Methodios Anthrakites

Philosopher, Scholar, Mathematician, Physicist, Priest, Teacher of the Greek Nation (1660 – 1736)

The Enlightenment began in Greece almost 3 centuries after sprouting in Western Europe. It was the result of Greek merchants, philologists and priests, who had been educated in the big European capitals and who had been influenced by the Muses. These men comprised the Teachers of the Greek nation, and were responsible for the awakening of the Greeks after 400 years of Ottoman rule. Methodios Anthrakites was the very first Teacher of the Greek Nation, who struggled for the revival of Greek thought and the re-introduction of philosophy and mathematics in Greece. He was met with vehement opposition from the Church, despite being an eminent theologist and priest himself.

He was educated in the Gioumeios School in Ioannina, where he studied grammar, physics and metaphysics. He then travelled to Venice, where he studied mathematics, geometry, trigonometry, geography, physics, astronomy and engineering. After 10 years of stay in Venice, Anthrakites, now a homo universalis returned to his subjugated country in an effort to start a second Renaissance by disseminating the knowledge he had acquired all these years and to revive the Greek nation. He assumed the direction of the School of Castoria, taught in the School of Siatista, the Gioumeios School and the School of Hegoumenos Epiphanos.

Anthrakites’ contribution to the Greek Enlightenment is enormous and unique. According to Constantine Coumas, “he was the first to bring the geometric sciences from Italy, capable of lighting the light of Logos and stimulating the innate philomathy of man”. He was the first Greek to introduce mathematics in the Greek schools during the Ottoman rule. In addition to having translated numerous works of European mathematicians to Greek, Anthrakites composed original mathematical treatises. He wrote the monumental The Way of Mathematics (Ὁδὸς Μαθηματική), which contained works from Euclid’s Elements, Theodosius’ Sphaerics, theoretical and practical geometry, trigonometry, stereometry, works of Proclus as well as works on astronomy, physics and geography. With this book he taught mathematics to all of Greece. His aim was to present the history of mathematics from the time of Homer until Pappus of Alexandria so that to stimulate the Greek youth’s interest in the sciences and have the Greeks reclaim the global lead in mathematics that they had in antiquity. This is the reason why the book does not mention the mathematicians of the Renaissance, but instead focuses on the achievements of all Ancient Greek philosophers: Thales, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Democritus, Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Archimedes, Diophantus, Plato, Aristotle etc.

Major contributions of Anthrakites were in the field of philosophy, logic and pedagogy. He wrote Introduction to Logic and Lesser Logic, two books on the logic of Plato and Aristotle with which he rejected the religious dogmatism and revived the Greek spirit to its wholesomeness. He developed his own philosophical-theological system, primarily influenced from Aristotle, Plato, Descartes and Malebranche, which he taught from his books Spiritual Visitation, Christian Theories and Spiritual Advices and Treatise on Nature and Graces and had widespread appeal throughout Europe.

Methodios Anthrakites became the prodrome of the Greek Enlightenment, one of the greatest Teachers of the Greek Nation and one of the chief representatives of the spiritual revival of Hellenism. Not only did he implement philosophy and mathematics in the Greek schools, but he also implemented new methods of didascaly. His eminence attracted hundreds of students from whole Greece, who came to Castoria to listen to him. Many of his students, most notably Eugenios Vulgaris, Vasilopoulos Balanos and Anastasios Vasilopoulos, became great spiritual leaders of the Greek Enlightenment and successors of his work. For his services to Greece, he was persecuted by the Orthodox Church of Greece, his books were burned in public view and was ultimately nullified by the obscurantists of religion. He died in utter poverty hiding away in a basement, almost 80 years before the awakening of the Greek Nation.

Bibliography

1. Pan, Sarantos. Ὁ διωγμὸς τοῦ Μεθοδίου Ἀνθρακίτη ἀπὸ τοὺς σκοταδιστὲς τοῦ Φαναριοῦ. Δαυλός. Issue 169, January 1996. pages 10179 – 10188. Print.
2. Tsigoni, A. Μεθόδιος Ανθρακίτης, ένας πρόδρομος του Νεοελληνικού Διαφωτισμού. Μαθηματική Επιθεώρηση. Issue 59. January-June 2003. pages 95 – 105. Print.

