![Eugène Delacroix - Le Massacre de Scio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_Le_Massacre_de_Scio.jpg)
Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
and
Charles Nicolas Fabvier
Charles Nicolas Fabvier ( el, Κάρολος Φαβιέρος, Karolos Favieros) (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in the Greek War of Independence.
...
to advocate for
Greek 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 ...
from the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
The later 19th-century European philhellenism was largely to be found among the
Classicists
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
.
Philhellenes in antiquity
![MithridatesIParthiaCoinHistoryofIran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/MithridatesIParthiaCoinHistoryofIran.jpg)
In antiquity, the term ''philhellene'' ("the admirer of Greeks and everything Greek"), from the ( el, φιλέλλην, from ''φίλος'' - ''philos'', "friend", "lover" + ''Ἕλλην'' - ''Hellen'', "Greek") was used to describe both non-Greeks who were fond of ancient Greek culture and Greeks who patriotically upheld their culture. The
Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines 'philhellene' as "fond of the Hellenes, mostly of foreign princes, as
Amasis; of
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
kings
.. also of Hellenic tyrants, as
Jason of Pherae Jason of Pherae ( grc-gre, Ἰάσων ὁ Φεραῖος) was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip II of Macedon came to power. He had succeeded Lycophron I of Pherae, possibly his father, as tyrant of Pherae and was appoi ...
and generally of
Hellenic (Greek) patriots. According to
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...
, an honorable Greek should also be a philhellene.
Some examples:
*
Evagoras of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
and
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
were both called ''"philhellenes"'' by
Isocrates
*The early rulers of the
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...
, starting with
Mithridates I (), used the title of philhellenes on their coins, which was a political act done in order to establish friendly relations with their Greek subjects.
*Following the example of the Parthians,
Tigranes
Tigranes (, grc, Τιγράνης) is the Greek transliteration of the Old Iranian name ''*Tigrāna''. This was the name of a number of historical figures, primarily kings of Armenia.
The name of Tigranes, which was theophoric in nature, was u ...
adopted the title of Philhellene (''friend of the Greeks''). The layout of his capital
Tigranocerta __NOTOC__
Tigranocerta ( el, Τιγρανόκερτα, ''Tigranόkerta''; Tigranakert; hy, Տիգրանակերտ), also called Cholimma or Chlomaron in antiquity, was a city and the capital of the Armenian Kingdom between 77 and 69 BCE. It bore ...
was an example of
Greek architecture
Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unt ...
.
Roman philhellenes
The literate upper classes of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
were increasingly
Hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...
in their culture during the 3rd century BC.
![JulianusII-antioch(360-363)-CNG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/JulianusII-antioch%28360-363%29-CNG.jpg)
Among Romans the career of
Titus Quinctius Flamininus
Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece.
Family background
Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician '' gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious plac ...
(died 174 BC), who appeared at the
Isthmian Games
Isthmian Games or Isthmia (Ancient Greek: Ἴσθμια) were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year b ...
in
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 196 BC and proclaimed the freedom of the Greek states, was fluent in Greek, stood out, according to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, as a great admirer of
Greek culture
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cul ...
; the Greeks hailed him as their liberator. There were however, some Romans during the late Republic, who were distinctly anti-Greek, resenting the increasing influence of Greek culture on Roman life, an example being the Roman Censor,
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write his ...
and also
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" ("of Utica"; ; 95 BC – April 46 BC), also known as Cato the Younger ( la, Cato Minor), was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. His conservative principles were focused on the ...
, who lived during the "Greek invasion" of Rome but towards the later years of his life he eventually became a philhellene after his stay in Rhodes.
The lyric poet
Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
was another philhellene. He is notable for his words, "Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis intulit agresti Latio" (Conquered Greece took captive her savage conqueror and brought her arts into rustic Latium), meaning that after the conquest of Greece the defeated Greeks created a cultural hegemony over the Romans.
Roman emperors known for their philhellenism include
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
,
Hadrian,
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
and
Julian the Apostate.
