The story of how Greek Nationalism followed the Greek Immigrants to the United States

Type :

Research papers

Pages :

14 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

04/01/2008

Category :

Arts & media

Sub category :

Arts and art history

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Summary :

Introduction
The Rise of the 'Megali Idea'
The ideology of Megali Idea
The new Greek identity
The first opportunities for Greece to expand
The policy of Megali Idea
Greek immigration to USA
The heart of the Greek community
Balkan war: The story of George Dilboy
Megali idea: Success and failure
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

By the eve of the Greco-Turkish War of 1922, every greek in the world understood and felt what the 'Megali Idea' meant. Under the leadership of Eleftherios Venizelos, Greece was on the verge of fulfilling Megali Idea in recreating a modern Byzantine Empire. But what exactly does Megali Idea mean? Megali Idea translates literally as the 'Great Idea.'(Glenny, 45). It is a term that scholars use to encompass all greek irridentist claims to expand in order to incorporate all ethnic Greeks within her boundaries. It is a vision of an expanded greek state with greek Orthodoxy as its official religion, "which aspired to the unification of all areas of greek settlement in the Near East within the bounds of a single state, with its capital in Constantinople, dominated the independent state during the first century of its existence."(Gerolymatos, 59). This irridentist claim was so influential in the late 19th century-early 20th century contemporary greek society, that when ethnic Greeks immigrated to the united states in search of work, they kept this sentiment with them. Because of the greek Orthodox Church of America, they were able to preserve the ideals of Megali Idea even in the united states. The preservation of Megali Idea among greek immigrants felt was illustrated by the fact that many greek-Americans returned to their homeland to fight for Greece in 1912. The main focus of this paper will be on George Dilboy, the main character of the biography Georgie! My Georgie!. Dilboy was a greek-American who felt the calling of Megali Idea and returned to Greece to fight in the Balkan Wars. After describing the rise and fall of the concept of Megali Idea, we will thus conclude that Megali Idea not only stayed with Greeks when they immigrated to the united states, but is still echoed in conversations today.