Andreas Miaoulis

Admiral, Statesman, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1769 – 1835)

Andreas Vokos Miaoulis was an admiral, statesman and patriot from the island of Hydra and one of the major participants of the Greek War of Independence of 1821. Together with Constantine Kanaris, Laskarina Bouboulina and Antonios Kriezis, he is considered as one of Greece’s most important naval officers of the modern era.

He descended from a wealthy family of ship-owners and was involved with the emporium from a young age. During the Napoleonic Wars, the adventurous Miaoulis increased significantly his wealth by breaking the siege of the Spanish cities by Admiral Lord Nelson and resupplying them. Another one of his accomplishments was the prevention of an Albanian invasion in the island of Hydra.

With the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Miaoulis signed a document whereupon he devoted all of his ships and fortune to the war and was appointed captain of the Hydrean fleet. His first clash with the Ottoman fleet was in the Battle of Pylos where he led the Greek naval forces victoriously against the enemy ships. He successfully defeated the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Orei and the Battle of Artemisium.

Following the Destruction of Psara, the Egyptian naval forces sailed from Alexandria with 100 ships, 50.000 sailors and 2500 cannons to Kos, where they merged with the Turkish fleet. Under the command of Andreas Miaoulis, the Greek fleet gathered in the Gerontas bay and battled against the enemy forces in one of the longest battles of the Greek War of Independence. In spite of them being vastly outnumbered, the Greeks won by destroying 27 Ottoman – Egyptian ships and causing massive casualties. The Battle of Gerontas rendered Andreas Miaoulis an admiral comparable to the British ones in terms of skill and military capacity. After his victorious battle, Miaoulis sailed to Methone of Messenia and shipwrecked 23 Egyptian ships; he also confronted the Egyptian fleet in Suda. With his fleet, during the second siege of Mesolonghi, he regularly supplied its citizens with food and firearms, until the final days before the sortie, when it was no longer possible. Throughout the war, he was involved with multiple skirmishes against the Ottoman navy.

Miaoulis’ contribution continued even after the end of the Greek War of Independence. He was assigned by John Kapodistrias with combating piracy in the Aegean archipelagos, a task which he completed successfully. A few years before his death, he was appointed chief of the General Directorate of the Greek navy and inspector of the fleet. He died in 1835 and was buried in Piraeus, next to the tomb of Themistocles.

Bibliography

1. Ανδρέας Μιαούλης. Σαν σήμερα. Sansimera.gr Web. Retrieved on February 11, 2017.
2. Giannopoulos, Nikos. Aνδρέας Μιαούλης, ο θρυλικός θαλασσομάχος του ΄21. Διασπούσε τους βρετανικούς αποκλεισμούς, νίκησε επανειλημμένα τους Τούρκους, εξάλειψε τους πειρατές, όμως το τέλος της ζωής του σημαδεύτηκε από μια μελανή σελίδα. ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ. Mixanitouxronou.gr. Web. November 29, 2011. Retrieved on February 11, 2017.
3. Kantas, Kostas. Ανδρέας Μιαούλης, ο θρυλικός ναύαρχος του 1821. Βριλησσιώτικα Νέα. Vrilissia.gr. Web. June 20, 2013. Retrieved on February 11, 2017.

Yiannis Dyovouniotis

Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1757 – 1831)

His name means “two mountains”. His real name was Yiannis Xykis. He was a poor shepherd from the village of the Two Mountains who, from a young age, became a distinguished harmatolos and partook actively in the Greek War of Independence. His greatest contribution in the war was in the Battle of Vasilika.

In 1820, one year before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Dyovouniotis was initiated into the Society of Friends a secret organization that aimed to secretly organize the Greeks and enforce the war of independence. Together with Panourgias, Skaltsas and Athanasios Diakos they formed the leaders of the war in Sterea Hellada. Dyovouniotis hoisted the Greek flag in Mendenitsa during the outbreak of the war and seized control of the castle there.

