Greeks or Romans (e-book)

The dialogue between two leading thinkers on a timeless problem

Available in Ebook

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Author Biography
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1901. Eighty years after the revolution against the Ottoman Empire, the small Greek state is claiming its place in the international arena, while at the same time, possibly as a consequence of this, it is still searching for its identity. The main issues in the public debate concern the origin, the continuity of the Greek nation, the language, and even the name of the Greeks. Greeks? Romans? Or Greeks?

The two texts, by Kostis Palamas and Nikolaos Politis, which are published in this edition for the first time, highlight an important part of the problems and objections of that time. They are both of particular importance, on the one hand because they come from two important figures of Greek history in the fields of culture and science, and on the other hand because they contribute to the study of the history of ideas.

The fact that today, two hundred years after 21 and a century after it was recorded, this conflict between Politis and Palamas remains an open topic of discussion in the Greek Public Sphere, demonstrates in the most characteristic way the open wounds of the modern Greek identity, with the national myths and the conflicting ideological elements that compose it.

Thus, this unique written dialogue between two leading Greek thinkers of the early 20th century, emphatically reminds us that Historical knowledge is the main path to national self-knowledge.

Author Biography

O Nikolaos Politis (1852-1921) was a folklorist and professor at the University of Athens. He is considered the father of Greek folklore. His intense interest in popular life developed from his student years. While still a high school student, he published folklore studies in the magazines "Euterpi" and "Pandora". He studied philology and law, and became a member of the Parnassos Philological Association. He published with Spyridon Lamprou the "New Greek Analects of Parnassos". He worked in the Parliamentary Library and held positions in the Ministry of Education. He introduced the teaching of primary education in schools. In 1890 he became a professor of Mythology and Greek Archeology at the University of Athens, of which he was also rector. In 1908 he founded the Hellenic Folklore Society, in 1909 he published the magazine "Folklore" and in 1918 he founded the Folklore Archive.

Ο Kostis Palamas (1859-1943) is one of the greatest Greek poets. In 1876 he enrolled at the Law School of Athens. However, he quickly decided to deal with literature. In 1886 his first collection was published in elementary school and in 1889 one of his best works was published, the "Hymn of Athena", which won a prize in the Philadelphia Poetry Contest. The presenter of this competition was Nikolaos Politis. In 1897 he became secretary of the University of Athens. His most popular works were "Asti", "Tafos", "Greetings of the Sun-Born", "Invulnerable Life", "The Dodecalogue of Gyphtos", "The King's Incense" and "The Thirteen Verses". In 1925 he received the Excellence in Letters and Arts and with the founding of the Academy of Athens he became one of its key executives. In 1931 he became president of the Academy of Athens. He died in Athens, on February 27, 1943, and his universal funeral turned into an event of resistance of the Greek people against the German conqueror.

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