How is Greek and European Culture interconnected

The impact of the Greek language to the development of the European Culture

by Georgousi Petrina

Wasn’t it in ancient Greece that works of greatest importance and richness of ancient civilization were created, imprinted and inherited? It cannot be denied that the intellectual life of Europe (its philosophical, moral, political, and aesthetic thinking) dates back to the work of Greek thinkers. Greek is an inexhaustible language, which has not only survived for 3,000 years, but also lives through other European ones. Being one of the oldest written languages in the world, Greek has over the centuries directly and indirectly influenced and enriched the vocabulary of almost all European and some of the world’s languages. It is the one that documents and reflects the continuation of Hellenism from antiquity to the present day marks.

Ancient Greek values and the World

World in hands

© Must go

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), who was reading Homer at the tender age of ten, said: “What is the heart and the mind for humans, is Greece for humanity”. There is no doubt that the contemporary European Community was developed based on the ancient Greeks values; those of freedom, dignity, truth and faith, about which Greek philosophers, writers and poets were the first to speak.

“The Greek language brings together the richness and homogeneity of German, the clarity of French, the musicality of Italian and the sobriety of Spanish.”—French poet and scholar Claude Fauriel (1772 - 1884).

Apart from the above mentioned, still implemented in the European Union are the fundamental principles of justice and democracy, that contribute to the maintenance of stability and peacefulness.

Another important contribution of Greece to the world culture is the Olympic Games, which have always been a symbol of friendship, respect and good sportsmanship. Even the Olympic flame, lit every four years, is the representation of continuity between ancient and modern games. According to Greek mythology it represents the fire of Zeus which was stolen by Prometheus. His aim was to give it to humans as a gift for the development of the civilisation.

What about the role that Greece plays in the consolidation of Orthodox values? It is a pillar of orthodoxy, given the power of the Greek faith, which is preserved for many centuries.

The Greek language

Did you know that the Greek language is spoken by about twelve million people all around the world? These are the population of Greece and of Cyprus, as well as the Greek diaspora- in the USA, Australia, Canada, the Black Sea countries and Russia.

The Greek language is an Indo-European language that serves as a vehicle for the spread of Christianity. Is the one that Apostles and Evangelists proclaimed the coming of Christ. Is the one, in which the most important monuments of Orthodox were imprinted; works of spiritual content and inexhaustible richness.

It is the language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. It is the language of the Holy Scriptures, of the Byzantine chronographs and of Solomos, Kalvos, Palamas, Elytis and Ritsos.

Ancient Greek writing

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“I was given to write, dear friends, in a language spoken by only a few million people. Nevertheless, it is a language that has been spoken for thousands of years without interruption and with minimal differences. My country is small in space and vast in time.”—Odysseus Elytis, Prize Awards, Stockholm 1979

The Greek language in the modern Western World

Despite the fact that Greek is not such a widespread language, it is impossible to imagine modern Western culture without it. Given that it is a language, in which the first European literature, philosophy, theoretical sciences and medicine was developed, the Greek language defined the temperament of European humanity and, thus, it determined the mentality of European citizens to a great extent.

According to a study conducted by researchers of the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Greek language is one of the richest of the world, consisting of almost 7,000,000 words! Over time, this language was transformed and evolved through dialects, such as the Aeolian,the Doric, the Attic, the Ionian and the Epic. Then it was further shaped and enriched during the Classical period and expanded to the world during the Hellenistic period. Through Latin it spread to all European languages that borrowed a large deposit of words, roots and vocabulary of the Homeric dialect.

It is no coincidence that the basic concepts of thought and expression in English and in other European languages are purely Greek words (e.g., analysis, problem, hypothesis). Both the main scientific fields (e.g., Physics, Physiology, Psychology) and the terminology each one uses is also Greek (e.g., dyspepsia, mania).

“The whole world lies in our hands, when we are eager to learn new languages and be fully engrossed in their culture and history as well!”

Why does this happen? A possible reason might be that the power and the beauty of the Greek language and its words lies in the fact that the Greeks did not only name the sciences, but also create, cultivate and pass them on to the rest of the world.