Teacher of the Greek Nation, Physician (1748 – 1833)

Physician, surgeon, linguist, writer and philologist, Adamantios Koraïs was one of the leading representatives of the Enlightenment of Greece of the 18th century and one of the most renowned Teachers of the Greek Nation.

He was born in Smyrna and from a young age he expressed an inclination toward letters. He studied in the Evangelical School of Smyrna and later in Amsterdam where he learned Latin, Italian, French, German and English. Being a philologist he indulged on the works of the ancient Greek philosophers as well as his contemporary philosophers. He then travelled to France where he studied medicine. Upon receiving his certificate, Koraïs was sent to Paris to work as a doctor. Soon, however, he retired from his profitable profession to dedicate his life in awakening the Greek nation from the Ottoman yoke.

He began publishing anonymously political pamphlets, namely Adelphic Didascaly (1798), Hasma Polemisterion (1800) and Salpisma Polemisterion (1801), in an effort to inspire the Greeks and urge them to rise and fight for their freedom as well as publishing the works of ancient Greek philosophers in order to educate them. His first publications of ancient Greek philosophers included Hippocrates and Theophrastus. Over the years 1807 – 1826 he published the Greek Library consisting of 16 volumes. It contained works of Isocrates, Plutarch, Strabo, Aristotle, Plato and Xenophon. Koraïs also published 9 volumes of Parerga throughout the years 1809 – 1827 which further contained philosophical, historical and political works of the ancient Greeks. Among the hundreds of works he published were the first 4 rhapsodies of Homer’s Iliad. Concurrently he translated Greek literature into French and Italian and wrote poetry. His dedication was such that when he was offered the department of Classical Studies in the University of Paris, Koraïs declined.

When the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, Koraïs was 73 years old. Nevertheless, he wholeheartedly continued his political and philologic struggle. He communicated with philhellenes my mail throughout Europe in attempt to persuade them to assist Greece in its struggle and to raise it to a pan-European issue. Koraïs participated in various committees in Paris concerning the Greek War of Independence. He co-founded the Greek County, a philhellenic society which gathered funds and contributed weapons, supplies, medicines as well as doctors and generals to Greece. Furthermore, the Greek refugees of war of Paris found asylum, including the children of the Greek heroes, which were educated under Koraïs’ personal supervision.

During his last years, Koraïs published his autobiography and Atakta, consisting of 5 volumes on the Greek language, literature and alphabet. He frequently wrote in the patriotic magazine “Logios Hermes” where even after his death Koraïs’ articles were still being published there. Furthermore he worked on the restoration of several ancient Greek treatises, frequently helping others who consulted him for his wisdom. His radical ideas on religious, political and educational reforms often made him a controversial figure among the Church and the rest of the literary society. His views that the French intellectuals should be implicated in the governance of Greece, their involvement in the educational system, his belief that contemporary Greeks did not derive from the ancient Greeks and his feud with Ioannis Kapodistrias have all been critisized to this day, rendering him a controversial figure within Greece’s modern history.

Adamantios Koraïs, a man who had an opinion on everything, is highly respected and admired today in Greece. He remained immortal in the history of the Greek nation for his central role in the Greek Enlightenment, together with Rhegas Pherraios and for his tireless contribution to the education of Greece and its rebirth as a nation of Western standards. Today, his statue stands proudly in front of the gates of the University of Athens.

Bibliography

“Koraes, Adamantios”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. ”Adamantios Koraïs”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. September 25, 2016.
Cretetv Antithesis. Από την Ελληνική Επανάσταση στον 21ο αιώνα. YouTube. May 22, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PjGL-3ZWhY