In 1821, Sterea Hellada and Peloponnesus rebelled simultaneously, forcing Hursit Pasha, who was battling against Ali Pasha in Ioannina, to send troops to Sterea Hellada in attempt to seize control of Tripolitsa in Peloponnesus. Qiose Pasha and Omer Vrioni descended to Sterea Hellada with an army of 8000 men and 800 horsemen where they broke the resistance of Athanasios Diakos in Alamana, Odysseus Androutsos in Chani of Gravia and Aggelis Govinas in Vrisakia. When they reached Lamia, Dyovouniotis was the first to be informed of it and gathered all of the generals of Sterea Hellada to a meeting where they discussed how to halt the Ottoman’s descent to Livadia. Dyovouniotis suggested that they set an ambush in a small path that led to the village of Vasilika. He and his men hid inside a forest and suddenly attacked the enemy from behind whilst fighting against the second Greek division led by Gouras. There were about 1600 Greeks in total plus Odysseus’ Androutsos’ reinforcements.

Dyovouniotis’ ingenious plan resulted in the decimation of the Ottoman army thus putting an end to the Ottoman campaign in Peloponnesus. The Battle of Vasilika was considered the most important victory of the Greeks in Sterea Hellada. This allowed the Greeks to reclaim Tripolista and established their dominance in Sterea Hellada. Dyovouniotis became a fearsome name to the Turks and he was given the honorary rank of strategos (general officer).

Bibliography

1. Flerianou, Aikaterini. Mάχη στα Βασιλικά. Αργολική Αρχειακή Βιβλιοθήκη Ιστορίας και Πολιτισμού. Argolikivivliothiki.gr. Web. April 13, 2012. Retrieved on December 21, 2016.

Constantine Coumas

Teacher of the Greek Nation (1777 – 1836)

Constantine Coumas was one of the most important literary Greek figures of the 18^th and 19^th century and a chief representative of the Greek Enlightenment. Together with a handful of philosophers and scholars known as the Teachers of the Greek Nation (Διδάσκαλοι τοῦ Γένους), Constantine Coumas paved the way for the spiritual development of the enslaved Greek nation, an effort that ultimately led to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence.

Coumas taught Greek and mathematics in a school in Larisa and in Ampelakia. In 1804 he moved to Vienna to complete his mathematical studies. There he published translated works of Fontaine’s physics and mathematics as well as Abbe’s conic sections and Adetus’ chemistry. In 1809 he met with Adamantios Korais in Smyrna and founded the Philologic Gymnasium where he taught philology, philosophy, mathematics and physics, for which he also wrote a treatise which was published in Vienna in 1812. Numerous students from Smyrna and the islands came to attend his lessons. Following the patriarch’s invitation, Coumas went to Constantinople where he taught Greek language, philosophy and mathematics in the Great School of the Nation.

After his career in Constantinople, Coumas returned to Smyrna and then to Vienna, together whith Anthimus Gazis, where he published his work. Constitution of Philosophy, consisting of 4 tomes was a massive book on philosophy, psychology, logic, grammar, metaphysics, ethics, law, pedagogic and theology. Furthermore, he published Synopsis of Sciences. This book was aimed for first-year students and contained elements of mathematics, geometry, geography, astronomy, logic and ethics. His deep devotion to humanities and sciences and his intensive efforts to reawaken the Greek nation made him very popular among the philhellenic German community. He became an honorary professor in the University of Leipzig, member of the Royal Academy of Berlin and member of the Royal Academy of Munich.

Years later he returned to Smyrna to become headmaster of the New Public School of Smyrna. Together with him were Constantine Oeconomou and a rich collection of books on mathematics, physics and chemistry, which he had brought from the West to implement on the school’s curriculum. Soon, the Greek War of Independence broke out and this forced Coumas to go back to Vienna and then to settle to Trieste. There he wrote the book Histories of the Human actions from ancient times until 1831, consisting of 12 tomes. Later in his life he translated and published several treatises, including a school grammar which was used in schools during the first years of Greece’s independence. He remained there until his death from cholera in 1836.

Throughout his entire life, Constantine Coumas worked tirelessly to bring the Enlightenment to his country, starting out as a humble teacher and working his way up to the highest academic ranks in the universities of the West. A close friend of Adamantios Korais, Coumas was a pioneer in pedagogic and man of all sciences. Unfortunately, he was a victim of the Church’s vehement opposition toward all the Teachers of the Greek Nation, a price paid for all those who struggled for Greece’s spiritual revival and liberation from the darkness of illiteracy and slavery.

