Encyclopedia
The
Greeks are an ethnic group mostly found in the southern
Balkan peninsula of southeastern
Europe and are primarily associated with the Greek language. They have populated primarily
Greece and
Cyprus for some 3500 years. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of
Asia Minor,
Pontus and
Constantinople, regions which coincided to a very large extent with the borders of the
Byzantine Empire of the 11th century and the areas of
Greek colonization in the
ancient world. In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War in 1923, a large-scale population exchange between Greece and
Turkey transferred and confined ethnic Greeks almost entirely into the borders of the modern Greek state, that is, in areas where groups of Greek-speaking Indo-Europeans first established themselves about 1500 BC. Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from
Southern Italy to the
Caucasus and
Diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today the vast majority of Greeks are at least nominally adherents of Greek Orthodoxy.
Identity of the Greek people
The Greek language has been spoken in the Greek peninsula for over 3500 years , and has an unbroken literary history which makes it one of the oldest surviving branches of the Indo-European family of languages. From ancient Greece the Greeks have inherited a sophisticated culture and language documented over almost three millennia . Modern Greek is recognizably the same as the language of
Athens under
Pericles in the 5th century BC. Few languages can demonstrate such continuity.
The definition of Greekness has varied through history, but by modern standards, the term "Greeks" has traditionally referred to any native speakers of the Greek language . Byzantine Greeks valued the classical tradition and considered themselves the Orthodox heirs of
ancient Greece and
Rome. The use of the older self-descriptive ethnic term "Hellenes" revived during the era of the neo-platonic philosopher Gemistus Pletho and the work of Cyriac of Ancona. It became fairly common with the emergence, in the late
18th century, of the nation-state and its gradual consolidation, but it was not until the early
20th century that its popular use was firmly re-established.
The Greeks today are a nation in the meaning an
ethnos , defined more by a sense of sharing a common
Greek culture and having a Greek mother tongue, than by
citizenship,
religion or by being subjects to any particular country. The word 'Greek' also has a wider meaning – because, especially in the past, it referred to all
Eastern Orthodox Christian inhabitants of the
Ottoman Empire – the
millet-i Rum – irrespective of their ethnicity .
Greece became the first country in the
Balkans to come into being, both as a nation-state and breaking away from the
Ottoman Empire. The Greek revolutionary movement formed its own definition of Greekness out of the Byzantine and ancient Greek cultural heritage along with the influences of western nationalism. This attracted foreign support from the Philhellenes.
Mycenaean Greeks
The
Mycenaean proto-Greeks were the first historical people to arrive in the area now referred to as 'Greece' , and the first that can be considered 'Greek' as an ethnic identity. There are clear elements of cultural continuity through the Greek Dark Ages , until the advent of
Classical Greece and the rise of the Polis and in particular
Athens. For example, in Homer's epic poems The
Illiad and the
Odyssey - which describe the epic
Battle of Troy, it is quite clear that he views the Greeks of
Prehistory as the forefathers of the early Classical Civilization he inhabited, the likes of
Achilles and
Odysseus were viewed as Athenians as well as others as prime-examples of the ideal
citizen of a Polis, in much the same way
Aeneas would become the ideal citizen of Rome in
Virgil's Aeneid.
This element of self-identification on its own clearly constitutes cultural continuity, but there are other elements as well that solidify this idea - The First being that Mycenaenean
Architecture echoes influence from other civilizations around the basin, as well as the Mycenaeans' own particular style
Religion is another factor, with the Mycenaeans own pantheon of gods mirroring in many ways the pantheon of that of the Classical Greeks, this influence defined not only culture but part of Classical Greece's value system as well as their
Art. There is also clear linguistic continuity between the language of Proto-Greek and the various dialects of Classical Greece. In particular, the
Linear B script is clearly an archaic form of the latter Koine Greek script.
These elements combined together do not amount to say, the same cultural output and continuity that Modern Greeks feel with
Classical,
Hellenistic and
Byzantine periods of
Greek History, but they nevertheless constitute the beginnings of the Greek identity, and the foundation, albeit in comparison to 5th Century
Athens a basic one, of Greece's Pagan
religion,
language,
architecture and
art.
Classical and Hellenistic
Herodotus states that the
Athenians declared, before the
battle of Plataea, that they would not go over to Mardonius, because in the first place, they were bound to avenge the burning of the
Acropolis; and, secondly, they would not betray their fellow Greeks, to whom they were bound by:
- A common language ,
- Common blood ,
- Common shrines, statues and sacrifices , and
- Common habits and customs.
As
Thucydides observes that the name of
Hellas spread from a valley in Thessaly to the Greek-speaking peoples after the formation of the text of
Homer , not long before his own time. This places the idea in the Archaic period, when Greeks discovered that the world was wider, wealthier, and more cultured than they had imagined. Homer's
Trojan War is, indeed, a conflict among Greeks: the
Trojans speak Greek , bear Greek names, and worship the Greek gods; and Priam is descended from
Zeus . The
Carians are the only people Homer considers
barbarophonoi.
