Georgios Gennadios ( el, Γεώργιος Γεννάδιος; 1784–1854) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
man of letters who was instrumental in the founding of some of the first educational establishments of
modern Greece
The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition by the Great Powers — Britain, France and Russia — of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 to the present day.
Background
The Byzantine Empire had ...
, considered among the most important personalities of the
Modern Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment ( el, Διαφωτισμός, ''Diafotismos'', "enlightenment," "illumination"; also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment) was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment.
Origins
The Greek Enlightenment w ...
.
Life
Gennadios was born in 1784 in
Selymbria
Selymbria ( gr, Σηλυμβρία),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Roman ...
, a village in the
Zagori
Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, Zagori), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as ...
region of
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
(or according to another source, in 1786 in
Selymbria
Selymbria ( gr, Σηλυμβρία),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Roman ...
in
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
, where his Epirotan parents went to live for a period). He started his studies in
Doliana
Doliana ( el, Δολιανά) is a community of the municipality North Kynouria, in eastern Arcadia, Greece. It consists of the villages Kato Doliana, Ano Doliana, Dragouni, Kouvlis, Prosilia and Rouneika.Monodendri. He continued his studies in the schools of
Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
and subsequently in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
(now capital of Romania, but then part of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
). In 1804 he began to study
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
under Wilhelm Ernst Weber. He returned to Bucharest upon completion of his studies in 1814.
At 1815 he became an assistant to
Neophytos Doukas
Neophytos Doukas or Dukas ( el, Νεόφυτος Δούκας; 1760 – 1 January 1845) was a Greek priest and scholar, author of many books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of the modern Greek ...
, then at the
Princely Academy of Bucharest The Princely Academy of Bucharest (Romanian: Academia Domnească din București, el, Αυθεντική Ακαδημία Βουκουρεστίου) was an institution of higher education, active from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of ...
. In 1817–20 he went to
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, following an invitation by the city’s Greek community and by
Ioannis Kapodistrias
Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: ...
, then Russia's foreign minister, where he helped to found and direct the Greek School of Commerce. In 1820 he returned to Bucharest following an invitation by Prince
Alexandros Soutzos
Alexandros Soutzos (, , 1758 – January 18/19, 1821, Bucharest) was a Phanariote Greek who ruled as Prince of Moldavia (July 10, 1801 – October 1, 1802 and Prince of Wallachia (July 2, 1802 – August 30, 1802; August 24, 1806 – October 15, ...
of Wallachia and taught in the city’s schools. That year he also became a member of the
Filiki Eteria
Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek ...
revolutionary organization. Following the defeat of
Alexandros Ypsilantis
Alexandros Ypsilantis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Υψηλάντης, Aléxandros Ypsilántis, ; ro, Alexandru Ipsilanti; russian: Александр Константинович Ипсиланти, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Ipsilanti; 12 Dece ...
in 1821 he went to Odessa and from there to
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. He returned to Greece in 1826 to take part in the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
.
Following the establishment of the independent Greek state, Gennadios was appointed by Kapodistrias, now Governor of Greece, together with Georgios Konstantas and Ioannis Benthylos to compile an official grammar of the Greek language. He founded the Central School of
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
, later transferred to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. In 1832, he was appointed first director of the
National Library of Greece
The National Library of Greece ( el, Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος, Ethnikí Vivliothíki tis Elládos) is the main public library of Greece, located in Athens. Founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1832, its mission is to ...
in Athens. He founded the ''Philekpaideutike Etaireía'' (Φιλεκπαιδευτική Εταιρεία, "Society of the Friends of Education"), taught at the Arsakeion School in Athens and briefly taught history at the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
. He also founded the Archaeological Society of Athens and initiated the numismatic collection eventually housed at the
Numismatic Museum of Athens
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
. Among his students were
Constantine Paparrigopoulos
Constantine Paparrigopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παπαρρηγόπουλος; 1815 – 14 April 1891) was a Greek historian, who is considered the founder of modern Greek historiography. He is the founder of the concept of historica ...
and
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman.
Early life
He was ...
.Anastasios N. Goudas ''Βίοι Παράλληλοι των επί της αναγεννήσεως της Ελλάδος διαπρεψάντων ανδρών, Τόμος Β’ Παιδεία'', Publisher: M.P. Perides Printing House, Athens
In 1854, during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, he led a revolutionary committee for the liberation of Epirus, his homeland, but died the same year during a cholera epidemic. Gennadios’ statue was placed in front of the National Library of Greece following the construction of
Theophil Hansen
Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen (; original Danish name: Theophilus Hansen ; 13 July 1813 – 17 February 1891) was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in A ...
's neoclassical building to house the collections of the library in 1903.
Gennadios's son
Joannes Gennadius
Joannes, Ioannes or John Gennadius (Ιωάννης Γεννάδιος, 1844–1932) was a Greek diplomat, writer, and speaker, best known for his donation of his collection of Greek books and art to the Gennadius Library.
Early and personal lif ...
was born in 1844 and became a diplomat and bibliophile. When he donated his important book collection to the
American School of Classical Studies
, native_name_lang = Greek
, image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg
, image_size =
, image_alt =
, caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos
, latin_name =
, other_name =
, former_name =
, mo ...
in Athens, the building built to house it was named in honor of Georgios as the ''Gennadeion''.
Works
* Grammar of the ancient Greek language, (''Γραμματική της αρχαίας Ελληνικής γλώσσης'', 1832).
* Edited ''Σύνοψις της Ιεράς Ιστορίας'' (1835) and ''Κατήχησις ή Ορθόδοξος διδασκαλία της Ανατολικής Εκκλησίας'' (1835).
See also
*
Gennadius Library
The Gennadius Library ( el, Γεννάδειος Βιβλιοθήκη), also known as the Gennadeion, is one of the most important libraries in Greece, with over 110,000 volumes on Greek history, literature and art from Antiquity until modern tim ...