YESTERYEAR’S HELLENES AND THEIR LEGACY In our daily lives we are identified in many different ways, e.g., name, address, s.s. number, passwords, height, race, etc. By identification we attempt to describe peoples’ association with who we are, our qualities, our character, our background. It is precisely the endeavor of this author to penetrate the reader’s superficial identification and reach the sanctum sanctorum or innermost character. To pursue this conscientious effort, one must go back three or so millennia. Somewhere beyond the sea, over the horizon, there lies the “darling” of the Mediterranean: a tiny country the size of Maine, in which two to three thousand years ago lived some brilliant minds such as, Homer, Praxitelis, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Archimides, Thucidedes, Democritus, Hippocrates, Euclid, Aeschelus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Orpheus. This “darling” is called Hellas, or commonly referred to as Greece. Homer To the right, we see a breathtaking view of Sounio. These gifted minds, the Hellenes, set the foundations for the sciences, arts, comedy, politic al science, the Olympics, music and what we call today “our Western Civilization”. Moreover, our ancestors developed the vehicle of expressing the mind! Mind over matter is a phenomenon of the human mind, both conscious and subconscious, projecting and perceiving your experience of physical reality. in language, to one of the highest levels known to mankind to this day. Indeed, there aren’ t many langu- ages in the world that can match the level of expression of the Greek language. A major example is Latin; a facsimile, or carbon copy of the Greek grammar. Latin in comparison to Greek had rhetorical inadequacies; the consequence of which was a vocabulary limitation. This forced the Romans to copy a great deal from the Greek vocabulary. Most Western langua- ges, especially the Romance (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Italian), have copied Latin. Thus, what was Greek became Latin, which in turn became Romance. It is unthinkable of how anyone could write in a primitive language the “Epitaph” or “Oedipus the King” or “The Iliad” or the "Odessey" or present an immortal Socratic “Apologia” (a formal defense or logical justification). Many of today’s American concepts were founded in brilliant Hellenic minds thousands of years ago. Here is a bit of evidence: our democratic principles of the election of public officials by majority vote of the citizens. The American Constitution contains a great deal of the Athenian Democracy. Our judicial system with rights of legal representation and trial by our peers, the jury and taxation. As a proof of vital American history, had it not been for one vote, our founding fathers would have pronounced Greek as the official language of the United States of America. Nevertheless, it should not go unnoticed that even in ancient Greece injustices were served by the courts. Point in case, the infamous trial of Socrates. Earlier, we referred to Socrates’ “apologia”. Indeed, Socrates was tried by jury. In this most famous trial, Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth for introducing (inserting into their minds) new demons such as inferior deity, i.e., monotheism versus polytheism (one God versus many). Thus, Socrates’ crime was that he was corrupting the youth through his teachings. For the intell ectually curious, Socrates was indeed found guilty and the penalty was either exile for life or death. And for our edification, the death penalty was neither the firing squad nor lethal injection nor the electric chair, but the drinking of a poison called: κώνειον or hemlock. One may wonder, where did Socrates frequent? Where do we suppose all the philosophers, rhetors, statesmen, poets, scientists and the general public gather to communicate, to catch the latest news, to have a life? This place was the AGORA. The agora as shown above and to the right in a reconstruction, was indeed the market place to do shopping. But, the agora was also the center for economic, social and political life. In the agora there were located temples shops, public buildings. . It is noteworthy to point out that the various schools of philosophy during those times including those of the stoics, promulgated that human beings should be free from passion and accept that all happenings as the unavoidable result of divine will. Thus, suicide was an option, which was closely associated with the death penalty. Here, we see a man exercising his right to death over life. This, the ancient Greeks called: Euthanasia. It may be considered in the order of today's "hemlock society". Incidentally, because Socrates maintained that the “Gods” could not really be the supreme power, he conceived of the one and only Divine, omnipotent, omniscient and ever-present God whom he called: “Τώ αγνώστω θεώ” or “The unknown God”. And, it is