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.