Cultural patriotism in the Southern Balkans : the case of Greece (1833-1848)
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Abstract
Since the very first days of the Greek state, there was considerable
activity in supporting the cultural advancement and education of the nation’s
youth. The prospects for acculturation were directly connected with Greece’s
“mission” to channel the knowledge of the West to the East. This “mission”
was put together, especially during the Romantic period of modern Greek
history, out of existing cultural material which the Greeks regarded as
symbolic of the nation. The creation of this consciousness and the systematic
cultivation of cultural supremacy led to a kind of “self-confidence” and went
hand in hand with the birth of irredentist prospects.
The ideology of “Hellenism” gave birth to a Greece which felt it had to
take cultural action as the heir to the ancient cultural heritage. In many cases,
the message was clearly received by the Greek people. And so, to a considerable extent, apart from government support, the schools (which were the means by which the Greek people achieved their cultural advancement) were organized and run thanks to the financial sacrifices made by ordinary, poor
people, who realised the importance of education for the human race in general and the contemporary Greeks in particular. The Church, some municipal
authorities, and a few private donors also made a substantial contribution. All,
people and institutions, were motivated by the same ideology of “Hellenism”
and “cultural patriotism”, which was assiduously fostered by politicians and
intellectuals and propagated by the Greek schools. One is also struck by the fact that, on the Greek islands at least, at a time when the social roles of the two sexes were quite distinct, because girls, mainly, were excluded from the productive process, parents were very concerned with their daughters’ education. However, there is a possibility that all the simple, illiterate Greeks who made a contribution to the education and cultural advancement of the nation might have not nursed conscious sentiments of “cultural patriotism”. In many cases, simple, illiterate peasants adopted the ideology of their socio-economic superiors and of the intellectuals, and as a result made an equally heartfelt contribution to the educational process out of their own meagre finances.
activity in supporting the cultural advancement and education of the nation’s
youth. The prospects for acculturation were directly connected with Greece’s
“mission” to channel the knowledge of the West to the East. This “mission”
was put together, especially during the Romantic period of modern Greek
history, out of existing cultural material which the Greeks regarded as
symbolic of the nation. The creation of this consciousness and the systematic
cultivation of cultural supremacy led to a kind of “self-confidence” and went
hand in hand with the birth of irredentist prospects.
The ideology of “Hellenism” gave birth to a Greece which felt it had to
take cultural action as the heir to the ancient cultural heritage. In many cases,
the message was clearly received by the Greek people. And so, to a considerable extent, apart from government support, the schools (which were the means by which the Greek people achieved their cultural advancement) were organized and run thanks to the financial sacrifices made by ordinary, poor
people, who realised the importance of education for the human race in general and the contemporary Greeks in particular. The Church, some municipal
authorities, and a few private donors also made a substantial contribution. All,
people and institutions, were motivated by the same ideology of “Hellenism”
and “cultural patriotism”, which was assiduously fostered by politicians and
intellectuals and propagated by the Greek schools. One is also struck by the fact that, on the Greek islands at least, at a time when the social roles of the two sexes were quite distinct, because girls, mainly, were excluded from the productive process, parents were very concerned with their daughters’ education. However, there is a possibility that all the simple, illiterate Greeks who made a contribution to the education and cultural advancement of the nation might have not nursed conscious sentiments of “cultural patriotism”. In many cases, simple, illiterate peasants adopted the ideology of their socio-economic superiors and of the intellectuals, and as a result made an equally heartfelt contribution to the educational process out of their own meagre finances.
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