The Kaplaneios School ( el, Καπλάνειος Σχολή) was a Greek educational institution that operated in
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 ...
from 1797 to 1820/1. The school evolved into the most significant intellectual center of the city through the work of
Athanasios Psalidas
Athanasios Psalidas ( el, Αθανάσιος Ψαλίδας; 1767–1829), was a Greek author, scholar and one of the most renowned figures of the modern Greek Enlightenment.
Life Early years and diaspora
Psalidas was born at 1767 in Ioannina, whe ...
, a major representative 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 ...
movement.
Kaplaneios was rebuilt during 1922-1926 and since that time has housed a number of primary schools.
Under Athanasios Psalidas
The school was founded at the personal expense of the brothers Manthos and Zois Kaplanis, merchants and local benefactors. It succeeded another local school, the Maroutsaia, which closed due to financial problems. From its very start, Athanasios Psalidas, one of the main representatives 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 ...
, took the initiative and became director of the school. The same year the Kaplaneios had its own library, while it came under the protection of the
Phanar Greek Orthodox College
Phanar Greek Orthodox College or Phanar Roman Orthodox Lyceum ( tr, Özel Fener Rum Lisesi), known in Greek as the Great School of the Nation and Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople ( el, Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή, ''Megáli t ...
of
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
) and acquired the alternative title ''Patriarchal Academy''.
Psalidas initially faced an anachronistic and lethargic education system. In order to deal with this, he began a series of confrontations with the conservative community of Ioannina. He included in the curriculum lessons of
experimental physics
Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...
and was an ardent supporter of contemporary European ideologies and the vernacular (
Demotic
Demotic may refer to:
* Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language
* Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language
* Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese
See also
*
* Demos (disa ...
) Greek language. The students were also taught
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
literature and contemporary science, including
Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
's '' Principia''. Psalidas' main objective and aspiration was the intellectual uplifting and the political restoration of the Greek people. In his efforts to achieve this, he was assisted by the intelligent and religiously tolerant ruler of the region,
Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina.
People
* Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406)
* Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...
, who encouraged the education in Ioannina. Because of his progressive teaching methods, Psalidas was accused of
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
and
voltairianism
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
by conservative scholars.
Destruction and revival
Soon however, the Greek Enlightenment process, in which Ioannina was a major center, came to an abrupt end, with the suppression of Ali Pasha's autonomist tendencies against the
Porte
Porte may refer to:
*Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire
*Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy
*John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator
*Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...
as well as with the outbreak of 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 ...
in 1821. The suppression of Ali Pasha resulted in the destruction of the schools of the city, including the Kaplaneios.
The school was rebuilt during 1922-1926, thanks to a bequest from Zois Kaplanis, and since that time has housed a number of primary schools.
Kosmas Thesprotos
Kosmas Thesprotos or Kosmas o Thesprotos ( el, Κοσμάς ο Θεσπρωτός ''Kosmas the Thesprotian'', 1780 1852) was a Greek scholar, priest and theologian.
Life
Kosmas was born as ''Kyritsis Kotras'' ( el, Κυρίτσης (diminutive ...
, scholar
*
Georgios Stavros
Georgios Stavros ( el, Γεώργιος Σταύρος, 1788–1869) was a banker, benefactor and revolutionary from modern-day Greece. He was one of the founders and the first governor of the National Bank of Greece.
Early years
Stavros was bor ...
, banker
*
Anastasios Sakellarios
Anastasius (Latinized) or Anastasios ( el, Αναστάσιος, translit=Anastasios) is a masculine given name of Greek origin derived from the Greek word (''anastasis'') meaning "resurrection". Its female form is ''Anastasia'' ( el, Αναστ ...
, first director of the
Zosimaia School
The ''Zosimaia'' School ( el, Ζωσιμαία Σχολή, ''Zosimaía Scholí'') of Ioannina (in Epirus) has been one of the most significant Greek middle-level educational institutions (high schools) during the last period of Ottoman rule in th ...