This International Greek Language Day, we take a look back at a speech given by former Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, to the NSW Teachers of Modern Greek Association in 2005.

In the speech, titled ‘Philhellenes and Philologists,’ Whitlam sought to address two issues: (1) how important is the Greek language in Australia? and (2) how important is Greek civilisation to Australia?

To do this, Whitlam began to discuss his upbringing in Australia and how he developed an interest in ancient Greece and Greeks when he was a young boy.

“I was able to learn ancient Greek on Saturday mornings in 1933 and 1934 at the home of Leslie Holdsworth Allen… I shall be indebted to him for the rest of my life,” Whitlam, who has now passed away, said.

The former PM then touched on how “all Australians are involved with Greek words,” as many words in the English vocabulary have Greek roots.

Later, he turned to his political career and discussed how he always endeavoured to work with Greece and the local Greek community in Australia.

“As the MP for Werriwa from 1952 to 1978 I had the opportunity and duty of serving the greatest variety of immigrants in Australia, including Greek Orthodox and Greek-speaking families from Greece and Cyprus,” Whitlam said.

From there, Whitlam also wasn’t afraid to touch on the Cypriot independence issue, as well as the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece from the British Museum.

In the end, he concluded that: “There can be no doubt that the Greek language is important in Australia and that Greek civilisation is important to Australia.”

FULL SPEECH HERE.

Greek poet, Dionysios Solomos, is well known for writing the national anthem of Greece. But what else do we know about him? We share our top five facts.

1. His birth and early life:

Dionysios was born on April 8, 1798 the island of Zakynthos as the illegitimate son of Nicolaos Solomos, a wealthy noble. As a child, Dionysios studied under the supervision of several Greek scholars in Zakynthos before moving to Italy to study literature.

There, he met many eminent scholars who acquainted him with the works of Ancient Greek writers and philosophers namely Plato, Homer and Thucydides. It was the beginning of his glorious career.

2. Writing poems in Italian:

Dionysios initially started writing poetry in Italian. He was also acquainted with very important Italian scholars who encouraged him to immerse himself in the French Enlightenment movement.

Later, when he met Spyridon Trikoupis, who was a historian of the Greek War of Independence, Dionysios was persuaded to start writing his poems in Greek.

3. The Hymn to Liberty:

The Hymn to Liberty was written by Dionysios in May 1823, at a time of great upheaval for the Greek Revolution.

His poem consists of 158 quatrains. It is written in the Heptanese Style of poetry that originated from the Heptanese School of Literature, or literally the Literature School of the Seven Islands.x

READ MORE: On this day in 1865, the “Hymn to Liberty” becomes the National Anthem of Greece.

Between 1828 and 1830, the Hymn to Liberty was set to music by the famous composer Nikolaos Mantzaros and was heard with enthusiasm at national holidays in the Ionian Islands. 

Many years later, in 1865, King George I heard a version of Mantzaros’ composition by the Corfu Philharmonic Society and it made an impression on him. 

This was followed by the Royal Decree of August 4, 1865, which characterised the poem as an “official national anthem” and was to be performed “by all the naval units of the Royal Navy.” 

4. Difficult family life:

Between 1833 to 1838, a series of trials upset Dionysios’ life.

His half-brother (on his mother’s side) claimed that he was also the son of Count Solomos, asking for a portion of the inheritance. Although the result of the trial was in favour of Dionysios, his relationship with his mother was disrupted, mainly due to her attitude.

Nevertheless, the poems he wrote after 1833 are considered to be the most complete and mature of his works. His best poems are The Cretan (1833) and The Free Besieged (1845).

5. Death and Legacy:

On February 3, 1849, Dionysios was awarded the Golden Cross of the Saviour because “with his poetry he aroused the feelings of the people in the struggle for national independence.”

Dionysios died on February 9, 1857 in Corfu, from encephalopathy at the age of 59. His bones were transferred to Zakynthos in 1865 and were initially placed in a small mausoleum in the tomb of Kalvos.

Did you know the Guinness Book of Records ranks the Hellenic language as the richest in the world with 5 million words and 70 million word types?

We’re not surprised as it’s clear the Greek language has had an important influence on the English language.

What kind of influence? This International Greek Language Day we take a closer look.

Brief history of the Greek language:

Greek is one of the oldest Indo-European languages and is usually divided into Ancient Greek and Modern Greek.

Modern Greek is derived from Koine, a common dialect of Ancient Greek that was understood throughout the Greek-speaking world at that time. In the 19th century, Modern Greek became the official language of the Kingdom of Greece.

According to britishcouncil.org, the Ancient Greeks were the first to use a ‘true’ alphabet. That is, one representing both vowels and consonants.

English expressions and words:

Many historians suggest that more than 150,000 words of English are derived from Greek words. These include technical and scientific terms, such as anthropology and photography, but also more common words like dialogue, economy and telephone.

In a typical everyday 80,000-word English dictionary, about 5 percent of the words are directly borrowed from Greek and another 25 percent are borrowed indirectly.

Words that starts with ‘ph-‘ are also usually of Greek origin, for example: philosophy, physical, photo, phrase, philanthropy.

And then there’s common expressions in English which derive from ancient Greek myths and beliefs. Take for example ‘Achilles heel,’ which means to have a weakness or vulnerable point. Achilles was a central character in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, and his only weakness was his heel.

Source: britishcouncil.org