Greek nationalism

Greek nationalism, otherwise referred to as Hellenic nationalism, refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.¹ As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in classical Greece.²³⁴ In modern times, Greek nationalism became a major political movement beginning in the early 19th century, which culminated in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire.¹ Greek nationalism became also a potent movement in the kingdom of Greece shortly prior to, and during World War I, when the Greeks, inspired by the Megali Idea, managed to liberate parts of Greece in the Balkan Wars and after World War I, briefly occupied the region of Smyrna before it was retaken by the Turks.¹

Greek nationalism was also the main ideology of two dictatorial regimes in Greece during the 20th century: the 4th of August Regime (1936–1941) and the Greek military junta (1967–1974). Today Greek nationalism (Greek Cypriot nationalism) remains important in the Greco-Turkish dispute over Cyprus¹ among other disputes.

The establishment of Panhellenic sites served as an essential component in the growth and self-consciousness of Hellenic nationalism.² During the Greco-Persian Wars of the 5th century BCE, Greek nationalism was formally established though mainly as an ideology rather than a political reality since some Greek states were still allied with the Persian Empire.³ Aristotle and Hippocrates offered a theoretical approach on the superiority of the Greek tribes.⁵ The establishment of the ancient Panhellenic Games is often seen as the first example of ethnic nationalism and view of a common heritage and identity.⁶ The Athenian-led Delian League under Cimon, the Spartan Agesilaus II, and the Hellenic League led by Philip II of Macedon and then Alexander the Great, all self-presented as defenders of the Greeks against the Persians. Later, in the Hellenistic period, rulers like Pyrrhus of Epirus, Philip V of Macedon, Antiochus the Great, Perseus of Macedon and Mithridates of Pontus presented themselves as champions of Greek liberty against the rising Roman Republic.

During the times of the Byzantine Empire and after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins, the Roman Emperor of Nicaea John III Doukas Vatatzes made extensive use of the words 'nation' (genos), 'Hellene' and 'Hellas' together in his correspondence with the Pope. John acknowledged that he was Greek, although bearing the title Emperor of the Romans: "the Greeks are the only heirs and successors of Constantine", he wrote. In similar fashion John’s son Theodore II, acc. 1254, who took some interest in the physical heritage of Antiquity, referred to his whole realm as "Hellas" and a "Hellenic dominion".⁷ The generations after John looked back upon him as "the Father of the Greeks".⁸ When the Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Paleologi dynasty (1261–1453), a new era of Greek patriotism emerged, accompanied by a turning back to ancient Greece.⁴ Some prominent personalities at the time also proposed changing the Imperial title from "basileus and autocrat of the Romans" to "Emperor of the Hellenes".⁴

The last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos became known in later Greek folklore as "The Marble Emperor" (Greek: Μαρμαρωμένος Βασιλιάς, Marmaroménos Vasiliás lit. 'Emperor turned into Marble'). This reflected a popular legend that Constantine had not actually died, but had been rescued by an angel and turned into marble, hidden beneath the Golden Gate of Constantinople awaiting a call from God to be restored to life and reconquer both the city and the old empire.

The enthusiasm for the glorious past constituted an element that was present in the movement that led to the Greek War of Independence and the creation of the modern Greek state, in 1830, after four centuries of Ottoman rule.⁴ Popular movements calling for enosis (the incorporation of disparate Greek-populated territories into a greater Greek state) resulted in the accession of Ionian Islands (1864), Thessaly (1881), Crete, Greek Macedonia, Epirus and most of the North Aegean islands (1912-1913), Western Thrace (1920) and finally Dodecanese (1947). Greek irredentism, the "Megali Idea" ended after the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. During the troubled interwar years, some Greek nationalists viewed Orthodox Christian Albanians, Aromanians and Bulgarians as communities that could be assimilated into the Greek nation.⁹

Calls for enosis were also a feature of Cypriot politics during British rule in Cyprus. After the Treaty of Lausanne, Greco-Turkish relations have been characterized by tension between Greek and Turkish nationalism especially for the Cyprus problem, culminating in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974). Historians Erik Sjöberg (historian) and Andrekos Varnava argue that Greek nationalism specifically in the form of Identity politics and memory-making was a primary driver in the "construction" of the Greek genocide as a collectivist historical fact.¹⁰

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  St. John III Doukas Vatatzes, a Byzantine Emperor known as the "Father of the Greeks".
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  Traditional flag used from 1769 to the Greek War of Independence.
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  Flag of the Filiki Eteria (1814), a secret organization which planned to overthrow the Ottoman rule and establish an independent Greek State.¹¹
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  Louis Dupré's depiction of Nikolakis Mitropoulos raising his flag at Salona; a scene from the early stages of the Greek War of Independence in 1821.
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  "The Arcadian Holocaust" by Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri; scene from the Cretan Revolt (1866–69).
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  Alexandros Koumoundouros, founder of the Greek Nationalist Party.
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  Pavlos Melas, a Greek revolutionary and artillery officer of the Hellenic Army that was killed during the Macedonian Struggle (1893–1912).
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  Lorentzos Mavilis, a Greek war poet that was killed during the First Balkan War (1912–13).
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  Poster celebrating the "New Greece" after the Balkan Wars.
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  Map of "Greater Greece" after the Treaty of Sèvres, featuring Eleftherios Venizelos, when the Megali Idea seemed close to fulfillment.
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  Members of the National Organisation of Youth (EON) hail in presence of Ioannis Metaxas during the 4th of August Regime.
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  Georgios Grivas, Greek Cypriot nationalist and leader of Cypriot Enosis movement and EOKA against British colonial rule.

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