precisely this reason why Socrates is considered as the first Christian before Christ. Below, we see Socrates in prison, after his enemies convinced his fellow-Athenians of the "καινά δαιμόνια" or "new demons" new ideas which he was introducing to the youth; monoth eism. Thus here, he is shown taking the " "-hemlock in the chalice from the hand ofone of his disciples and pointing his left hand towards heaven. Let us further attempt to get a taste of the Hellenic influence in our daily lives in these United States today. On a wintry day, the writer was walking the streets of Thessaloniki, Hellas. He came across a store, a gift gallery, specializing in historical objects. There, was an antique-looking plaque in which was written an oath given by Alexander The Great. The text was written in classical Greek. This made the translation and comprehension process somewhat slow. Once the meaning of the oath began sinking in, the realization came of what the United States stands for. Let us then, devote our minds and hearts to the mentality contained in this oath given by Alexander The Great on 324 BC. THE OATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT ON 324 BC This oath was taken during a symposium in the presence of 9,000 Officers and Elitists of all races: Hellenes, Persians, Medons, and others: “I wish for you to be happy in peace now that the wars are over. All humans from now on should live as one people in harmony for the common good. You should consider your ecumenical Country with common laws, for the Civic leaders your Governors will be the finest, best qualified. I do not discriminate as the narrow minded do between Hellenes and Barbarians. I am neither interested in the origin of Citizens nor the race in which they were born. I distinguish them with only one criterion: virtue. For me, every good foreigner is a Hellene and every bad Hellene is a Barbarian. To the extent where friction arises among you, do not revert to arms. But, solve them peacefully. I, shall be your arbitrator in case of disagreement. God should not be considered as an authoritarian ruler, but as your common Father, so that your behavior will be like the life of brothers in the same family. As far as I am concerned, I consider every one as EQUAL, whether light or dark. And I would like that you would not just be obedient subjects of my Commonwealth, but participants and partners. To the degree of my power, I shall endeavor to fulfill my promises. The oath we took during this offering, we should keep as a symbol of LOVE.” ALEXANDROS * NOTE 1: Awareness in racial differences and issues were addressed. * NOTE 2: A great deal of Alexander’s mind was cultivated from one of the greatest Greek minds: ARISTOTLE, the disciple of PLATO, the latter was the disciple of SOCRATES. * NOTE 3: Alexander’s reference to God as our common father. Here, we see Alexander acquiring the knowledge and wisdom of Aristotle through a tutorial. But Alexander was not just a Conqueror. He was a scientist and a philosopher. After all, who was his teacher? Aristotle! Most importantly, everywhere Alexander went, he spread Greek philosophy and founded new cities. Here, we see Alexandria's vast and most valuable library which lasted from 290BC 'tll 646 AD; almost one thousand years. Think of it! LEXICODYNAMICS - THE HELLENIC WORD LOGIC The ancient Greeks were thirsty for the ability to express the mind. Therefore, with rich imagination and an ingenious mind our ancestors, the Greeks, were glossoplasts or word makers. Why do you suppose in America today there is an expression: “the Greeks have a word for it?" For, a language is not just the totality of words. It is rather the conduit, the vehicle of expressing the mind. It is of interest to present a quantification of some vital linguistic data. Based on a very recent research performed by this writer with various academic institutions and linguistic scholars, the English language contains approximately 360,000 words. Mind you, that we only need about 800 words to get by on our daily lives. Comparatively, the Greek language contains approximately 600,000 words (say 100,000 stems multiplied by the number of prepositions), e.g., ballo, logue, lysis, strophe, thesis. Classicists have estimated that 24.6% of the English language is derived, or has been borrowed from the Greek language and 24.8% comes from Latin. The balance is a derivative of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and a small hybrid of several languages. Thus, calculating from the figures cited above, the number of Greek words in the English language comes to about 84,960, say 85,000 words. In fact, there was just recently completed a study on this very subject by the University of California-Irvine. This study was funded by several millions of dollars (prr-ofessors must have been bandits). Some of its pertinent findings were: - There was an identification-treasure of six million (6,000,000) Greek