Nor did the late and schematic myth of the sons of Hellen ever convince other mythographers to comply with it.
Theseus is descended from Erechtheus, son of the
Earth;
Agamemnon from
Phrygian Pelops;
Heracles and
Perseus from
Egyptian
Danaus. Whole cities were not descended from Hellen:
Athens,
Lemnos, and the
Cretans were Pelasgian. The myth of Hellen combined into one group the smaller tribes that participated in the Delphic Amphictyon, such as the Aeolians, the Achaeans, and the Dorians. Traces of the older distinctions remained; Dorians were forbidden in the
Parthenon; although the Spartan king Cleomenes I claimed this did not apply to him – as a descendant of
Heracles,
he was an Achaean. As in this example, the Greeks almost always reckoned descent through the male line.
So the exact nature of Greek identity has been an open question since ancient times. It has not become clearer with time: descent is at best a matter of tradition, and the Greeks have altered their language, religion, and customs since Herodotus. Nevertheless, there has been, in practice, a continuous Greek identity since ancient times, containing at least those who were born Greek and who had citizenship in a Greek city, or membership of a Greek community.
As early as the 5th century BC, Isocrates, after speaking of common origin and worship, says: "the name Hellenes suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and... the title Hellenes is applied rather to those who share our culture than to those who share a common blood". .
After the 4th century BC and
Alexander the Great's conquest of the East, Greek became the
lingua franca of the East
Mediterranean region and was widely spoken by educated non-Greeks.
Byzantine Greeks
After the creation of the
Byzantine Empire, Greek culture changed from Hellenic to Eastern Roman , and the word "Hellene" became associated with the pagan past. Distinctions of nationality still existed in the empire, but became secondary to religious considerations as the renewed empire used Christianity to maintain its cohesion. However, the Byzantine Empire was dominated by the Greek element to such an extent that Emperor
Heraclius decided to make Greek the official language. From then on, the Roman and Greek cultures were virtually fused in the East. By that time it was common policy by the Latin West to refer to Byzantium strictly as "Empire of the Greeks" , or even "Greece" .
Nonetheless, it was religion that divided the Empire from the
Muslims; and, along different lines, it came to divide the Empire from the Franks,
Armenians,
Copts, and
Syrians.
Pure Greek nationalism re-emerged in the
11th century within specific circles and became more forceful after the fall of
Constantinople to the
Crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade in 1204, and the establishment of a number of Greek kingdoms . When the empire was revived in 1261, it became essentially a Greek national state. Adherence to Greek Orthodox rites and the Greek language, became the defining characteristic of the Greek people.
Greeks in the Ottoman Empire
Under the
Ottoman Empire, religion was the defining characteristic of "national" groups , so "Greeks" were defined by the Ottomans as members of the Greek Orthodox Church, regardless of their language or ethnic origin. Conversely, those who adopted
Islam during that period were considered 'Turks', regardless of their language or origin. Yet, the Greeks themselves upheld the autocephalous concept whereby they maintained their unique ethno-religious identity and consistently distinguished themselves from other non-Greek Orthodox Christian populations. However, some Greeks such as Alexander Ypsilanti, expected non-Greek populations such as the
Moldavians and the
Wallachians to rise for
Greek independence because they were Greek Orthodox Christians. However, both the Moldavians and the Wallachians were cognizant of their non-Greek identities and refused to contribute.
Modern independence
This strong relation between Greek national identity and Greek Orthodox religion continued after the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830, and when the
Treaty of Lausanne was signed between Greece and
Turkey in 1923, the two countries agreed to use religion as the determinant for ethnic identity. However, in many important respects, the Greek state adhered from its founding to remarkably secular principles. For instance,
Jews were granted full citizens rights in 1830, the year Greece's independence was formally recognized, thus making Greece the second state in
Europe with an
emancipated Jewish community.
Today, the deeper integration of Greece into the Western strategic system and the effects of migration have led to a perception of
multiculturalism similar to that of Western European nations.
Names used for the Greek people
Main Article: Names of the Greeks.
Throughout the centuries, the Greeks have been known by a number of names, including:
- Hellenes - In mythology, Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, received from the nymph Orseis three sons, Aeolus, Dorus and Xuthus, each of which founded a primary tribe of Hellas; Aeolians, Dorians, Achaeans and Ionians. Originally, only a small tribe in Thessaly were called Hellenes, but the word soon extended to the rest of the peninsula and came to represent all Greek people. In early Christian times it was sometimes used to mean "pagans". It remains in Greece today, the primary national name.
- Greeks - In mythology, Graecus was the brother of Latinus and nephew to Hellen. It was the name of a Boeotian
...
tribe that migrated to the
Italian peninsula in the 8th century BC and probably through contact with natives there brought the term to represent all
Hellenes, which then established itself in Italy and in the West in general.
