Adamantios Korais (April 27, 1748 - April 6, 1833)

Adamantios Korais (April 27, 1748 - April 6, 1833)

From Smyrni in Ionia, he was an influential Greek scholar and an important figure in the Modern Greek Enlightenment age, the period immediately before the Greek Revolution of 1821.

After graduating from the Greek school of Smyrni, he left for further learning and studies throughout Europe.

The Age of Modern Greek Enlightenment, which Korais would go on to play a major role in, along with others such as Rigas Feraios, Theophilos Kairis, Evgenios Voulgaris, was financed via the wealth of the Greek merchant class, that provided the material basis for the intellectual revival that was the major feature of Greek life in the half century leading up to 1821.

It was not by chance that on the eve of the Greek War of Independence, some of the most important centres of Greek learning, schools, universities, were situated in places such as: Ioannina, Chios, Smyrni, Aivali, all major centres of Greek commerce.

One of Korais’ most significant accomplishments was his contribution to the redefining of the Greek language. The Greeks were dispersed so widely across the Ottoman Empire and Europe, he decided to purge the language of foreign elements: Turkish, but also Western words.

During Korais’ time, the Greek language question was already in discussion, the problem being that an accepted form of Modern Greek didn't exist, as in every different Greek region people were speaking different idioms.

Korais' vision led to the creation and adoption of Katharevousa (pure) by future scholars and the Greek state, which was a language based on the ecclesiastical language used by the Greek Orthodox Church, close to Koine Greek.

By 1821, he was too old to join the struggle. However, his house in Paris became a centre for information, meetings among the Parisian Greeks as well as financial aid. He also wrote many letters advising the revolutionaries.

He died in 1833.

Hellenic Patriotism