words. - The English language has 490,000 words. - Greek is considered the foundation language for all western languages. - Greek is the most effective means between the mind and the language. - Business people in England urge the study of classical Greek because it has mathematical structure (dome) and it allows a geometric delineation. - Especially useful were found the Greek prefixes; tele, photo, phono, micro, mega, anti, syn, auto, et al. - The scientists consider the Greek language as one “without borders” and for that it is absolutely necessary in the sciences of Information, Electronics, Cybernetics and others. Let us share a few examples of the Greeks’ high level of logic and the linguistic grandeur applied in the word power and how American English has been shaped. It is noteworthy to observe the stamp of common sense carried forward into our expression. THE GREEK IMPRINT IN AMERICAN WORDS We would be remiss if we did not site for starters a presentation given by Mr. X. Zolotas, a Greek Economist at The International Monetary Fund on Sept. 26, 1957. His entire text was made up of word roots of Greek derivation. Following is the speech: “I eulogize the Archons of the Panethnic Numismatic Thesaurus and the Ecumenical Trapeza for the Orthodoxy of their axioms, methods and policies, although there is an episode of cacophony of the Trapeza with Hellas. With enthusiasm we dialogue and synagonize at the synods of the didymus organizations in which polymorphous economic ideas and dogmas are analyzed and synthesized. Our critical problems such the numismatic plethora generate some agony and melancholy. This phenomenon is characteristic of our epoch. But, to my thesis, we have the dynamism to program therapeutic practices as a prophylaxis from chaos and catastrophe. In parallel, a panethnic unhypocritical economic synergy and harmonization in a democratic climate is basic. I apologize for my eccentric monologue. I emphasize, my eucharisties to you Kurie, to the eugenic and generous Ame rican ethnos and to the organizers and protagonists of this amphictiony and the gastro- nomic symposia.” Incidentally, no one from the attendees uttered: “it is all Greek to me!” The grammatical similarities between the two languages are numerous. However, aside from the ten parts of speech, the rules on structure, diphthongs and style, there is an interesting Greek grammatical rule, as it affects accents and spirits. More precisely, let us examine the use of the rough spirit, which in classical Greek as in English is the expulsion of air in speech. All Greek words commencing with a vowel and that vowel carries a rough spirit, this rough spirit in English always becomes an “H”, e.g., Helix, Helium, Hellen, Hippo-potamus. In addition, only one consonant from classical Greek; the letter “R”, takes a rough spirit, which is also converted into an “H” in English, e.g., rHeuma-tism, HemorHoid, rHinocerus, rHapsody (from rhaptein=stitching+ song). Another impressive example of the linguistic influence of the Greek language is the use of the following words in American grammar: thesis, bible, paragraph, diphthong, period, coma, pause, parenthesis, phrase, grammar, alphabet, theme, protasis, antonym, synonym, syntax, etc. A recent experimental, detailed study of Webster’s New World Dictionary for the purpose of this article, revealed that on the letter H, there are 68 pages. In these pages, the English language has approximately 1,750 words. Of these 1,750 words, approximately 1,006, or 60% are of Greek origin. In an effort to assist a ten year old with her homework in Greek studies, I came across the following sentence: " Ή Έλλάδα χωρίς όπλα καί αεροπλάνα νίκησε μία μεγάλη αυτοκρατορία." Translating the Greek text into English we obtain: ” Greece without arms and airplanes defeated a great and strong power”. Here are the root words as they appear in English: Hellas, (pan)oply, airplanes, nike or Nicholas, mega, dynamic, autocracy. Unfortunately, there is a multitude of expressive Greek words which through assi- milation, ignorance, or misuse lose both their completeness and authenticity, e.g., hydrant in lieu of hydrantlia. The word hydrant is a composite and literally translated means water+pump. Also, the word acre, for a unit of land, was derived from the word agroV or agro, later turned into agra , then acra and finally acre. In the table presented below, we are going to see about twenty or so words and their counterparts which originate from the grand daddy of them all: Hellenism. These words were selected for a twofold reason : 1) for the reader’s edification, enticement and entertain ment and 2) to demonstrate the logic and level of knowledge of the ancient Greeks, because they may not be obvious in their concealment in the English language. ENGLISH WORD(S) GREEK EQUIVALENT COMMENT/ REF. /NOTES 1. naked or nude gym-nas-t-ium-ics Demonstrated pure body, pure mind 2. hair or pony tail comet Hair's pony tail-" " Κομητης" 3. monthly stop menopause Menstruation's cycle-every 28 days 4. bubble+born Aphrodite-isiac Note 1. Goddess of love. See below. 