Every Friday The Psychogenealogist shares a "Pic of the Week." The intent is to encourage thought and imagination about the spaces where psychology, genealogy, and history converge.

Here is a postcard photograph (“carte postal”) of a Greek man, Themistocles, writing to his father. Handsomely dressed in a suite, tie, and tweed overcoat turned up at the collar, Themistocles sports a well coiffed head of dark Grecian hair and a toothbrush mustache.

On the back, written in difficult to decipher Greek, appears to be a note from Themistocles to his father.

I have it on good authority (my Greek language tutor) that, though badly misspelled, in English the note says, approximately:

Father here is my photographic memorandum. I will send it you you later with Elena (?).

Themistocles ??

Questions:

• Who is Themistocles and what is his story?

• Where is he writing from?

• Can you tell what his last name is?

• Where is his father?

• Who is Elena?

• Around what year do you think the photograph was taken?

• What can you surmise about Themistocles by the clothes he is wearing?

• What do you think, feel, and wonder about as you look at this photo and read this note?

I would love to hear your thoughts about these questions or other ideas that occur to you about the photo. Please feel to leave a comment below!

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