Volume 2 / Athens 2000 by Katerina Papakonstantinou Review of Herald Hepner/Olga Katsiardi-Hering (eds.), Die Griechen und Europa. Auben und Innensichten im Wandel der Zeit, Wien-Köln-Weimar (Böhlau: Zur Kunde Südeuropas - II/25) 1998 This collective volume appears at a moment when the debate concerning the relationship of Greece to Europe and - in conjunction with that - with the USA, has emerged once again, especially after the events in Kossovo, the American president's visit to Greece in 1999, and the perspective of the country's joining the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). A series of political events have rekindled the debate concerning the features Greece has in common with European countries, as well as those that differentiate it. At the same time, an effort to redefine the content of the term Europe is once more being undertaken. The collective volume edited by Harald Heppner and Olga Katsiardi-Hering examines aspects of the debate about the relation of Greeks to Europe from the 13th up to the 20th centuries. As expressed by the volume's editor in her introductory note, the goal of the collective study is to highlight aspects uncharted by research up to now, as well as to pursue less exposed issues. The duration selected for presentation includes the periods of modern and contemporary Hellenism, observing the periodization scheme that considers as tuming points the 4th Crusade, the occupation of Constantinople by the Franks (1204), and the consequent establishment of Frankish hegemonies in the Balkan and insular regions. The fragmentation of the area into smaller political units differentiated the way the inhabitants of these areas perceived Europe, and the countries that made it up, in relation to their Byzantine precursors. The arrangement of the volume follows the chronological sequence from the Venetian presence in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the lonian islands in the 13th century, up to the last decades of the 20th century. This chronological arrangement allows us to discem the evolution of the view in which Greeks held Europe. It also makes it obvious how arguments and theories regarding the relation of Greeks to Europe survived and were used for political and other reasons during those centuries. The text of Anastassia Papadia-Lala, "'Europe' in the Venetian-Ruled Greek Territories (13th to 18th Centuries): Perceptions and Realities," analyses the two-way relation that developed in the lonian islands during the period of Venetian presence, from the 13th century up to 1799. A major factor in this relation was the presence in the eastern Mediterranean of a European power, the Venetians. This made this area a part of Europe. At the same time it differentiated it from the rest of the Balkans and the Aegean, which belonged to the east, forming part of the territory of the Ottoman empire, an Islamic power. The religious aspect played a decisive role in the relation of the Venetians with Greeks: whenever the contrast to Islam -which threatened Venetian supremacy in the region- had to be emphasized, the common Christian religion was accentuated, while in the opposite case the difference in dogma was underlined. This feature was particularly strong until 1453, in other words for as long as the Byzantine Empire was there, acting as a pole of attraction for the Greeks in the area. From the 15th century on, the religious differences were put aside whenever political, economic, and social interests risked to be overthrown: The illustrious classes of the societies of the Seven Islands were identified with the Venetian, to the extent that the presence of the latter ensured them offices and wealth. At the same time, the rural classes became more and more impoverished as time wore on, distancing themselves from the catholic dominators. For Greeks, the Venetians belonged to Europe, and represented it in their land. For the Venetians, the lonian islands were part of Europe, although this term rarely appeared in the documents of the period. Dealing with the area under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire, the article by Olga Katsiardi-Hering, "The Search for an Identity and the Concept of Europe by Modern Greeks from the 17th until the early 19th century," (Identitätssuche und Europa-Bild der Neugriechen vom 17. bis zum Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts) mainly refers to the 18th century, for western Europe the period of Enlightenment and the French revolution. The article focuses on the concept Greeks had of Europe and Europe of the Greeks, one among a wider context of issues regarding the relation of all Europeans to the term "Europe." For the Ottoman Empire, Europe was not a unified cultural entity until the 17th century. This attitude was caused by the differentiated political, diplomatic, and economic contacts the empire maintained with each European state. For European states, on the other hand, Islam was the enemy that came from the orient, at least until the 15th century, when France signed the first capitulations with the Ottoman empire. Gradually, the economic and political interests of European countries in the eastern Mediterranean led to a shift in their attitudes towards the Ottoman empire. The economic factor played a major role - the same factor that changed the attitudes of Greek Ottoman subjects towards Europe, especially after they became able to financially benefit from the presence of European merchants in their regions. On a cultural level, the relation was marked by particular variations from the 17th until the 19th centuries, since the orthodox church -originally receptive to European, ground-breaking ideas- differentiated its attitude in the 18th century, especially after the French Revolution and its anticlerical exhibitions. On a culturaf level, the