5. supporter or protector prostate Note 2. Stupendous logic. See below. 6. win or victory nike or Nicho (las) 7. mosquito canopy κουνούπι-mosquito drape 8. building or structure dome As in kingdome, superdome 9. fraction or grouping class, classical As in klasma or artoklassia 10. brief laconic The Spartans abbreviated talk 11. crawl or drag herpes herpes as in fever blister 12. severe, stern or harsh austere αυστηρό, also strict, simple 13. sleeping place; cemetery the Greek "K" became a "C" 14. bed or bed ridden clinic-al same as above 15. move cinema and kinetic Note 3. double edge sword! 16. dish, or plate plate, Plato, plateau Note 4. see below. 17. acute abdominal pains colic κολικό from colon, colitis 18. second year student sophomore Note 5. from wise + moron! 19. foreign, strange, ignorant barbarian, Barbara Note 6. neat origination 20. running back drome+palin Note 7. incredibly imaginative Please see notes below. Most words in the above table are fairly self-explanatory. Looking a bit deeper into what is behind some of those words however, we are going to be awed. *Note 1. Aphrodite, aphrodisiac. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. The Romans changed the name into Venus. Thus, aphrodisiac and venereal are both referring to love, related conduct, or activity. Speaking of beauty and love!!! Is this hedonistic perfection? Most importantly, to your right you are seeing the most famous statue in the world. It symbolizes our ancestors' ideal of feminine beauty. * Note 2. Prostate. " Προστάτης" or prostate in Greek means to support or protect. That is precisely what the prostate does in the male. First, it surrounds the urethra and supports the bladder, which is a vast sack collecting all the liquids and produces semen and protects the sperm. Then why don’t women have a prostate? Simply, because the woman’s bladder is approximately one third the size of a man’s bladder. The space for the other two thirds is taken up by the womb. Sheer brilliance! * Note 3. Cinema. This is an interesting word in that it expresses logic and simultaneously sadness for the corruption (which the author considers an anathema) of modern Greek. The Greeks took the word Kinhma or move-ment and added the word grafw (to write) and came up with the word ÊéíçµatïãñÜfïò or Cinematography. Note, if you will, that the Greek letter Kapa became a “C” through Latin influence. But, also note the English language’s paradoxical use of the Greek letter Kapa, as in the word “Kinetic”. In this case, scientists demonstrated awareness and retained the “K”. As for the “anathema” referred to above, the word Cinematography was condensed to Cinema. Evidently, when Greeks who went abroad heard the word Cinema, the “C” sound in Cinema was acoustically picked up as an “S”, as in “son”. Today’s Greeks go to the ΣΗΝΕΜΆ or SINEMA. If one were to inquire of today’s Greeks to define Cinema, more often they would not know that it is our own word from Kinema. * Note 4. Plate. This is clearly derived from the word platuV or broad. The plate we place food is broad. A plateau is a wide broad area. The philosopher Plato’s real name was Aristoklis, but he was reputed to have broad shoulders and naturally broad brains. Therefore, Plato was not the philosopher’s real name, but, a nickname. To the right, we see Plato's physical width=platis. Also, think of other wide or broad meaning words, e.g., plate and plareau! * Note 5. Sophomore. This is a composite Greek word from σοφό + μορό = wise+foolish. It is precisely the descriptiveness of the age and stage of the sixteen year old who possesses both, wisdom from the years of learning and emotional immaturity because of hormonal changes. This moron (infant and ignorant in Greek) syndrome is manifested when the sixteen year old appears at times unreasonable, frustrated, or confused. * Note 6. Barbarian-ous, Barbara. The Greeks considered a barbarian as a foreigner or stranger, or one not their own. The word is derived from cacophonous speech used by foreigners visiting Athens. Because the foreign “accent” to the Greeks sounded like “bar- bar- bar”, these sounds were collected and formed the word barbarian. * Note 7. Drome, as in palindrome is a fascinating concept. When a movement is performed back and forth, we call it a palindrome, as the pistons within the cylinders of an engine. Also, phrases and words have palindromic movement. The following are some simple and more complex linguistic examples of palindromic verse: mom, dad, madam, radar, “able was I ere I saw Elba”, “ A man a plan a canal Panama”. The last palindrome refers to D. Noriega, as a mystery man during the US’s Panamanian expedition. One more in English: "DOC, NOTE I DISSENT. A FAST NEVER PREVENTS A FATNESS. I DIET ON