sourced story
c. late 18th century-1821Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Diaspora Greeks Build a National Idea Out of Classicism

Greek merchants and scholars in Europe rediscover ancient Greece from the outside and bring nationalism back home

On the timeline · around c. late 18th century-1821 · Ottoman GreeceOttoman GreeceIndependence and the Modern StateDiaspora Greeks Build a National Idea Out of Classicism16751700172517501775180018251850

Quick facts

Key diaspora centers
Western Europe, Russia (notably Odessa)
Intellectual fuel
European Classicism and Enlightenment ideas
Identity anchor under Ottoman rule
Orthodox Christianity
Diaspora support committees formed by
1823

What happened

In the decades before 1821, Greeks living abroad in the trading cities of Western Europe and Russia built the intellectual and organizational groundwork for independence that Greeks living under direct Ottoman rule could not as easily assemble. Diaspora communities promoted the study of ancient Greece and the idea that Greece was the birthplace of Western culture, feeding a European Classicist enthusiasm that diaspora Greeks then redirected into a specifically Greek nationalist cause. Because they lived outside Ottoman control, diaspora Greeks were able to organize politically far more effectively than communities inside the empire; Orthodox Christianity, meanwhile, remained the institution that best preserved a sense of Greek national identity for those still living under Ottoman rule. By 1823, Greek communities in cities across Europe and America had formed committees to raise money and volunteers for the revolution's cause.

Why it matters

This diaspora-driven fusion of classical revivalism and Orthodox identity gave the Greek independence movement both an intellectual justification, that modern Greeks were the heirs of Pericles and Plato, and a practical support network of money, arms, and international sympathy that reached Greece from outside the empire's borders. It also explains why European philhellenism, sympathy for Greece rooted in admiration for the ancient world, became such a powerful international force once the revolution began.

How we know

The role of diaspora communities in building Greek nationalism and organizing support for independence is documented in university archival exhibitions drawing on diaspora committee records, correspondence, and contemporary European philhellenic publications.

Sources

See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.

Part of a timelineHistory of Greece26 events · A classical civilization that spent most of its history as someone else's province, then had to build a nation-state twice, once in 1830 and again in 1974View all →
Diaspora Greeks Build a National Idea Out of Classicism · History of Greece · SourcedStory