Constantine Paparrigopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παπαρρηγόπουλος; 1815 – 14 April 1891) 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 ...
historian, who is considered the founder of modern
Greek historiography. He is the founder of the concept of historical continuity of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
from antiquity to the present, establishing the tripartite division of
Greek history in
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...
,
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and
modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
, and sought to set aside the prevailing views at the time that the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
was a period of decadence and degeneration.
Paparrigopoulos introduced this division in his teaching 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 ...
. His main work is the multi-volume ''History of the Greek Nation'' (''Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους''), covering the history of the
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
from ancient to modern times, and notably including the
Greek Middle Ages as part of the national history of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. He is also known for vigorously countering the theories of
Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer
Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was a German Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his controversial discontinuity theory concerning the racial origins of the Greeks, and for ...
regarding the racial origins of the Greeks. He was the first historian who managed to demonstrate that Fallmerayer's theory was false.
Life
![Paparrigopoulos signature](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Paparrigopoulos_signature.jpg)
Paparrigopoulos was born in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
in 1815. His father, a native of
Vytina
Vytina ( el, Βυτίνα, ''Vytína'') is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is considered a traditional settlement. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia ...
, was killed by the rabble of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
when the
Greek War of Independence erupted in 1821. Paparrigopoulos not only saw this grisly spectacle, but he also attended the execution of his brother, Michael, and of his two uncles. His mother who survived the slaughters fled to
Odessa, where Paparrigopoulos accomplished his studies at the
Richelieu Lyceum as a bursar of the
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
.
In 1830 Paparrigopoulos travelled to Greece to study in the "Central School" (Κεντρικό Σχολείο) of Aegina, founded by the Greek leader
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: ...
. He continued his studies in the universities of France and Germany.
Returning to Greece Paparrigopoulos was appointed in the ministry of Justice, but in 1845 he withdrew because he did not yet possess a Greek
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
. He was reappointed as a teacher when he obtained the Greek
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
(as a "
Gortynian"). In 1851 he became a professor of history of the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
In 1873 Paparrigopoulos lost his beloved son and famous poet,
Dimitrios Paparrigopoulos
Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter".
Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumi ...
. In 1876 and 1884 the Greek state utilised him for national purposes, appointing him as president of the "National Defence" and as president of the "Exhibition of the relics of the War of Independence".
Work
In 1843, while working in the Ministry of Justice, Paparrigopoulos published his first survey, ''About the emigration of
Slav
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
tribes in
Peloponnese'', contradicting with robust arguments
Περί της εποικήσεως Σλαβικών τινών φυλών εις την Πελοπόννησον (in greek)
/ref> Fallmerayer's opinion that modern Greeks are of Slav descent, having no racial relation with the ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. In 1844, he published his second survey, ''The last year of the Greek independence'', treating the fall of Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...
. In 1855 he gave his inaugural lecture as professor of the university, contradicting a theory that did not recognise the importance of the Dorian influence on the civilization of ancient Greece.
Nonetheless, his monumental writing is the ''History of the Greek nation'', comprising 6 volumes, which were later complemented by Pavlos Karolidis
Pavlos Karolidis or Karolides ( el, Παύλος Καρολίδης, 1849 – 26 July 1930) was one of the most eminent Greek historians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Life
Karolidis was born in 1849 in the village of Androniki ( ...
. Paparrigopoulos published the first volume in 1860 and completed his work in 1877 with the last volume, which constituted a synopsis of the Greek War of Independence. The best edition of the ''History of the Greek nation'' is the edition of Eleftheroudakis in 1925 with the application of Karolidis. In this work he adopted the tripartite examination of periods already introduced by Spyros Zampelios ( ancient Hellenism, medieval Hellenism, modern Hellenism) and used it as a tool for the narration of the course of the Greek nation throughout the centuries.
Assessments
Paparrigopoulos is considered the "national" historian of modern Greece. In his ''History of the Greek Nation'', he regarded the history of Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
from the ancient years till nowadays as a unity, insisting on the continuity of the Greek nation. At the same time he promoted the importance of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and of the Byzantine history in general. Because of his profound surveys, the disdain towards the Byzantine history was limited.
The interpretation of Byzantium's Greek character in the work of Sp. Zampelios was the first step in the effort to refute Fallmerayer's theory. It was supported that the ancient Greek civilization had not faded away, but had been creatively reshaped as it met Christianity, which took place during the Byzantine Empire. With Zampelios then, the foundations were prepared in order for a total national history to be written, in order for the past, the continuous course of the Greek nation from antiquity till the 19th century, to be narrated. This ambitious project was undertaken and completed by Constantine Paparrigopoulos, who is considered for this reason the founder of Greek national historiography, also known as Greek historism.
Paparrigopoulos, as well as Sp. Zampelios, set the basis of the modern Greek historiography and influenced the modern Greek society. Since, their work did not concern only a closed and restricted circle of specialists and academics. It was addressed to the society of their times, in order to strengthen their national self-knowledge. Paparrigopoulos' classes at the University, which constituted the raw material for the writing of his memorable History, were frequently published in Pandora magazine, of which he was the co-publisher, as well as in the Athenian Press. The term Greek-Christian which was devised for scientific purposes, functioned towards the same direction but did not remain a simple instrument of analysis in the hands of specialists. As this term appeared in early ninth century, it became a canvass on which the ideology of the Greek state was developed and shaped. The content of education, the orientation of historical studies and the study of tradition (folklore) were organized on this basis. In addition, the Megali Idea
The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popu ...
(Greek Great Idea) which was nebulous until that time, acquired flesh and bones. The Byzantine Empire, which had now been acclaimed a cultural mold of the Greek state which was still small, became the model for its territorial expansion.
Another great virtue of Paparrigopoulos is the elegance of his style and his literary charisma, which makes his texts readable and his narrations particularly vivid. His elegance is the main merit that places him higher than the other great modern Greek historian, Pavlos Karolidis.
Paparrigopoulos not only offered a united image of the history (ancient-medieval-modern) of the Greek nation, but, at the same time, he articulated in the most stirring way the pains and the dramas of the modern Hellenism.
His writings
All his main writings are in Greek.
* ''About the emigration of Slav tribes in Peloponnese'', 1843.
* ''The last year of the Greek independence'', 1844.
* ''Elements of General History'', 1845.
* ''General History'', 2 volumes, 1849.
* ''Introductory lesson'', 1855.
* ''History of the Hellenic nation'', 6 volumes, 1860-1877.
Sources
* C. Paparrigopoulos (and in later editions, P. Karolidis), ''History of the Greek Nation'', Volume I, Biography of Constantine Paparrigopoulos by Pavlos Karolidis, Editions: Eleftheroudakis, 1925 (in Greek).
* Encyclopaedic Dictionary, ''The Helios'', Volume 15, article: "Constantine Paparrigopoulos" (in Greek).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paparrigopoulos, Constantine
1815 births
1891 deaths
19th-century Greek historians
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece
Greek Byzantinists
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens faculty
Constantinopolitan Greeks
Scholars of Byzantine history
Academics from Istanbul
Writers from Odesa
People from Aegina
Writers from Istanbul