Modern times
![Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat 1876 - full](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Victor_Hugo_by_%C3%89tienne_Carjat_1876_-_full.jpg)
In the period of political reaction and repression after the fall of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, when the liberal-minded, educated and prosperous middle and upper classes of European societies found the
romantic revolutionary ideals of 1789–1792 repressed by the restoration of old regimes at home, the idea of the re-creation of a Greek state on the very territories that were sanctified by their view of Antiquity—which was reflected even in the
furnishings of their own parlors and the contents of their bookcases—offered an ideal, set at a romantic distance. Under these conditions, the
Greek uprising constituted a source of inspiration and expectations that could never actually be fulfilled, disappointing what
Paul Cartledge
Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...
called "the Victorian self-identification with the Glory that was Greece". American higher education was fundamentally transformed by the rising admiration of and identification with ancient Greece in the 1830s and afterward.
Another popular subject of interest in Greek culture at the turn of the 19th century was the shadowy
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
philosopher
Anacharsis
Anacharsis (; grc, Ἀνάχαρσις) was a Scythian philosopher; he travelled from his homeland on the northern shores of the Black Sea, to Ancient Athens, in the early 6th century BC, and made a great impression as a forthright and outspok ...
, who lived in the 6th century BC. The new prominence of Anacharsis was sparked by
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy (20 January 1716 – 30 April 1795) was a French scholar who became the first person to decipher an extinct language. He deciphered the Palmyrene alphabet in 1754 and the Phoenician alphabet in 1758.
Early years
Barth ...
's fanciful ''
Travels of Anacharsis the Younger in Greece
''Travels of Anacharsis the Younger in Greece'' (French: ''Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce'') was a fictional work about the travels of the Scythian named Anacharsis in Greece in the middle of the 4th century BCE, written by Jean-Jacques Bart ...
'' (1788), a learned imaginary
travel journal
The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.
One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...
, one of the first
historical novels
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...
, which a modern scholar has called "the encyclopedia of the new cult of the antique" in the late 18th century. It had a high impact on the growth of philhellenism in France: the book went through many editions, was reprinted in the United States and was translated into German and other languages. It later inspired European sympathy for the Greek War of Independence and spawned sequels and imitations throughout the 19th century.
![Nietzsche187a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Nietzsche187a.jpg)
In
German culture
The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called ''Das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (the country of poets and thinkers). German cult ...
the first phase of philhellenism can be traced in the careers and writings of
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and foundin ...
, one of the inventors of art history,
Friedrich August Wolf
Friedrich August Wolf (; 15 February 1759 – 8 August 1824) was a German classicist and is considered the founder of modern philology.
Biography
He was born in Hainrode, near Nordhausen. His father was the village schoolmaster and organi ...
, who inaugurated modern
Homeric scholarship
Homeric scholarship is the study of any Homeric topic, especially the two large surviving epics, the '' Iliad'' and '' Odyssey''. It is currently part of the academic discipline of classical studies. The subject is one of the oldest in scholarsh ...
with his ''Prolegomena ad Homerum'' (1795) and the enlightened bureaucrat
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named afte ...
. It was also in this context that
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
and
Friedrich Hölderlin
Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...
were to compose poetry and prose in the field of literature, elevating Hellenic themes in their works. One of the most renowned German philhellenes of the 19th century was
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
.
In the
German states, the private obsession with ancient Greece took public forms, institutionalizing an elite philhellene
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
through the ''
Gymnasium'', to revitalize
German education at home, and providing on two occasions high-minded philhellene German princes ignorant of modern-day Greek realities, to be Greek sovereigns.
During the later 19th century the new studies of archaeology and anthropology began to offer a quite separate view of ancient Greece, which had previously been experienced at second-hand only through
Greek literature
Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today.
Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...
,
Greek sculpture
The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as, with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery, almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in mon ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
. 20th century heirs of the 19th-century view of an unchanging, immortal quality of "Greekness" are typified in J. C. Lawson's ''Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion'' (1910) or R. and E. Blum's ''The Dangerous Hour: The lore of crisis and mystery in rural Greece'' (1970); according to the Classicist
Paul Cartledge
Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...
, they "represent this ideological construction of Greekness as an essence, a Classicizing essence to be sure, impervious to such historic changes as that from
paganism to
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chur ...
, or from
subsistence peasant agriculture to more or less internationally
market-driven capitalist farming."