conflict regarding relations with Europe and the effects of contact with it was centered in the field of education, in which the church and the patriarchate originally dominated. The emergence of Phanariots as well as Balkan merchants who reached the European countries altered the balance since the 18th century. The west was the model, the example to imitate, and it represented concepts like morality, law, and liberty. Yet, there were also personalities like Eugenios Bulgari and Kosmas Aitolos who did not occupy themselves with the issue under discussion. This, according to the author, must give rise to thought concerning the extent to which this issue interested contemporary scholars. The conflict and debate concerning the relation of Greeks to Europe is part of the process of construction of a national identity and conscience, one differentiated from that of other nations, based on the outstanding cultural heritage of the Greeks. This can be seen behind the conflicts of the church with the advocates of Enlightenment and the shift towards antiquity in search of historical and cultural continuity. This very same problematic is expressed and analyzed in the next article, by Kostas Gavroglou and Dimitris Dialetis, "Appropriating New Scientific Ideas in Greek-Speaking Regions during the 17th and 18th Centuries." The focus of their research is transportation of the ideas of scientific revolution from Europe to Greek-speaking regions. They are interested in the transferrence itself, and the consequent production of scientific discourse. In their article, it is observed that the main characteristics of Greek society and thinking in the 18th century were Christian orthodox religion and the supremacy of ancient Greek thought. The introduction of scientific ideas was initiated in the 17th century by clerics for educational purposes: educators and scholars of the period proceeded to introduce scientific ideas, believing that these would confirm the truth of what Aristotle had put forth in antiquity, operating as an advancement in the clarification of ancient Greek thought. They did not consider scientific ideas as a breaking point in relation to Aristotle's views. For this reason, no discussion is made of the ruIes reguIating the new ways to study nature, the process of validation of the new way of thinking regarding natural phenomena. It is characteristic of this current that all scholars concerned with natural sciences first wrote a treatise in philosophy and logic. The need to temper classical past with orthodox viewpoint and contemporary Greece of the 19th century was expressed in the argumentation of the scholars of the first period in the establishment of the Greek state, as seen in the article by Effi Gazi "'Europe': Writing an Ambivalent Concept in 19th Century Greek Historical Culture." The dialogue about the continuity of Hellenism and the need to revive the ancient Greek tongue began in the context of the emergence of national states and of the cultivation of national languages. Since ancient Greece shadowed the modern state with its splendor, and Greeks considered themselves the descendants of those illustrious ancients, their position in Europe and the Balkans was justified through the continuity of tradition. Everything that was not part of ancient Greece and that deviated from it was rejected. This also applied to the Byzantium, which was considered the equivalent of the Dark Ages of the west, and was therefore to be rejected. Yet, in this manner the Christian aspect of the Greek tradition was also ruled out. In an effort to overcome this problem and to answer the accusations of Jacob Philipp Fallmerayer, Zambelios and Paparrigopoulos discovered Byzantium. It emerged as the link between antiquity and modern Greece, and thus continuity was presented as unbroken, with the only exceptions those of the Roman and Ottoman occupations. Since Europeans showed particular interest in the ancient splendour, Greeks felt liberated and justified as its continuers. In this case, Europe and the need to seek ties with it played a decisive role in shaping national history. The need of Greece to approach Europe and the European states was strongly felt not only by Greeks but by European states themselves, particuIarly in the case where cultural links lead to political and consequently economic ties. In his article, "The Return of Europe to Greece. Cultural policy of the Great Powers in a State of the Periphery" (Europas Ruckkehr nach Griechenland. Kulturpolitik der Großmächte in einem Staat der Peripherie), Hagen Fleischer describes in great detail and vividness the cultural policies of Germany, France, Italy, England, and Iastly, the USA in the 19th and 20th centuries. European powers first appeared on a cultural level with excavations in various locations by their archaeological institutes. Competition between Germany and France for Iinguistic and cultural supremacy started in the late 19th century with the establishment of centres for teaching the German and French language. German- and French-speaking schools attended by the offspring of mostly weaIthy families were established in Athens and Thessaloniki with the goal to promote economic and politicaI relations through culture. During World War I, the French accused Germans of practicing espionage and propaganda through German-speaking schools and cultural institutes. Competition went on undiminished untiI WorId War II. Yet, the supremacy of the French language was manifest. The English language was then fourth, beIow Italian. The rise of national socialists in Germany aIso changed the balance in exercising cuIturaI policy in third countries. With the invasion of Germans, attending a German- or French-speaking school symboIized for Greeks agreement or not with the German ideology. Yet, many attended the German schooI due to the opportunism of their parents, as even Germans themselves admitted. After Germans Ieft, German and Italian were phased out since it was now the period of rise of the EngIish Ianguage and culture. Even though British and American proponents disagreed on how to exercise culturaI policy, the French language began losing the prime of place it had enjoyed until then. German language and culture reappeared in the 1950s with the establishment of the Goethe Institute. Then again, cuIturaI policy was exercised by West Germany whiIe East Germany was completely absent. The absence of the USSR was also prominent. English has been the dominant language in the post-war period. German remained in the minds of Greeks as the language of science, especially in northern Greece, where Germany had a pronounced economic presence. The growing Iinguistic acquaintance of Greeks was accompanied by an animated discussion about the need to approach Europe through its political and economic institutions and the importance of such an approach. A politically-minded debate about the need or not for the country to join the European Economic Community began in the 1950s. In her articIe, "Dual Vision: Divided Perceptions of Europe in the PoliticaI Party Debate of European Integration," Susannah Verney delineates the debate of the decades since the 1950s, and underlines the symbolic nature that it acquired. After signing the petition to join the EEC in 1961, the need to join became itself the subject of debate and not just the terms under which it was to be effected. The arguments put forth by both sides were formulated on the basis of conditions created in the Cold War period. What was to be understood by the term "Europe" was the states of Western Europe, which were consequently identified with NATO and the EEC. As a result, the inclusion of Greece in the EEC caused the same reactions with its joining NATO. Among the defenders of inclusion, ERE (right wing) and Enosi Kentrou (center) argued that Europe was the example to imitate, and the effort to compete with it should become the goal of the country. Europe remained an empty notion without its content being defined. According to them, Europe was a "return home," where Greeks had always belonged. In this context, the question of religion - a perennial cause of friction - was overlooked, and the Hellenocentric culture that was transplanted from Greece to Europe and was now about to return was emphasized. At the other extreme, EDA (Ieft wing) considered the EEC a product of imperialism and capitalism and a weapon for penetration into countries of the periphery of Germany and consequently of the USA. They argued that Greece was to become part of the zone of underdeveloped countries that catered for the needs of capitalist European countries with its cheap working force. Nevertheless, the left wing did not analyze the EEC as a model with the aim of proving it incompatible to the Greek standards. They combined Marxist views with traditional ideas about the "Franks," to present the EEC as a potential enemy to Greece. The issue shifted after the mid-1970s, and the question now was whether the joining of Greece should be full. A turn towards the Greek tradition, karaghioz (the Greek shadow-play), and rebetiko music became apparent. PASOK, and not KKE, was now the main agent of reaction against joining the EEC. PASOK transformed into an ardent supporter of the EEC since the 1980s, while KKE put up with it as a necessary evil until 1991. In the last article, "The Perception of Europe by Greeks, Romanians, and Bulgarians - A Recapitulation," (Das Europa-Verstandnis der Griechen, Rumanen und Bulgaren-eine Zusammenfassung) , Harald Heppner attempts a comparative presentation of the three cases, since respective volumes on the cases of Romania and Bulgaria appeared before the one under discussion. He employs the term "South- East" Europe as a term that resulted from the need to highlight the individual characteristics of the region, based precisely on the common religious aspect -the orthodox doctrine- and the common historical past. Taking for granted the wish of these countries to join Europe -a term that geographically and culturally remained relatively vague, Europe being treated as a whole- he seeks those points in time when the effort and the wish to join Europe were more manifest: Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries acted as a compass for customs and traditions and as a model for the course of these countries. Yet, it maintained a double role since in some cases it was an example to be avoided. Nationalism acted as a counter-scale against the idea of Europe. Although a product of western European culture, it was modified and adapted to the needs of each country. The concept of Europe changed in the context of this evolution, and the issue regarding its approach became a point of friction. This collective volume highlights the continuity in the way of thinking of the Greeks and the permanence of the attraction Europe, and the idea of Europe, exerted on them. It was the birthplace of great ideas and revolutions, but also a region whose ideas and policy would exert negative influence on Greece itself. It was the counter-scale to the Orient, Islam and the Ottoman Empire, the "Slavic threat," and the "communist danger." Its geographic boundaries were enlarged and belittled according to the needs and political arguments of each period. Yet on the other hand, the presence of Europe within Greece was not negligible, and it took on various forms, always aiming at political and economic influence. FinaIIy, the need for fuII acceptance in the EU -the new formation defined as Europe- has triggered new debates, which seem to converge in accepting that both the European Union and the Economic Monetary Union are a "one-way street." Return to Top