Athena at the Beach – 2025 Edition:
the relationship between culture and defence
This summer, our holiday magazine took us on a journey to the crossroads of culture and defence. From literature and film to music and comic strips, it explored the ways in which cultural works represent, question and support the work of the armed forces. It's a fun and rewarding way to rediscover the deep-rooted links between culture and defence, in the service of strategic thinking.
EPISODE 1: Comics, the perfect medium for military stories
To open this holiday notebook, Athéna enthusiastically delved into the links between comics and military history. From the epics of Antiquity to the most recent conflicts, she showed how comics bring to life the great hours and dramas of history, combining memory, education and imagination.
After this illustrated journey, she gave you a quiz to test your knowledge of the subject... before rounding off the week with a selection of 5 must-have comics to (re)discover this summer.
EPISODE 2: When music sounds the marching orders: the army, the nation and its harmonies
For this second week, we're off to explore the fascinating history and development of military music in France, its role in society and its influence. We then went on to discover the role of military musicians, whose activities go far beyond accompanying ceremonies: they are true cultural ambassadors for France and its armies, and are an essential part of our heritage. The week ended with the highlighting of 5 emblematic French military bandsbetween songs of resistance and hymns of fraternity, powerful witnesses to our history and our collective memory.
EPISODE 3: Cinema and defence: two intertwined worlds
For the third week of our holiday notebook, Athéna looked at the links between cinema, armies and the representation of war. Initially a simple communication tool, then a propaganda tool, war films have undergone profound changes: today they question the memory of conflicts and shed light on the daily lives of soldiers. Athena then went on to meet the "image soldiers", the audiovisual specialists who have been accompanying the troops in theatres of operations since 1915. The week ended with a selection of 5 must-see films and series.
EPISODE 4: Ink and weapons: 4000 years of war literature
To round off our summer series, our mascot has put together a selection of masterpieces of French literature through the ages, because war has always inspired writers. From battle stories to personal accounts, literary works delve deep into the daily lives of soldiers and reveal the brutality of conflict. Athéna then proposed a quiz to test your knowledge of the prizes and literary actions supported by the French armies, before concluding with a selection of 5 comic strips to help you discover the military world.
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