A Brief look at Anti-Hellenism in the United States, Part I

The story of Anti-Hellenism in the United States is one that is heavily intertwined with the country’s history of Nativism and Nordic Supremacy. It is a tale which begins in the early 20th century as an influx of immigrants began to come to the country from Southern and Eastern Europe. This increase in new immigrants led to some within America’s elite, specifically lawyers and academics, to begin expounding theories of scientific racism, which eventually resulted in the rise of Nativist organizations and the birth of an American Eugenics movement ^[1].

The Crusade to save Greece

Since the crisis began, I’ve heard many Greeks and Greek-Americans talk about the notion of ‘saving’ Greece. At every turn, whether it is on Greek Television or in conversations amongst friends, we are bombarded with this idealistic campaign for “national unity” during these difficult times in order to help prevent economic collapse.  In the Diaspora, they talk of investing in the motherland, raising aid for those in need, and boosting tourism.  However, just what is it, exactly, that we are supposed to be saving?

Camminando sulle orme di Platone: una discussione con una Politeista Ellenica dall’Italia

*Special Thanks to Daphne Eleusinia for translating this article into Italian 

Domandate ad un Greco cosa significa Hellenismo e potreste essere sorpresi dalla loro replica. Le risposte possono infatti variare da qualsiasi cosa che abbia a che vedere con la Cultura Ellenica, la lingua, oppure con i Greci stessi, ma a proposito di una visione del mondo? In tempi recenti, Hellenismo è un termine che è stato usato, sia dagli studiosi sia dai Greci stessi, per identificare la totalità della popolazione Ellenica e la loro cultura, includendo non solo l’antica Grecia e la sua civiltà, ma anche l’Impero Romano d’Oriente e lo Stato Greco moderno. Tuttavia, ci sono alcuni con un argomento veramente convincente che non sarebbero d'accordo con questa definizione. Per queste persone, nel momento in cui i Greci ruppero con le loro tradizioni ancestrali e adottarono la fede cristiana e, attraverso di essa, una visione biblica del mondo, nacque una nuova eredità. Questa mescolanza Greco-Romana con la cristianità ha portato alla nascita della Romiosini, che da allora si è sempre mascherata come Hellenismo.

Walking in the footsteps of Plato: A chat with a Hellenic Polytheist from Italy

Ask a Greek what Hellenism means and you may be surprised by their response. Answers could range from anything dealing with Greek Culture, language, or the Greek people themselves, but what of a worldview?  In modern times, Hellenism has been used by academics and Greeks alike, to identify the totality of the Greek people and their culture, encompassing not only ancient Greece and its civilization, but also the Eastern Roman Empire and the Modern Greek state. However, there are some with a truly compelling argument that would disagree with this definition. For these individuals, the moment Greeks broke with their ancestral traditions and adopted the Christian faith, and through it a Biblical worldview, a new legacy was born. This Greco-Roman blending with Christianity resulted in the birth of Romiosini, which has since masqueraded itself as Hellenism.

Turkey and its place inside the Ellino-Amerikaniko Themata

It was once typical to discuss such issues as Imbros and Tenedos, or the Aegean as a whole, when speaking of Turkey within the confines of our traditional ethnika themata. Today however, such conversations seem to be primarily fixated on issues concerning Orthodoxy and U.S. Foreign relations with Turkey. More specifically, the struggle for religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the reopening of the Halki School of Theology, and the re-examining of the “Turkish Model” as a means of spreading democracy throughout the Middle East. The problem with this, however, is that these are not true ethnic issues.

Greek America and developing our own National Issues

I suspect many who may have read my previous op-ed are questioning my intentions; perhaps even manipulating my arguments to paint my proposal as outrageous. However, the development of our own Greek-American Issues does not necessarily mean the abandonment of the ethnika themata we have all grown to know. In fact, what I am proposing is simply that our perspective needs adjusting. Perhaps we should gear our attention towards issues and positions that will preserve our community as an ethnic enclave of Hellenism. As well as set us apart from the established centers of our ethnos that are in decline so that we may be an autonomous beacon of hope and Hellenic culture, thus allowing us to defend Hellenism globally.

Changing the Greek American Paradigm

We have all heard of the Ethnika Themata, a series of issues, which concern Greece, ranging from the continued illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus to the ongoing name dispute with FYROM. These issues, which have been imported from the motherland to the United States, have been adopted as key concerns of our community when advocating on behalf of our ancestral homeland.

The Birth of the Republic of Turkey and the story of the Pontian Muslim

Born out of the ashes of a Theocratic Empire consumed by war and Genocide, the “Turkish” nation, is the child of an ideological struggle that took place within the multiethnic millet-i-hakime of the Ottoman Caliphate. Roughly translated as “the dominant or governing people”, this social group was made up of the Empire’s Muslim subjects, while non-Muslims, were referred to as the millet-i-mankume, which translates to, “the dominated people” or “those born to be governed” ^[35]. These two social groups are associated with what is called the Millet system. Established after the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmet II, this system was adopted by the Ottoman Empire and grouped people not by nationality or ethnicity ^[1], but rather by religious affiliation ^[2].