The Phrontisterion of Trapezous ( el, Φροντιστήριο Τραπεζούντος, "Trapezous College") 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 ...

educational institution that operated from 1682/3 to 1921 in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

(Gr. Τραπεζούς, ''Trapezous''), in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, now

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It provided a major impetus for the rapid expansion of Greek education throughout the

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

region, on the south coast of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. The building still retains its function as a prestigious highschool, and it has been considered as the most impressive Pontic Greek monument in Trabzon.

Background

In the Middle Ages, Trabzon was the capital of the Empire of Trebizond, one of the successor states to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, and the last Greek state to be annexed by the Ottomans, in 1461. During the following centuries a strong Greek community continued to live in the city and the

region.

History

The school was founded by

Sevastos Kyminitis Sevastos Kiminitis or Sebastos Kyminites ( pnt, Σεβαστός Κυμινήτης) (1630-1703) was a Pontic Greek scholar who was born in a village close to Τrebizond, Pontus. He was principal of the Patriarchal Academy in Constantinople in ...

, a forerunner 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 ...

, in 1682/3 and became the most influential center of Greek education in

.Bryer, Winfield (2006)
p. xxxiii
/ref> The school was initially housed at the Sümela Monastery, with its main goal being the cultivation of the national and religious identity of the local Greek communities. The school was supported by generous donations granted by wealthy Greek families, including the Velissarides and Kallivazis families, members of which controlled trade in most of the Black Sea Ports. Karadeniz Rumlar 1911

In 1817, Savvas Triantafyllidis became director of the Phrontisterion and the institution reached a higher level of educational standards as a result of the

. After 1839, and especially 1856, the Ottoman authorities allowed teachers that were trained in

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 ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

to teach at the Phronstisterion. One of them, Periklis Triantafyllidis, the son of Savvas, taught

classical philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ...

and also recorded the local Greek dialect, Pontic Greek. In 1902 the Phrontisterion was re-housed in a new, imposing building, which remains today as the most impressive Pontic Greek monument in Trabzon. It was a three-story building consisting of 36 classrooms, standing above the sea shore corniche of the city near the now destroyed Greek Orthodox Church of

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

and the Armenian Cathedral. The school closed in November 1921, during the

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire *Undeclared war in 1854 during the Crimean War, with Greek irregulars invading Ottoman Epirus ( Epirus Revolt of 1854) and Thessaly * Fi ...

, while the following years the local Greek communities left the region as part of the

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

. Today the building houses a Turkish school, the Kanuni Anadolu Lisesi.Bryer, Winfield (2006)
p. xii
/ref>

Background

History

References

Sources

Further reading