Bibliography

1. “Koumas, Konstantinos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Broutzakis, Xenophon. Κωνσταντίνος Μιχαήλ Κούμας: ένας πρωτοπόρος δάσκαλος. Topontiki.gr. March 24, 2013. Web. Retrieved on December 4, 2016.

Petrobey Mavromichalis

Statesman, Prime Minister of Greece, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1765 – 1848)

Petros Mavromichalis was the last hegemon of Mani. He was one of the most influential figures during the Greek War of Independence. His services to the fatherland long before and after its independence are of considerable importance. Petros Mavromichalis was not only a great military personality but also a skilled statesman and above all a hero.

Following the death of his father in 1800, Petrobey Mavromichalis became leader of the Maniotes and in 1816 established himself as a powerful ruler of the subjugated lands of Mani. At that time, Petrobey had to face against corruption, civil conflicts within Mani and piracy. He had originally sought the help of Napoleon Bonaparte for the liberation of Greece but the results were negative after Napoleon declined.

In 1818 he was initiated into the Society of Friends. He dedicated most of his fortune to the secret society and avidly recruited many Maniotes in order to prepare the ground for the Greek War of Independence. Two days prior to the outbreak of the war, Petrobey Mavromichalis, together with Papaflessas, Theodore Kolokotronis and Niketaras liberated Kalamata. With the outbreak of the war on March 25^th, 1821, Petrobey Mavromichalis assembled the Messenian Assembly of Elders and was elected first president and field marshal of the Greek forces. He addressed Europe for help in the war in favour of Greece. With the help of Adamantios Korais, the declaration was translated into English and was sent to the United States.

Two months later, Petrobey Mavromichalis occupied important political and military positions, most notably Prime Minister of Greece in 1823. He played a decisive role in numerous battles such as in the siege of Tripolitsa, the battle of the Lerna Mills together with his brother Constantine Mavromichalis, Demetrios Hypsilantis, John Makriyannis and the philhellenes and the fall of Argos. In addition, he fought in the 1^st siege of Messolonghi where together with Zaimis and 500 men they managed to halt the Turkish and the Egyptian forces.

After the loss of his brother and his two sons, Petrobey gathered his remaining strength and organized the defences of Mani against the Turks. He did not participate in the civil war but instead he attempted to reconcile the Greeks. With the arrival of Ioannis Kapodistrias as first governor of Greece, Mavromichalis was appointed member of the Assembly of Elders and later member of the Senate during the reign of King Otto. He died in 1848 and he was lamented as one of the purest and most virtuous heroes of the Greek War of Independence, especially by King Otto, whom he wholeheartedly admired.

Bibliography

1. “Mavromichalis, Petrobeis”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Πετρόμπεης Μαυρομιχάλης (Μάνη 1765 – Αθήνα 1848). Mani.org.gr. Web. Retrieved on November 18, 2016.

Odysseus Androutsos

Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1788 – 1825)

Androutsos was a chieftain of the Greek War of Independence. In terms of his military skills he is placed third, behind Theodoros Kolokotronis and Georgios Karaiskakis. Today he is celebrated as one of the national heroes of Greece as well as one of the protagonistic figures of the Greek War of Independence.

At the age of 4, Androutsos’ father, who had participated with Lambros Katsonis in a rebel against the Turks, was beheaded. Young Odysseus grew up in Ali Pasha’s court, where he was trained to become one of Ali Pasha’s personal bodyguards. At the age of 15, he had done so. He was appointed chief of Sterea Hellada by Ali Pasha and was in charge of eradicating all the klephts of Attica. His love for freedom, however, placed in on the first lines of the Greek War of Independence.

Androutsos was initiated into the Society of Friends in 1818 and in 1821, he led a campaign in Sterea Hellada to raise the Greeks, passing from Evrytania and Amphissa and gathering heroes by his side to fight together. In 1821, Odysseus Androutsos together with Panourgias and Dyovouniotis faced Omer Vrioni’s army of 8000 men in the Chani of Gravia, with an army of just 118 men. With just 2 casualties according to Spyridon Trikoupis, the Greeks defeated the Ottoman army and stopped Vrioni’s descent to Peloponnesus. Historian Paparrigopoulos wrote that on that day, Androutsos literally saved the War. The victorious Battle of Gravia is one of the most glorious battles during the Greek War of Independence; its decisive outcome was a result of Androutsos’ brilliant strategic thinking. Moreover, it enforced spiritually all the fellow Greek freedom fighters.

