Whether used as an adjective, noun, geographical, or historical reference the word “Hellenic” is a loaded term. Originally coined to reconcile the histories of the Cyclades during the Bronze Age and Minoan Crete, it gained an additional definition during the Hellenistic period (after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E.), resulting in the birth of “Greece proper”. Or, if you will, modern Greece.
Therein lies the crux of the problem: ancient monarchs, city-states, merchants, and conquerors all played their part in disseminating the Hellenic culture and language well beyond the national borders that define modern Greece. In the process the borders where redrawn with non-Hellenes drawn into the Hellenic world. The Byzantine Empire, Ottomon Occupation, and to borrow from John Mearsheimer, the “tragedy of great power politics” once again redefined and reinvented the Hellenic state.
As a result of political miscalculations, government blundering, and catastrophies of war, many Hellenes found themselves displaced, disregarded, and disenfranchised in their own land.
Issues affecting people come and go; some gain popularity amongst avid supporters from a broad spectrum of people, others are abandoned. In keeping with the historical theme of this blog, the following topics and issues, which seem to have fallen by the wayside, are both from the past and present. We will be adding more links soon. If you have any topic or issue that you think should be addressed here, please drop us a line.
This site is dedicated to enlightening people on issues regarding Greeks in Albania.
The Utah Histroy to Go homepage provides information on Greek “exiles” who fled to the United States of America at the turn of the 20th century.
