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 a potent movement in Greece shortly prior to, and during World War I under the leadership of nationalist figure Eleutherios Venizelos who pursued the Megali Idea and managed to liberate Greece in the Balkan Wars and after World War I, briefly annexed the region of Izmir before it was retaken by Turkey.^[1] Today Greek nationalism remains important in the Greco-Turkish dispute over Cyprus.^[1]

History

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

"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] 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 imperial 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 (1908), Ionian Islands (1864) and Dodecanese (1947). Calls for enosis were also a feature of Cypriot politics during British Rule. 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.^[5] 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).

Nationalism played a significant role in Greek politics during the first century and a half of existence of the Greek state. Nationalist parties, past and present, include:

Nationalist Party (1865–1913) (defunct)
Freethinkers' Party (1922–1936) (defunct)
Greek Rally (1951–1955) (defunct)
4th of August Party (1965–1977) (defunct)
National Alignment (1977–1981) (defunct)
Party of Hellenism (1981–2004) (defunct)
National Political Union (1984–1996) (defunct)
Hellenic Front (1994–2005) (defunct)
Front Line (1999–2000) (defunct)
Patriotic Alliance (2004–2007) (defunct)
Popular Orthodox Rally (2000– (active)
National Front (2012– (active)
Golden Dawn (parliamentary)
National Unity Association (active)

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.
Monument for the Macedonian Struggle, Chromio.
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

1 2 3 4 Motyl 2001, "Greek Nationalism", pp. 201–203.
1 2 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."
1 2 Wilson 2006, "Persian Wars", pp. 555–556.
1 2 3 4 Vasiliev 1952, p. 582.
↑ 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.
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.

Ethnic nationalism

Africa	Acholi Afrikaner Algerian Arab Berber Canarian Congolese Egyptian Ethiopian Hutu Libyan Nigerian Sahrawi Somali Tunisian Ugandan

Asia	Arab Armenian Assamese Assyrian Azerbaijani Balkar and Karachay Baloch Bangladeshi Bengali Bodo Burmese Burmese Buddhist Chinese Circassian Dalit East Turkestani Filipino Gorkha Hindu Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Japanese Jewish Kashmiri Khmer Korean Kurdish Lebanese Lezgian Malay Malaysian Malay Malaysian Hindu Manchurian Marathi Mongolian Naga Pashtuns Pakistani Palestinian Punjabi Ryukyu Saraiki Sikh Sindhi Sinhalese Buddhist South Asian Muslim Sri Lankan Tamil Syrian Taiwanese Tamil Thai Tibetan Tripuri Turkic Turkish Vietnamese Zaza

Europe	Albanian Andalusian Armenian Asturian Austrian Azerbaijani Balkar and Karachay Basque Bavarian Belarusian Bosnian Breton British Canarian Castilian Catalan Celtic Circassian Cornish Corsican Croatian Czechoslovak English Estonian Faroese Flemish Finnish French Galician German in Austria Georgian Greek Cypriot Hungarian Icelandic Irish Italian Lezgian Macedonian Moldovan Montenegrin Norwegian Occitan Padanian Polish Prussian Rhenish Romanian Russian Scandinavian Sardinian Scottish Serbian Sicilian Slavic Slovenian Soviet Spanish Swabian Turkic Turkish Ukrainian Ulster Valencian Venetian Walloon Welsh Yugoslav

The Americas	American Argentine Brazilian Canadian Chicano Native-American Confederate Greenlandic Québécois

Oceania	Australian Hawaiian Māori Nelsonian NZ South Islander

Other	Black Christian Islamic White

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.

Greek nationalism

Ideology	Modern Greek Enlightenment Megali Idea Hellenization Venizelism Metaxism Enosis

Organizations	Filiki Eteria Ethniki Etaireia Hellenic Macedonian Committee National Youth Organisation National Republican Greek League EOKA EOKA B

Political Parties	Nationalist Party New Party 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 National Front (Greece) Popular Orthodox Rally Golden Dawn National Unity Association

People	Adamantios Korais Rigas Feraios Alexander Ypsilantis Athanasios Diakos Dionysios Solomos Ioannis Kolettis Constantine Paparrigopoulos Alexandros Koumoundouros Theodoros Diligiannis Charilaos Trikoupis Kostis Palamas Pavlos Melas Ion Dragoumis Eleftherios Venizelos Alexandros Papanastasiou Nikolaos Plastiras Ioannis Metaxas Angelos Sikelianos Alexandros Papagos Napoleon Zervas Georgios Grivas Georgios Papadopoulos Dimitrios Ioannidis

Historical events	Greco-Persian Wars Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty Greek War of Independence Cretan Revolt (1866–69) Greco-Turkish War (1897) Macedonian Struggle Balkan Wars Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus National Schism Greco-Turkish war (1919-1922) 4th of August Regime Greek Resistance Cypriot intercommunal violence Greek military junta of 1967–74 1974 Cypriot coup d'état 1990 Komotini events

Policies	Geographical name changes Greek language question Macedonia naming dispute

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