In 1822 he was appointed chieftain of Sterea Hellada by the Greeks and he began fortifying the Acropolis while in 1823 he halted the campaign of Yusuf Perkofchal Pasha to Viotia. He saved Messolongi from an impending siege, founded two schools in Athens and cleared the lands of Sterea Hellada from the forces of Kiose Mechmet. His fame was such that philhellenes from Europe came to Greece to meet and work with him, most notably Lord Byron and Edward Trelawney.

Odysseus passed to immortality in 1825 after being brutally tortured and assassinated by Greeks because of hatred toward him by the Greek political establishment. His premature death deprived Greece of one of its most charismatic leaders, flaming patriots and military geniuses of the Greek War of Independence.

Bibliography

1. “Androutsos, Odysseas”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος. Sansimera.gr. Web. Retrieved on October 30, 2016.

Theoklitos Farmakidis

Teacher of the Greek Nation, Philosopher, Scholar, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1784 – 1860)

During the Enlightenment period in Greece, a few years before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, a handful of “enlightened” or educated people, both inside and outside of the borders of subjugated Greece, were struggling to bring about a spiritual revival in Greece so that to educate and prepare the enslaved Greek nation. One of them was Theoklitos Farmakidis.

At the age of 18 he became deacon and later studied in the Patriarchic School of Constantinople, as well as in schools in Iasion, Cydonia and Bucharest. Later he studied in the University of Gottingen with the financial support of Lord Gilford. His work began when he started translating works from Latin to Greek in the temple of St. George of Vienna. For two years worked as a publisher in Λόγιος Ἑρμῆς (Logios Hermes), the major incunabulum published in Europe in Greek language, contributed by many Teachers of the Greek Nation.

With the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Farmakidis, having been initiated into the Society of Friends, came to Greece and fought alongside Demetrios Hypsilantis. With the prince’s support he published the first Greek newspaper Ἑλληνικὴ Σάλπιγξ (Hellenic Salpingx) which he distributed throughout Greece. He participated in the first two National Assemblies and later became member of the Supreme Court of Greece. He served as professor in the Ionian Academy where he taught for 3 years. He served as chief editor of the very first issues of the Government Gazette in Nauplion.

Following the assassination of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Farmakidis occupied several positions of the church and state. He was appointed ephorus of the schools in Aegina and the orphanage of Aegina, served as general secretary of the Holy Synod and became professor of theology and philosophy in the University of Athens. His radical ideas on political and theological issues concerning the state often made him a target of the government. This resulted to his imprisonment and loss of the positions he held. He was the main proponent of the independence of the Church of Greece from the Oecumenical Patriarchy, which in the end was achieved.

Farmakidis is widely recognized as one of the most significant theologists of the 19th century and one of the most important spiritual figures of the Greek Enlightenment. A brotherly friend of Theophilos Kairis and Adamantios Korais, he was a humble and honest man, a polymath, a fighter and flaming patriot who stood firm to his beliefs on the revival of the Greek nation and its religious autonomy from the Oecumenical Patriarchy. He had been called “truth seeker” and “political theologist”.

While him himself poor, Farmakidis gave most of the money he earned to the impoverished and did not accept any accolades for his work. He had declined the Order of the Redeemer by the king stating that “If I did something good, it was my duty. My reward for this is my consciousness that I have fulfilled it”. Any money that remained in his possession was used to purchase books. Farmakidis died in 1860 in complete poverty.

Bibliography

1. “Farmakidis, Theoklitos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. Επισημάνσεις στον Πατριωτισμό του Θεόκλητου Φαρμακίδη. Pemptousia.gr. Web. April 24, 2012. Retrieved on October 14, 2016.
3. Φαρμακίδης Θεόκλητος (1784 – 1860). Argolikivivliothiki.gr. Web. February 3, 2011. Retrieved on October 15, 2016.

