In a technologically crazed society all its elements should be accurately named and described.
Paradise is an iconography of nakedness, a state of mutual likeness (rather ugly) that we do not want to remember. The nakedness: nuditas naturalis very quickly turned into nuditas criminalis in our empty heads.
It is the same with cities. We like guidebooks that put cities in order by the number of stars. They route you directly to the greatest highlights. Cities try to get a good position in city rankings because it affects their media image, and this can push the city to the top of the spotlight.
Apparently, there are more and less intelligent cities. There are many ratings specifying the level of intelligence of cities. The Smart City slogan is a desirable label.
Does the famous city of Thebes haunted by the Sphinx deserve the title of The Smart City? Sphinx killed and devoured anyone who did not know the answer to its mystery. Apparently, Sphinxes are creatures that do not hunt – as we do – „for information”, but quite the opposite. As we know from the cycle of myths about Thebes, the city managed the problem. However, a clever citizen Oedipus, who figured out the solution, proved to be a bit of an outlaw.
And does Troy deserve the title of The Smart Capital City? All it took was to give away the object of the dispute for the „greater good” (in the general interest). A single woman, a bearer of bad luck.
The layers of ash unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann show that a mythical issue can turn into a real one.
Illustration: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres , „Oedipus and Sphinx”, 1808, oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris.