Greek nationalism

Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.^[1] As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times.^[2]^[3]^[4] It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, which culminated in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire.^[1] It became also a potent movement in Greece shortly prior to, and during World War I, when the Greeks, inspired by the Megali Idea, managed to liberate parts of Greece in the Balkan Wars and after World War I, briefly occupied the region of Smyrna before it was retaken by Turkey.^[1]

Greek nationalism was also the main ideology of two dictatorial regimes in Greece during the 20th century: the 4th of August Regime (1936-41) and the Greek military junta (1967-74).

Today Greek nationalism remains important in the Greco-Turkish dispute over Cyprus^[1] among other disputes (Greek nationalism in Cyprus).

History[]

Greek hoplite (right) and Persian warrior (left) depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC.

St. John III Doukas Vatatzes the Merciful King, Emperor of Nicaea and "the Father of the Greeks."

"Grateful Hellas" by Theodoros Vryzakis.

The establishment of Panhellenic sites served as an essential component in the growth and self-consciousness of Greek nationalism.^[2] During the Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th century BCE, Greek nationalism was formally established though mainly as an ideology rather than a political reality since some Greek states were still allied with the Persian Empire.^[3] Aristotle and Hippocrates offered a theoretical approach on the superiority of the Greek tribes.^[5]

The establishment of the ancient Panhellenic Games is often seen as the first example of ethnic nationalism and view of a common heritage and identity.^[6]

During the times of the Byzantine Empire and after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins, the Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes was prepared to use the words 'nation' (genos), 'Hellene' and 'Hellas' together in his correspondence with the Pope. John acknowledged that he was Greek, although bearing the title Emperor of the Romans: "the Greeks are the only heirs and successors of Constantine", he wrote. In similar fashion John’s son Theodore II, acc. 1254, who took some interest in the physical heritage of Antiquity, was prepared to refer to his whole Euro-Asian realm as "Hellas" and a "Hellenic dominion".^[7] The generations after John looked back upon him as "the Father of the Greeks".^[8]

When the Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Paleologi dynasty (1261–1453), a new era of Greek patriotism emerged, accompanied by a turning back to ancient Greece.^[4] Some prominent personalities at the time also proposed changing the Imperial title from "basileus and autocrat of the Romans" to "Emperor of the Hellenes".^[4] This enthusiasm for the glorious past constituted an element that was present in the movement that led to the creation of the modern Greek state, in 1830, after four centuries of Ottoman rule.^[4]

Popular movements calling for enosis (the incorporation of disparate Greek-populated territories into a greater Greek state) resulted in the accession of Crete (1912), Ionian Islands (1864) and Dodecanese (1947). Calls for enosis were also a feature of Cypriot politics during British rule in Cyprus. During the troubled interwar years, some Greek nationalists viewed Orthodox Christian Albanians, Aromanians and Bulgarians as communities that could be assimilated into the Greek nation.^[9] Greek irredentism, the "Megali Idea" suffered a setback in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), and the Greek genocide. Since then, Greco-Turkish relations have been characterized by tension between Greek and Turkish nationalism, culminating in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974).

Nationalist political parties[]

Nationalist parties include:

Active[]

Golden Dawn (1985–)
Greek Unity (1989–)
Popular Orthodox Rally (2000–)
Society – Political Party of the Successors of Kapodistrias (2008–)
National Hope (2010–)
United Popular Front (2011–)
National Unity Association (2011–)
National Front (2012–)
Independent Greeks (2012–)
Popular Greek Patriotic Union (2015–)
National Unity (2016–)
New Right (2016–)
Greek Solution (2016–) (parliamentary)
National Popular Consciousness (2019–)
Greeks for the Fatherland (2020–)

Defunct[]

Nationalist Party (1865–1913) (parliamentary)
New Party (1873–1910) (parliamentary)
Liberal Party (1910-1961) (parliamentary)
Freethinkers' Party (1922–1936) (parliamentary)
National Union of Greece (1927–1944)
Greek National Socialist Party (1932–1943)
Hellenic Socialist Patriotic Organisation (1941–1942)
Politically Independent Alignment (1949–1951) (parliamentary)
Greek Rally (1951–1955) (parliamentary)
4th of August Party (1965–1977)
National Democratic Union (1974–1977)
National Alignment (1977–1981)
United Nationalist Movement (1979–1991)
Party of Hellenism (1981–2004)
National Political Union (1984–1996)
Political Spring (1993–2004)
Hellenic Front (1994–2005)
Front Line (1999–2000)
Patriotic Alliance (2004–2007)

Gallery[]

Traditional flag used from 1769 to the Greek War of Independence.
Flag of the Filiki Eteria.
"The Arcadian Holocaust" by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri; scene from the Cretan Revolt (1866–69).
Alexandros Koumoundouros, founder of the Nationalist Party.
Pavlos Melas was killed during the Macedonian Struggle.
Lorentzos Mavilis was killed during the First Balkan War.
Poster celebrating the "New Greece" after the Balkan Wars.
Map of "Greater Greece" after the Treaty of Sèvres, featuring Eleftherios Venizelos, when the Megali Idea seemed close to fulfillment.
Members of the National Organisation of Youth (EON) hail in presence of Ioannis Metaxas during the 4th of August Regime.

References[]

Citations[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Motyl 2001, "Greek Nationalism", pp. 201–203.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Burckhardt 1999, p. 168: "The establishment of these Panhellenic sites, which yet remained exclusively Hellenic, was a very important element in the growth and self-consciousness of Hellenic nationalism; it was uniquely decisive in breaking down enmity between tribes, and remained the most powerful obstacle to fragmentation into mutually hostile poleis."
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Wilson 2006, "Persian Wars", pp. 555–556.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Vasiliev 1952, p. 582.
^ Hope 2007, p. 177: "Hippocrates and Aristotle both theorized the geography was responsible for the differences between peoples. Not surprisingly, both writers theorized their own Greek tribes as superior to all other human collectives."
^ "The Panhellenic Games". Hellenic Museum. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
^ "Byzantium 1220 To 1330 | Byzantine Empire | Constantinople". Scribd. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
^ A. A. Vasiliev. History of the Byzantine Empire. Vol. 2. University of Wisconsin Press, 1971. pp. 531–534.
^ Çaǧaptay 2006, p. 161.

Sources[]

Burckhardt, Jacob (1999) [1872]. The Greeks and Greek Civilization. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-24447-7.
Çaǧaptay, Soner (2006). Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?. London and New York: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). ISBN 978-0-415-38458-2.
Hope, Laura Leigh Bevis (2007). Staging the Nation/Confronting Nationalism: Theatre and Performance by Contemporary Irish and German Women. Davis, CA: University of California, Davis.
Motyl, Alexander J. (2001). Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Volume II. London and San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-08-054524-0.
Vasiliev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (1952). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453, Volume II. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-80926-3.
Wilson, Nigel (2006). Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. New York, NY: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group). ISBN 978-1-136-78799-7.