Christos Kapsalis

Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1751 – 1826)

Christos Kapsalis was one of the most notable heroes of the Greek War of Independence. He was born in 1751 in Mesolonghi. He was one of the initial fighters who declared the war in Mesolonghi. Kapsalis was a flaming patriot and idealist who dedicated his entire fortune to the Greek War of Independence. He would always encourage the freedom fighters together with Joseph Rogon in between battles. He remained in history for his heroic stance during the sortie of Mesolonghi in 1826.

He participated in several important battles during the Greek War of Independence but his most notable one was the third and final siege of Mesolonghi in 182. On April 8^th, 1826 when the defence of the city was no longer feasible, the last council was held to decide what would be done. It was agreed that Demetrios Makris, Kitsos Tzavelas, Notis Botsaris, Athanasios Razikotzikas, Nikolaos Stournaris and Alexander Mavrokordatos would lead the men and women who were able to fight, as well as children in a sortie in an attempt to save as many lives as possible. The issue that arose was what to be done with the elderly, the injured and those who were unable to fight. Kapsalis then proposed a plan to blow themselves up at the basement of his house, which served as a storehouse of explosives so that they would not be taken alive.

On the morning of April 10^th, 1826, the gates of Mesolonghi opened and the freedom fighters commenced their exodus. They fought heroically until most of them fell in battle. Meanwhile, the Ottomans and the Egyptians had entered the city and began slaughtering its civilians. Kapsalis had gathered the elderly, the women, the children and the injured in the basement of his house and awaited the enemy to approach. When the Ottomans entered his house in search for treasures Kapsalis said «Μνήσθητί μου Κύριε» (God, put us in your memory) and threw the torch on the explosives causing a massive explosion that wiped out everyone, including 1000 Ottomans and Egyptians that were nearby.

Kapsalis’ act of bravery and the holocaust of the Mesolonghians shook up Greece and the entire philhellenic movement. Their sacrifice proved that the Greeks have retained an incredibly ancient value, their will to sacrifice even their lives in the name of freedom, the highest ideal of the Greek race.

Bibliography

1. “Kapsalis, Christos”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. ΟΙ ΕΛΛΗΝΕΣ ΣΤΟΝ ΑΓΩΝΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ ΤΟ 1821»- Ο Μεσολογγίτης Αγωνιστής ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΚΑΨΑΛΗΣ, (1751-1826). Peritexnislogos.blogspot.bg. Web. March 18, 2015. Retrieved on September 30, 2016.

Adamantios Koraïs

Teacher of the Greek Nation, Physician (1748 – 1833)

Physician, surgeon, linguist, writer and philologist, Adamantios Koraïs was one of the leading representatives of the Enlightenment of Greece of the 18^th century and one of the most renowned Teachers of the Greek Nation.

He was born in Smyrna and from a young age he expressed an inclination toward letters. He studied in the Evangelical School of Smyrna and later in Amsterdam where he learned Latin, Italian, French, German and English. Being a philologist he indulged on the works of the ancient Greek philosophers as well as his contemporary philosophers. He then travelled to France where he studied medicine. Upon receiving his certificate, Koraïs was sent to Paris to work as a doctor. Soon, however, he retired from his profitable profession to dedicate his life in awakening the Greek nation from the Ottoman yoke.

He began publishing anonymously political pamphlets, namely Adelphic Didascaly (1798), Hasma Polemisterion (1800) and Salpisma Polemisterion (1801), in an effort to inspire the Greeks and urge them to rise and fight for their freedom as well as publishing the works of ancient Greek philosophers in order to educate them. His first publications of ancient Greek philosophers included Hippocrates and Theophrastus. Over the years 1807 – 1826 he published the Greek Library consisting of 16 volumes. It contained works of Isocrates, Plutarch, Strabo, Aristotle, Plato and Xenophon. Koraïs also published 9 volumes of Parerga throughout the years 1809 – 1827 which further contained philosophical, historical and political works of the ancient Greeks. Among the hundreds of works he published were the first 4 rhapsodies of Homer’s Iliad. Concurrently he translated Greek literature into French and Italian and wrote poetry. His dedication was such that when he was offered the department of Classical Studies in the University of Paris, Koraïs declined.

When the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, Koraïs was 73 years old. Nevertheless, he wholeheartedly continued his political and philologic struggle. He communicated with philhellenes my mail throughout Europe in attempt to persuade them to assist Greece in its struggle and to raise it to a pan-European issue. Koraïs participated in various committees in Paris concerning the Greek War of Independence. He co-founded the Greek County, a philhellenic society which gathered funds and contributed weapons, supplies, medicines as well as doctors and generals to Greece. Furthermore, the Greek refugees of war of Paris found asylum, including the children of the Greek heroes, which were educated under Koraïs’ personal supervision.

During his last years, Koraïs published his autobiography and Atakta, consisting of 5 volumes on the Greek language, literature and alphabet. He frequently wrote in the patriotic magazine “Logios Hermes” where even after his death Koraïs’ articles were still being published there. Furthermore he worked on the restoration of several ancient Greek treatises, frequently helping others who consulted him for his wisdom. His radical ideas on religious, political and educational reforms often made him a controversial figure among the Church and the rest of the literary society. His views that the French intellectuals should be implicated in the governance of Greece, their involvement in the educational system, his belief that contemporary Greeks did not derive from the ancient Greeks and his feud with Ioannis Kapodistrias have all been critisized to this day, rendering him a controversial figure within Greece’s modern history.

Adamantios Koraïs, a man who had an opinion on everything, is highly respected and admired today in Greece. He remained immortal in the history of the Greek nation for his central role in the Greek Enlightenment, together with Rhegas Pherraios and for his tireless contribution to the education of Greece and its rebirth as a nation of Western standards. Today, his statue stands proudly in front of the gates of the University of Athens.

Bibliography

1. “Koraes, Adamantios”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Adamantios Koraïs”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. September 25, 2016.
3. Cretetv Antithesis. Από την Ελληνική Επανάσταση στον 21ο αιώνα. YouTube. May 22, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PjGL-3ZWhY

Athanasios Diakos

Commander, Hero of the Greek War of Independence (1788 – 1821)

Athanasios Diakos was one of the major heroes of the Greek War of Independence and today a  national hero of Greece. Born in 1788 into a family of klephts as Athanasios Grammatikos, Diakos became a monk and then a deacon at the monastery of Saint John the Baptist. Following a feud with a Turk and his rising revolutionary spirit, Diakos left the monastery and became a harmatolos in the mountains, hunting and taking down the Turkish army, mainly in Central Greece.

In 1818, Diakos joined the army of Odysseus Androutsos, another prominent hero of the War of Independence, in Ioannina, formed his own army of klephts and harmatoles and joined the secret society for the liberation of Greece, the Philiki Hetairia. For the next two years, Diakos organized armies of klephts and harmatoles to reclaim cities in Central Greece; most notably, on April 4th 1821, he besieged Levadeia and the city of Thebes, forcing the entire Turkish population to flee.

Following the liberation of Leviadeia, Diakos joined fellow fighters Panourgias and Dyovouniotes to stop Omer Vrioni and his 8.900-10.000 men from reaching the city of Roumeli in Peloponnese, where the Turks planned to suppress another major revolt. Repeating Leonidas‘ plan against the Persians almost 2.000 years ago, Diakos decided to block Omer Vrioni’s army at Thermopyale. An army of 1500 Greeks was divided into 3 parts: Panourgias in Chalcomata, Dyovouniotes in Gorgopotamos and Diakos in Alamana, a significant  battle which would become known as the Battle of Alamana. The Greek army suffered heavy losses and was forces to retreat. Diakos and his remaining 48 warriors chose to fight to the last stand.

Diakos was caught and tortured by Omer Vrioni and his men. Admiring Diakos’s commanding and fighting abilities, he offered him the rank of officer in his army, to which he replied:

I was born a Greek, and I will die a Greek!

Diakos was then impaled and left under the burning sun to die. A fellow Greek who tried to save him from the martyrdom shot him but missed and wounded Diakos’s arm. Diakos was then burned, still alive.

Although the battle at Alamana was lost, Diakos’ brave stand against the enemy strengthened the Greek’s  belief in the War more than anything at the time. Like Leonidas, Diakos instantly became a symbol of patriotism and a national hero. Today, a monument stands at the site of his final stand and the Greek Army posthumously honored him with the rank of general, while numerous folk songs have been written to his memory.

Bibliography

1. “Diakos, Athanasios”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
2. GPITRAL5 Education Culture e-learning. Athanasios Diakos. Youtube. November 16, 2012. Web. September 15, 2016.