The Philhellenic movement led to the introduction of
Classics or ''Classical studies'' as a key element in education, introduced in the
Gymnasien in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
the main proponent of Classics in schools was
Thomas Arnold, headmaster at
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...
.
The theme of
Nikos Dimou
Nikos Dimou ( el, Νίκος Δήμου), born in 1935 in Athens, is a Greek writer and columnist. He started out as a copywriter and went on to become one of the best-known Greek intellectuals.
Biography
He graduated from Athens College an ...
's ''The Misfortune to be Greek'' is the perception that the Philhellenic West's projected desire for the modern Greeks to live up to their ancestors' glorious past has always been a burden upon the Greeks themselves. In particular, Western Philhellenism focused exclusively on the heritage of Classical Greek history, in effect negating or rejecting the heritage of
Byzantine
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 ...
history which for the Greeks themselves is at least as important.
Philhellenism and art
Philhellenism also created a renewed interest in the artistic movement of
Neoclassicism, which idealized 5th-century Classical Greek art and architecture, very much at second hand, through the writings of the first generation of art historians, like
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and foundin ...
and
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
The groundswell of the Philhellenic movement was result of two generations of intrepid artists and amateur treasure-seekers, from Stuart and Revett, who published their measured drawings as ''The Antiquities of Athens'' and culminating with the removal of sculptures from
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, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and ...
and the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
(the
Elgin marbles
The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
), works that ravished the British Philhellenes, many of whom, however, deplored their removal.
Philhellenism in the Greek War of Independence and later
Many well known philhellenes supported the Greek Independence Movement such as
Shelley,
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
,
Leigh Hunt
James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet.
Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
,
Cam Hobhouse,
Walter Savage Landor
Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...
and
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
.
Some, notably
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, even took up arms to join the Greek revolutionaries. Many more financed the revolution or contributed through their artistic work.
Throughout the 19th century, philhellenes continued to support Greece politically and militarily. For example,
Ricciotti Garibaldi led a volunteer expedition (''Garibaldini'') in the
Greco-Turkish War of 1897
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...
.
[Gilles Pécout, "Philhellenism in Italy: political friendship and the Italian volunteers in the Mediterranean in the nineteenth century", ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' 9:4:405–427 (2004) ] A group of Garibaldini, headed by the Greek poet
Lorentzos Mavilis
Lorentzos Mavilis ( el, Λορέντζος Μαβίλης, Spanish: Lorenzo Mabili; 6 September 1860 – 28 November 1912) was a Greek sonneteer, war poet, and chess problems composer. He is best known for his sonnets.
He was born in Ithaca an ...
, fought also with the Greek side during the
Balkan Wars.
File:Une Assemblée d’Officiers Européens, accourus au secours de la Grèce en 1822.jpg, Depiction of Philhellenes in Greece in 1822
File:Zografos-Makriyannis 24 I Ellas evgomonousa List of Philhellenes.jpg, List of philhellenes who contributed during the Greek War of Independence ( National Historical Museum). The first two columns from the left are the names of those having died
File:Dupre-Salona-1821.jpg, Louis Dupré's depiction of Greek irregulars hoisting the flag at Salona
Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia.
Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...
File:Panagiotis Kefalas by Hess.jpg, ''Panagiotis Kephalas plants the flag of liberty upon the walls of Tripolizza'' (Siege of Tripolitsa
The siege of Tripolitsa or fall of Tripolitsa ( el, Άλωση της Τριπολιτσάς, Álosi tis Tripolitsás, ), also known as the Tripolitsa massacre ( tr, Tripoliçe katliamı), was an early victory of the revolutionary Greek forces ...
)" by Peter von Hess
Peter Heinrich Lambert von Hess (29 July 1792 – 4 April 1871) was a German painter, known for historic paintings, especially of the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence.
Life
Peter von Hess initially received training from his fat ...
File:Pushkin Alexander, 1826 by Vivien.jpg, Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
File:Athens, George Gordon Byron 02.JPG, A statue of Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
in Athens
File:Santorre di Santarosa.jpg, Annibale Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo, Count of Santarosa
Santorre Annibale De Rossi di Pomerolo, Count of Santa Rosa (born 18 November 1783, Saviglianodied 8 May 1825, Sphacteria) was an Italian insurgent and leader in Italy's revival (''Risorgimento'').