show v t Ethnic nationalism
Nationalisms	Acholi Afrikaner Albanian in Albania in Kosovo in North Macedonia Andalusian Arab Aragonese Argentine Armenian Assamese Assyrian Asturian Austrian Azerbaijani Balkar and Karachay Baloch Bamar Basque Bavarian Belarusian Bengali Berber Bodo Bosniak Breton Canadian Canarian Cantonese Castilian Catalan Chicano Chinese Circassian Coptic Cornish Corsican Croatian Czech Egyptian English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Galician German in Austria Georgian Greek in Cyprus Han Hazara Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Indian Iranian Iraqi Irish Italian Japanese Jewish Kabyle Khmer Korean Kurdish Lebanese Lezgin Lithuanian Lombard Macedonian Malay Manchurian Mapuche Moldovan Mongolian South Mongolia Montenegrin Naga Neftenya Norwegian Occitan Ogoni Palestinian Pashtun Polish Punjabi Quebec Romani (Gypsy) Romanian Russian Ryukyu Sahrawi Sardinian Scottish Serbian Sicilian Sindhi Sinhalese Somali Slovak Slovenian Spanish Tamil in Sri Lanka Tibetan Tripuri Turkish in Cyprus Ukrainian Ulster Uyghur Valencian Venetian Vietnamese Welsh Zaza
Pan-nationalisms	African Algerian American Arab Asian Australian Bangladeshi Chinese Congolese Celtic European German Germanic Hispanic Iberian Indian Iranian Iraqi Israeli Korean Latin Libyan Mongolian Native American Nigerian Nordic Oceanian Pakistani Russian Scandinavian Slavic Tunisian Turanian Turkic Ugandan
Movements	Alsace independence movement Assam separatist movements Assyrian independence movement Catalan independence movement Champa independence movement East Turkestan independence movement Faroese independence movement Flemish Movement Free Aceh Movement Free Papua Movement Future of Åland Galician independence movement (Spain) Greenlandic independence Guangdong Independence Movement Hawaiian sovereignty movement Inner Mongolian independence movement Kaszëbskô Jednota Māori protest movement Mapuche separatist movement Muslim Independence Movement (Philippines) National Liberation Front of Corsica Patani United Liberation Organisation Ryukyu independence movement Scottish independence Siberian regionalism Silesian Autonomy Movement Székely autonomy movement Taiwan independence movement Tibetan independence movement Vojvodina Autonomist Movement Wallmapuwen Walloon Movement Welsh independence
Concepts	Arakan Artsakh Assyria Azawad Balawaristan Balochistan Bangsamoro Chameria Champa Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Circassia Crimea Hatay State Hazarajat Danzig Donetsk East Turkestan Herzeg-Bosnia Hutu Power Ilirida Karakalpakstan Karelia Katarismo Ketuanan Melayu Kurdistan Lezgistan Luhansk Manchukuo Marathi Abhimaangeet Northern Epirus Ossetia Pashtunistan Republika Srpska Santa Cruz Sápmi Saraikistan Silesia Sindhudesh Székely Land Tamil Eelam Tibet
Other	Racial American Indigenous Black Indigenous Korean White Zionism
Note: Forms of nationalism based primarily on ethnic groups are listed above. This does not imply that all nationalists with a given ethnicity subscribe to that form of ethnic nationalism.

show v t Greek nationalism
Ideology	Modern Greek Enlightenment Megali Idea Hellenization Grecoman Venizelism Metaxism Enosis
Organizations	Filiki Eteria Ethniki Etaireia Macedonian Committee Military League National Youth Organisation EDES Northern Epirus Liberation Front EOKA EOKA B
Political parties	Napist Party Nationalist Party New Party (1873) New Party (1947) Liberal Party Freethinkers' Party Politically Independent Alignment Greek Rally National Party of Greece 4th of August Party National Alignment Party of Hellenism National Political Union Hellenic Front Front Line Patriotic Alliance Political Spring National Front (Greece) Popular Orthodox Rally Golden Dawn ELAM (Cyprus) National Unity Association Greek Solution LEPEN Greeks for the Fatherland
People	Adamantios Korais Rigas Feraios Alexander Ypsilantis Ioannis Kapodistrias Athanasios Diakos Theodoros Kolokotronis Dionysios Solomos Constantine Paparrigopoulos Aristotelis Valaoritis Alexandros Koumoundouros Theodoros Diligiannis Kostis Palamas Pavlos Melas Ion Dragoumis Eleftherios Venizelos Nikolaos Plastiras Ioannis Metaxas Angelos Sikelianos Alexandros Papagos Napoleon Zervas Georgios Grivas Georgios Papadopoulos Dimitrios Ioannidis Antonis Samaras
Historical events	Greco-Persian Wars Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty Greek War of Independence Epirus Revolt of 1854 1854 Macedonian rebellion 1867 Macedonian rebellion Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt (1878) Epirus Revolt of 1878 1878 Greek Macedonian rebellion 1896–1897 Greek Macedonian rebellion Greco-Turkish War (1897) Macedonian Struggle Theriso revolt Greece in the Balkan Wars Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus Greece in World War I Greco-Turkish war (1919-1922) 1931 Cyprus revolt 4th of August Regime Greek Resistance Cyprus Emergency (1955–59) Cyprus crisis of 1963–64 Bloody Christmas (1963) Greek military junta of 1967–74 1974 Cypriot coup d'état 1990 Komotini events
Policies	Aromanian question Geographical name changes Greek language question