Aristotle and Apollodorus mention that it was the name used by Greeks before adopting the name Hellenes
- Romioi - Romans is the political name by which the Byzantine Greeks called themselves during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In parts of mainland Greece and Asia Minor, the use of this name survived well in the 20th century. The name in antiquity signified the inhabitants of the city of Rome in Italy, but with the elevation of the Greeks in the Roman Empire, it soon lost its connection with the Latins and acquired a completely different definition. Roman Emperor Caracalla with his Constitutio Antoniniana granted all free people in the Roman Empire citizenship. The term Roman represented for the Greeks their Roman citizenship and their Hellenic ancestry. The word Romaioi came to represent the Greek inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire. It remains still in use today in Greece
Greece lies at the juncture of Europe [i], Asia [i], and Africa [i]. ...
, being the most popular national name after
Hellene and in
Turkey to signify the Greek Orthodox minority. It is found also in the
Koran; one
Surah is entitled
Ar-Rum meaning the eastern Romans, Byzantines, or the Greeks.
- Achaeans, Argives, and Danaans are names used interchangeably by Homer, to signify the Greek allied forces.
- Yavan or 'Yunan', the name used by Indians who encountered Alexander the Great and his successors who ruled areas of Central Asia. Originally from the Persian Yauna, itself a transliteration of the Greek Ionia, is the name by which the Greeks are known in the East today. The term became established in Asia from the Persians, who in contact with the Ionian tribes in western Asia Minor in the 6th century BC, extended the name to all Hellenes.
History of the Greeks
The history of the Greek people is closely associated with the
history of Greece,
Constantinople, and
Asia Minor. During the Ottoman rule of Greece, a number of Greek enclaves around the
Mediterranean were cut off from the core, notably in Southern Italy, the Caucasus, Syria and Egypt. By the early 20th century over half of the overall Greek-speaking population was settled in
Asia Minor .
During the
20th century, a huge wave of migration to the
United States,
Australia,
Canada and elsewhere created a
Greek diaspora.
Modern and ancient Greeks
The most obvious link between modern and ancient Greeks is the Greek language, which has enjoyed a continuous tradition at least from the 7th century BC to the present day. There has been no break such as the one between
Latin and the modern
Romance languages, and the only other language which enjoys comparable continuity of tradition is
Chinese . Many modern scientists and scholars have supported that there is a dominant racial connection to the ancient Greeks. Other scholars, notably popular in
Nazi Germany, have supported the refuted theories of the 19th century historian Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer, who claimed that the ancient Greeks genetically disappeared at some point, and as modern Greeks have no genetic or cultural connection to them, Europe owes them nothing. It should be noted that Fallmerayer's theories specifically aimed at the Greeks of Morea , which at the time constituted less than a sixth of the overall Greek population, a fact which was being constantly ignored by his later supporters. His essays were refuted by numerous scholars of his time and were characterised by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities as biased and unscientific.
Modern, unbiased ethnologists consider genetics irrelevant, but agree that there is a strong and continuous tradition linking ancient and modern Greeks linguistically and culturally over the millennia, though, of course, there have also been significant contributions to Greek culture from other peoples.
Culture
Language
Greeks speak the Greek language, an
Indo-European language which forms a branch in itself, although seems to be more closely related to
Armenian. Greek literature has a continuous history of nearly 3000 years, and has been written in the
Greek alphabet since the 9th century BC.
Greek demonstrates several linguistic features that are shared with
Romanian,
Albanian and
Bulgarian , and has absorbed numerous foreign words . Due to the movement of Philhellenism in the 19th century in the rest of
Europe, which emphasized the modern Greeks' ancient heritage, these foreign influences were excluded from official use via the usage of
Katharevusa, a somewhat artificial form of Greek purged of all foreign influence and words, as the official language of the Greek state. In 1976 however, the Greek parliament voted to make
Dhimotiki, the modern dialect of
Athens, the official language, making
Katharevusa obsolete.
Some members of the
Greek diaspora can not speak the Greek language, but are still considered Greeks by ethnic origin or descent.
Greek has a wide variety of dialects of varying levels of mutual intelligibility, which in addition to official variety , include the Cypriot, Pontic, Cappadocian,
Griko and Tsakonian varieties. Yevanic, also known as Romaniote or Judeo-Greek, is the language of the Greek Jews , and survives in small communities in Greece,
New York and
Israel.
In addition to Greek, many Greeks in Greece are bilingual in other languages. Such languages include
Arvanitic, Aromanian , Slavic ,
Russian,
Italian,
Turkish and Romani. In the diaspora, most Greeks also speak the languages of the areas in which they live.
Religion
The vast majority of Greeks are
Eastern Orthodox Christians, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church. There are also small groups adhering to other Christian denominations or religions. The main non-Orthodox Christian denomination are
Roman Catholics, and more recently Evangelicals,
Seventh-day Adventists,
Methodists, and
Jehovah's Witnesses 