250px, left, Statue of Santarosa in Saviglian ...
File:Karl von Normann-Ehrenfels.jpg, Karl von Normann-Ehrenfels
File:Portrait de Charles Nicolas Fabvier.jpg, Charles Nicolas Fabvier
Charles Nicolas Fabvier ( el, Κάρολος Φαβιέρος, Karolos Favieros) (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in the Greek War of Independence.
...
File:Rosaroll, Giuseppe.jpg, Giuseppe Rosaroll
File:Ricciotti Garibaldi.jpg, Ricciotti Garibaldi
File:Peppino Garibaldi.jpg, Giuseppe Garibaldi II
File:Henry Morgenthau crop.jpg, Henry Morgenthau Sr.
File:David Lloyd George.jpg, David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
Notable 20th- and 21st-century philhellenes
*
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
, a German-born theoretical physicist widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time.
*
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
, English actor and writer.
*
Giuseppe Garibaldi II, Italian soldier and revolutionary, grandson of
Giuseppe Garibaldi and son of Ricciotti Garibaldi.
*
Ricciotti Garibaldi, Italian soldier, son of Giuseppe Garibaldi.
*
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
, Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
*
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
, Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
*
Dilys Powell
Elizabeth Dilys Powell, CBE (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British film critic and travel writer who contributed to ''The Sunday Times'' for more than 50 years. Powell was known for her receptiveness to cultural change in the cinema and ...
, film critic, author of several books about Greece, and president of the
Classical Association
The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education.
Constitution
The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are def ...
1966–1967.
*
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...
, 21st Prime Minister of Australia.
*
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...
, was a British-American author and journalist.
Notes
References
Paul Cartledge, Clare College Cambridge, "The Greeks and Anthropology"in ''Classics Ireland'' 2 (Dublin 1995)
*
Further reading
*
Thomas Cahill
Thomas Quinn Cahill (March 29, 1940 – October 18, 2022) was an American scholar and writer. He was best known for ''The Hinges of History'' series, a prospective seven-volume series in which the author recounts formative moments in Western civ ...
, ''Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter'' (Nan A. Talese, 2003)
* Stella Ghervas, « Le philhellénisme d’inspiration conservatrice en Europe et en Russie », in ''Peuples, Etats et nations dans le Sud-Est de l'Europe'', (Bucarest, Ed. Anima, 2004.)
* Stella Ghervas, « Le philhellénisme russe : union d'amour ou d'intérêt? », in ''Regards sur le philhellénisme'', (Genève, Mission permanente de la Grèce auprès de l'ONU, 2008).
* Stella Ghervas, ''Réinventer la tradition.
Alexandre Stourdza et l'Europe de la Sainte-Alliance'' (Paris, Honoré Champion, 2008).
* Konstantinou, Evangelos
''Graecomania and Philhellenism'' European History Online
European History Online (''Europäische Geschichte Online, EGO'') is an academic website that publishes articles on the history of Europe between the period of 1450 and 1950 according to the principle of open access.
Organisation
EGO is issued ...
, Mainz:
Institute of European History The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz, Germany, is an independent, public research institute that carries out and promotes historical research on the foundations of Europe in the early and late Modern period. Though autonomous i ...
, 2010, retrieved: December 17, 2012.
* Emile Malakis, ''French travellers in Greece (1770–1820): An early phase of French Philhellenism''
* Suzanne L. Marchand, 1996. ''Down from Olympus : Archaeology and Philhellenism in Germany, 1750–1970''
* M. Byron Raizis, 1971. ''American poets and the Greek revolution, 1821–1828;: A study in Byronic philhellenism'' (Institute of Balkan Studies)
Terence J. B Spencer, 1973. ''Fair Greece! Sad relic: Literary philhellenism from Shakespeare to Byron''* Caroline Winterer, 2002. ''The Culture of Classicism: Ancient Greece and Rome in American Intellectual Life, 1780–1910''. Johns Hopkins University Press.
External links
{{Cultural appreciation
Admiration of foreign cultures
Ancient Greece studies
Greek nationalism
Theories of aesthetics