Adamantios Korais Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais (1748–1833)
Born	(1748-04-27)27 April 1748 Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (modern Izmir, Turkey)
Died	6 April 1833(1833-04-06) (aged 84) Paris, Kingdom of France
Education	University of Montpellier (MBBS, 1786; MD, 1787)

Era	Age of Enlightenment
School	Liberalism, Modern Greek Enlightenment
Main interests	Political philosophy, philology, history, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, Greek language, Greek Independence

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Adamantios Korais (born April 27, 1748 – died April 6, 1833) was a very important Greek scholar. He helped create the foundations of modern Greek literature. He was also a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment, a time when new ideas about knowledge and freedom spread.

His work helped prepare the way for the Greek War of Independence. He also worked to create a purer form of the Greek language, called Katharevousa. Some people compare his influence on the Greek language and culture to how Dante influenced Italian or Martin Luther influenced German.

Life and Ideas
On Religion
On Greek Language
Influence on Greek Law
Legacy
Images for kids
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Life and Ideas

Korais was born in Smyrna in 1748. His father, Ioannis, was from Chios. He was a demogérontas in Smyrna, which was a leader chosen by the Greek community.

Korais loved philosophy, reading, and linguistics (the study of language). He studied a lot when he was young. He first went to school in Smyrna, where he finished at the Evangelical Greek School.

After school, he lived in Amsterdam for a while and worked as a merchant. But he soon decided he wanted to study at a university. He learned Hebrew, Dutch, French, and English, in addition to his knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin.

Korais studied medicine at the University of Montpellier from 1782 to 1787. He wrote his diploma paper in 1786 and his doctoral paper in 1787.

He then traveled to Paris, where he continued to learn. There, he decided to translate books by ancient Greek writers. He produced thirty volumes of these translations. This made him one of the first modern Greek scholars to publish ancient Greek literature.

After 1788, he spent most of his life living in Paris. As a scholar of classical times, Korais did not like the Byzantine influence on Greek society. He strongly criticized the lack of education among the clergy (church leaders). He also disliked how they served the Ottoman Empire. However, he did admit that the Orthodox Church helped keep the Greek national identity alive.

Korais believed that Western Europe was the heir to ancient Greek civilization. He thought this knowledge should be passed on to modern Greeks through education. He also wanted Greeks to use the terms "Hellene" or "Graikos" for themselves. He did not like the term Romiós, which was commonly used.

While in Paris, he saw the French Revolution happen. He was inspired by the ideas of revolution and freedom from that time. He admired Thomas Jefferson and exchanged ideas with the American statesman. Korais was a true man of the Enlightenment. He encouraged wealthy Greeks to open new libraries and schools across Greece.

Korais believed that education would help Greece gain independence. He also thought it would help set up a good government for the new free Greek state. He dreamed of a democratic Greece, like the glorious time of Pericles.

Korais died in Paris at 84 years old, soon after publishing the first part of his life story. In 1877, his body was brought back to Greece to be buried there.

On Religion

Korais was a Greek Orthodox Christian. However, he also criticized some practices of the Orthodox church. He strongly criticized the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He thought it was a tool the Ottomans used against Greek independence. Because of this, he later supported the new Church of Greece.

He also criticized monasticism (monk life) and the lack of education among church leaders. He did not like practices such as the "Holy Fire". He supported religious freedom, using reason, and tolerance. He wanted to change Greek Orthodoxy to fit more with liberal ideas and government.

On Greek Language

One of Korais's most important achievements was helping to standardize the modern Greek language. During his lifetime, Greeks lived in many different places. The language they spoke had many foreign words, depending on the region. Korais suggested a standard language that removed many foreign words, especially Turkish ones.

Also, Greeks spoke many different dialects every day. There was no agreement on which dialect should be the basis for Standard Modern Greek. People who debated the Greek language question were divided. Some wanted an older, more ancient form, while others wanted a simpler standard.

Korais found a middle way for these issues. He cleaned up his proposed standard language. He removed words he thought were too foreign or too common. He suggested creating a "katharevousa" (a "purified" version of modern Greek). This was based on the church language used by the Greek Orthodox Church, which was similar to Koine Greek. This standard was eventually adopted by scholars and the Greek state.

Influence on Greek Law

Not many people know that Korais had strong ideas about how a legal system should work in a democracy. His ideas were greatly influenced by the French Enlightenment, especially by thinkers like Montesquieu. He had a big, though indirect, impact on the laws made during the Greek Revolution. He also influenced the Constitution created after the revolution ended. This is very important because these laws still form the basis of the Greek Constitution today. They also guide the principles of the Greek legal system.

Korais influenced Greek law through his friendship with another Greek scholar, Nikolaos Saripolos. Saripolos later became known as the founder of Greek Law and the "author" of the Greek Constitution. We know about this influence from letters they exchanged over a long time, even before the Greek Revolution. These letters show how the older scholar, Korais, influenced the younger lawmaker, Saripolos. These letters are kept in the archives of the Greek National Library. They were found in 1996 by a law student.

Legacy

Korais was called Pater Patriae (Father of the Nation) by the revolutionaries at the Third National Assembly at Troezen. Korais's picture was on the back of the Greek ₯100 banknote from 1978 to 2001. Many streets in Greece are named after him. His writings and documents can be found in the Korais Library in Chios (town). "Korais" is also the name of a ship belonging to Zante Ferries.