his monument (the sculpture added on the tenth anniversary of his death dis- appeared in 1988) and those who desecrat- ed surrounding graves. Remaining, how- ever, is the epitaph on the monument, which is said to have been engraved ac- cording to the wishes of Jim’s father. On a flat plate the inscription reads, in Greek: “ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ”. As if the string of controversies related to Jim’s life and death wasn’t long enough, a new mys- tery emerged regarding the actually mean- ing of this inscription. Despite explanations concerning demons and some negative people claiming that his father was stat- ing that he is lying below with demons, one needs to know Ancient Greek to in- terpret this phrase properly, in the spirit of the times in which it emerged. Demon’s only received negative connotations with Christianity, while for the ancient Greeks they represented only the spirit, the soul, neither good nor bad, the one that leads us... Thus the only proper way to interpret what is written on Morrison’s grave would be – True to his own spirit. Whether you are a lover of music and The Doors or not, Père Lachaise is a won- derful place to spend a few hours in Par- is, particularly given that entrance is free of charge, which makes this walk through history really worth your time.
WHO WAS PÈRE LACHAISE? Père Lachaise, the largest cemetery in Paris, is named after a Jesuit, the confessor to Louis XIV, Père Francois de la Lachaise (1624-1709). The land on which the cemetery is located be- longed to the Jesuits until it was bought by the state in 1804, when Napoleon declared it a cemetery. When it first ope- ned, the cemetery was so far from the city that there weren’t many funerals. It was for this reason that the administrators, with a marketing campaign and great fanfare, organised the transfer of the mortal remains of Jean de La Fontai- ne and Molière in 1804. Père Lachaise has been landscaped as a large park. It contains 47,000 plants and 5,300 trees.
56 |
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator