Georgios Gennadios ( el, Γεώργιος Γεννάδιος; 1784–1854) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

man of letters who was instrumental in the founding of some of the first educational establishments of

modern Greece The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition by the Great Powers — Britain, France and Russia — of its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1828 to the present day. Background The Byzantine Empire had ...

, considered among the most important personalities of the

Modern Greek Enlightenment The Modern Greek Enlightenment ( el, Διαφωτισμός, ''Diafotismos'', "enlightenment," "illumination"; also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment) was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment. Origins The Greek Enlightenment w ...

Life

Gennadios was born in 1784 in

Selymbria Selymbria ( gr, Σηλυμβρία),Demosthenes, '' de Rhod. lib.'', p. 198, ed. Reiske. or Selybria (Σηλυβρία), or Selybrie (Σηλυβρίη), was a town of ancient Thrace on the Propontis, 22 Roman miles east from Perinthus, and 44 Rom ...

, a village in the

Zagori Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, Zagori), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as ...

region of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

(or according to another source, in 1786 in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, where his Epirotan parents went to live for a period). He started his studies in

Doliana Doliana ( el, Δολιανά) is a community of the municipality North Kynouria, in eastern Arcadia, Greece. It consists of the villages Kato Doliana, Ano Doliana, Dragouni, Kouvlis, Prosilia and Rouneika.Monodendri. He continued his studies in the schools of Ioannina and subsequently in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

(now capital of Romania, but then part of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

). In 1804 he began to study

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

under Wilhelm Ernst Weber. He returned to Bucharest upon completion of his studies in 1814. At 1815 he became an assistant to Neophytos Doukas, then at the Princely Academy of Bucharest. In 1817–20 he went to Odessa, following an invitation by the city’s Greek community and by

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...

, then Russia's foreign minister, where he helped to found and direct the Greek School of Commerce. In 1820 he returned to Bucharest following an invitation by Prince Alexandros Soutzos of Wallachia and taught in the city’s schools. That year he also became a member of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

revolutionary organization. Following the defeat of Alexandros Ypsilantis in 1821 he went to Odessa and from there to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. He returned to Greece in 1826 to take part in the Greek War of Independence. Following the establishment of the independent Greek state, Gennadios was appointed by Kapodistrias, now Governor of Greece, together with Georgios Konstantas and Ioannis Benthylos to compile an official grammar of the Greek language. He founded the Central School of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and ...

, later transferred to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. In 1832, he was appointed first director of the

National Library of Greece The National Library of Greece ( el, Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος, Ethnikí Vivliothíki tis Elládos) is the main public library of Greece, located in Athens. Founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1832, its mission is to ...

in Athens. He founded the ''Philekpaideutike Etaireía'' (Φιλεκπαιδευτική Εταιρεία, "Society of the Friends of Education"), taught at the Arsakeion School in Athens and briefly taught history at the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

. He also founded the Archaeological Society of Athens and initiated the numismatic collection eventually housed at the

Numismatic Museum of Athens Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

. Among his students were Constantine Paparrigopoulos and

Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...

.Anastasios N. Goudas ''Βίοι Παράλληλοι των επί της αναγεννήσεως της Ελλάδος διαπρεψάντων ανδρών, Τόμος Β’ Παιδεία'', Publisher: M.P. Perides Printing House, Athens In 1854, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, he led a revolutionary committee for the liberation of Epirus, his homeland, but died the same year during a cholera epidemic. Gennadios’ statue was placed in front of the National Library of Greece following the construction of

Theophil Hansen Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen (; original Danish name: Theophilus Hansen ; 13 July 1813 – 17 February 1891) was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in ...

's neoclassical building to house the collections of the library in 1903. Gennadios's son

Joannes Gennadius Joannes, Ioannes or John Gennadius (Ιωάννης Γεννάδιος, 1844–1932) was a Greek diplomat, writer, and speaker, best known for his donation of his collection of Greek books and art to the Gennadius Library. Early and personal li ...

was born in 1844 and became a diplomat and bibliophile. When he donated his important book collection to the

American School of Classical Studies , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

in Athens, the building built to house it was named in honor of Georgios as the ''Gennadeion''.

Works

* Grammar of the ancient Greek language, (''Γραμματική της αρχαίας Ελληνικής γλώσσης'', 1832). * Edited ''Σύνοψις της Ιεράς Ιστορίας'' (1835) and ''Κατήχησις ή Ορθόδοξος διδασκαλία της Ανατολικής Εκκλησίας'' (1835).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gennadios, Georgios 1784 births 1854 deaths People of the Modern Greek Enlightenment 19th-century Greek educators Greek educators Deaths from cholera People from Zagori

Life

Works

See also

References