COD." Please try reading this palindromically. However, the grandest and most famous palindromic verse exists in Greek. This palindrome, in fact, is an epigram embossed in the Patriarchate in Constanti- nople: “ΝΪΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ” ”WASH YOUR SINS NOT ONLY YOUR FACE” The abbreviated table of the twenty words, shown above, is clear evidence of the supreme knowledge and logic of the Greek thought. It is an undeniable demonstration of how the Hellenic mind has influenced and permeated the English language and the method by which we express our minds . This is indeed, why the Greeks were called glossoplasts. NOTE: If indeed, you wish to be awed with some strange English words whose origin is from the Hellenic Mind, please do visit the article entitled:" An Apocalypse: The Greek imprint in the English Language". -THE DESCENDANTS OF HELLENISM- HELLAS AND THE GREEK-AMERICANS Today’s Hellas, the offspring of yesteryear’s cradle of western civilization, seems to be coming along fairly well. Based on latest accounts, the standard of living, education, quality of life, et al. seem to be compatible with those of other modern countries. This high standard of living explains why the migration from Greece has dwindled the last couple of decades to very small numbers. Somewhat belatedly, the Greek Government began thinking as to Hellenism’s place in the next millenium. To its credit, the Greek Nation under a panethnic vision created SAE, or Council of Hellenes Abroad. SAE has established several goals and is implementing them in a gradual and methodical manner. The main objectives of SAE are as follows: * To search and identify the Greek Diaspora. * To provide a bridge of communication with mother Hellas. * To assist in the preservation of the Hellenic culture and Orthodox faith. * To provide means for the perpetuation of the Hellenic language and heritage. * To obtain support through Greek-Americans and all the Diaspora on issues which affect Greece’s existence and well being. The Greek-Americans, as worthy descendants of such a great heritage, have attempted to give their offspring their own ethical and behavioral values, which are in themselves, there- fore, equally noble. Thus, educational pursuits, ethics, family values and devotion to the Greek Orthodox faith are the fundamental elements that make the Greek-Americans what they are. In a recent radio interview on “The Nest of the Hellenic Mind”, (hosted by this author), Michael Dukakis, the former Governor of Massachussets and Presidential candi- date stated: “ ...actually, it is an advantage to be a Greek-American and run for high office.” The Hellenic presence in America is well on its way to the fourth, fifth and later generations. Based on a variety of senses, Greek-Americans are estimated to be anywhere from one to three and a half million. There is no doubt that for a small country such as Greece and the fairly recent immigration of Greeks to the Americas, they have developed some prominence.In the words of Roger Mudd of CBS: “ ... what is it about the Greeks? Why has such a small immigrant group, which did not begin arriving here in any numbers until after 1900, become so successful, so fast? The Greeks themselves claim, it is because of their values: family, education, hard work, self reliance! The Census Bureau would seem to bear them out. Among twenty four major ethnic groups, the Greeks were first in the level of education and second to the Jews in income. Greek-Americans have one of the highest self-employed rates, one of the lowest laboring rates.” We can now be gratified knowing somewhat better our Hellenic legacy. We can now walk down the street aware of the grandeur of our Hellenic identity. Indeed, we can sense the impact of our ancestors in our daily lives. Lastly, we can now feel the pride and immense responsibility to retain our heritage, promulgate it to the world and pass it on to our children as our last will and testament. Remember: Neurons in the brain make new connections during learning. RETURN TO MAIN PAGE PLEASE! |
| The Nest of the Hellenic Mind THE PREVALENCE OF THE HELLENIC MIND IN TODAY’S AMERICANISM! by: Costas Miliotis |
| HOME Articles by: Dr. Touliatos Hellenism in Music: Lost Art and Culture Recovered Women Composers in Byzantium "The Evolution of Ancient Greek Music in Byzantium" "The Status of Byzantine Music Through The Twenty-First Century" by: Kostas Miliotis The Prevalence of the Hellenic Mind in Today's Americanism New Athens City & Arthur Kerry (!?) Two Articles Written on this by the SPTimes on Dec 31, 2000 An Anthology of Hellenic Tidbits (In Progress) Homecoming Epic-ATHENS Olympics 2004! An Apocalypse: the Greek Imprint in the English Language. Fascinating! Aphrodite's Cyprus. A Greek-America n Dilema! "The Influence of Hellenism in Colombia. "Greece's Contribution to America's National Character"! Anti-Americanis m in Hellas: An Apologia! |