Modernism: Representations of National Culture

Nikolaos Politis: Study on the life of modern Greeks

NIKOLAOS POLITIS: STUDY ON THE LIFE OF MODERN GREEKS Title: Μελέτη dπί το™ βίου τ§ν νεοτέρων FÅλλήνων (Study on the life of modern Greeks) Originally published: in Τόμος Α’ (vol. I), ‘Νεοελληνική Μυθολογία’ of the four-volume Μελέτη dπί το™ βίου τ§ν νεοτέρων FÅλλήνων (Athens: τύποις Σαραντάκος Οkκονόμου, 1871). Language: Greek The excerpts used are from the original, Preface, pp. α’- γ.’ About the author Nikolaos Politis [1852, Kalamata (the Peloponnese) – 1921, Athens]: a pioneer of folklore studies in Greece. He completed secondary education in his hometown. In 1868, he enrolled in the School of Philosophy at the University of Athens. From an early age, he started publishing on modern Greek culture in the literary review Pandora . He was also among the founding members of the Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος Παρνασσός (Philological society Parnassos). After he completed his studies in literature and law in Athens in 1876, he was granted a state scholarship to continue in Munich, as a student of the famous Byzantinist Karl Krumbacher. In 1880, Politis returned to Athens where he undertook the establishment of the Library of the Parliament . In 1882, he was appointed as adjunct professor of Greek mythology at the University of Athens. Parallel to this, he actively participated in the foundation of the Ιστορική και Εθνολογική Εταιρεία (Historical and ethnological society), one of the leading literary associations for the promotion of national history and culture. In 1885, he was appointed the general inspector of public education. He resigned in 1888, due to political controversies. In 1889, together with the famous poet Georgios Drosinis, he took over the publication of the literary review EΕστία (Hearth). Politis turned towards comparative folklore studies already when he was a student, in 1871, with his ‘Study on the life of Modern Greeks.’ As an academic, however, he started teaching folklore only in 1908. Prior to this, in 1899, he published a few volumes under the title ‘Studies on the life and language of the Hellenic people’ in a series funded by the Greek merchant Maraslis. In 1909, he founded the FΕλληνική Λαογραφική FΕταιρεία (Hellenic folklore society) and published the review Λαογραφία (Folklore studies). In 1914, he published a collection under the title ‘Selections from the songs of the Greek people,’ which constitutes the first critical edition of those lyrics. In 1918, upon his suggestion, the Λαογραφικόν EΑρχεsον (Folklore archive) was founded, aiming at the collection and publication of folklore mate- 4 CULTURAL MODERNIZATION rial. Equally significant was Politis’s influence on the young short story writers of the time. It was exactly during the 1880s and 1890s that the interest of many authors shifted from historical to contemporary life, especially in the countryside (see Alexandros Papadiamantis, Easter chanter). Politis not only inspired but also institutionally reinforced this trend. In 1883, EΕστία, the review Politis co-published, launched the first competition for the writing of a ‘Greek short story.’ Similar competitions were to take place every six months. Thus, Politis contributed to the emergence of a new literary genre which helped many young writers become literary figures . Main works: Μελέτη dπί το™ βίου τ§ν νεοτέρων FÅλλήνων 6 vols. [Study on the life of the Modern Greeks] (1871–1874); Μελέτη περί το™ βίου καί τyς γλώσσης το™ eλληνικο™ λαο™ [Study on the life and language of the Greek people] (1889); Παραδόσεις το™ eλληνικο™ λαο™ 2 vols. [Traditions of the Greek people] (1904); Αj eκλογαί Pπό τά τραγούδια το™ eλληνικο™ λαο™ [Selections from the songs of the Greek people] (1914). Context The period between 1875 and 1893 was marked by an attempt to introduce a series of reforms in Greek society under the political leadership of Britisheducated and western-oriented Harilaos Trikoupis. Contrary to the priorities of irredentism and territorial expansion prevailing until then, the aim now was to create a modern, rationally-organized and strong state. This need derived not less from the realization that the Greeks’ glorious past, conveniently appropriated and celebrated during the first decades of independence, did not suffice any more to attract European interest and sympathy. NeoHellenes were to prove that the cultural origins they claimed could be coupled by an equally remarkable present. However, unlike most other European nations which sought their origins in the medieval past, Greeks appealed to a glorious antiquity universally accepted as culturally superior, to which they claimed to be directly connected. Therefore, the nation had to present its own autochthonous cultural output in order to prove that the ancient spirit was still alive. The historian Constantinos Paparrigopoulos had created the national canon of the Hellenic nation. This canon now had to be conveyed into various other fields, and most importantly to be proven valid. This effort took the shape of the scientific consolidation of three disciplines , namely history, ethnography and linguistics, and the ensuing establishment of the respective academic...