The Boston Lykeion Ellinidon’s Guardianship of the Greek Language Department, chaired by Konstantina Choros, will host its first event on Tuesday, November 13th. “‘Romios’ in Greek Songs of Heroic Sacrifice,” a lecture by Andrew Ntapalis, Adjunct Professor of Modern Greek at the University of New Hampshire, will be held at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Watertown, MA at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served after the talk. Free and open to the public, the event promises to be a unique examination of language and identity during the Ottoman period.
Specifically, the presentation concerns the use of the term “Romios” during the Ottoman Greek period. The term often proves difficult to properly define due to the various prejudices that later became attached to it. Ntapalis argues that the Ottoman-era Romios was not just a “Modern Greek,” as he is often called, but rather, that he was a certain type of Greek speaker, one more consciously Christian than he was Hellenic. This claim is supported by the Romios’ portrayal in Greek songs of heroic sacrifice, which is comparable to presentations of the Orthodox Christian martyr in Ottoman-era hagiography.
Andrew H. Ntapalis earned his BA in history and Modern Greek in 2014 from the University of New Hampshire, graduating summa cum laude, and his MA in history in 2016, also from the University of New Hampshire. His research includes Modern Greek history and historiography; imperialism; Great Power politics in the 19th century; the Eastern/Ottoman Question; EU politics and international relations; Greek literature; the Greek language question; Greek linguistic evolution; the “Megali Idea” and nationalism; Romiosyni; translation; reception of the classics in Modern Greek poetry and prose; Ancient Greece; democracy; the Greek polis state; Roman and Byzantine political history; and Orthodox Christian culture and Christian-Muslim relations in the Ottoman period, 1350-1923. He is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. Andrew currently teaches Modern Greek at the University of New Hampshire as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Classics, Humanities, and Italian Studies.
The Boston Lykeion Ellinidon’s six departments focus on key areas of interest for the organization and organize relevant events and activities. The Guardianship of the Greek Language Department focuses on unique characteristics of the Greek language, particularly as it relates to regional and folk culture. The department organizes workshops & seminars on dialects and other linguistic or literary topics. Volunteers are always welcome; to learn more, please contact us.