The Modern Greek Language and the Modern Greek Collections at the Library of Congress

(This post is by Nevila Pahumi, Reference Librarian for Modern Greek in the European Reading Room.)

February 9 marks International Greek Language Day. In celebration, this blog post discusses modern Greek and the Library of Congress’ modern Greek collections.

Modern Greek (Νέα Ελληνικά) dates to the Renaissance. It is derived from Byzantine and ancient Greek, and emerged following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Greek scholars sought refuge in the West, especially in Italy, where the Renaissance revived the Latin and Greek classics. This trend persisted through the Enlightenment, influencing the thinking of European elites and, in time, colonial and early republican-era American ones as well.

During the centuries of Ottoman rule, Greek dialects were spoken throughout the mainland, the islands, and in parts of Anatolia. This paved the way for Demotic (Dimotikí) or vernacular Greek to emerge as one of the two dominant forms of modern Greek in the 1800s and 1900s. Although Demotic was spoken widely, during the Greek Revolution (1821-1832) Greek intellectuals maintained that Katharevousa (Καθαρεύουσα), a purer form of the language which incorporated elements of ancient Greek, was better suited for study and official purposes (Katharevousa comes from the Greek verb katharizo, to cleanse). A linguistic clash developed which often turned violent. One case involving the Greek Orthodox Church and Queen Olga led to widely publicized street riots in Athens in 1901, when a vernacular translation of the New Testament was published. After more than a century and a half of debate, Demotic Greek was proclaimed the official language in 1976. Estimates vary, but today modern Greek is spoken by some 13-25 million people worldwide. The majority live in Greece and in Cyprus. Other users (whether speakers, readers, or writers) of modern Greek comprise the global Greek diaspora. Greek is spoken by heritage communities of varying size and age in Australia, Europe, North and South America, and Turkey. The Greek communities of Australia and the United States are the largest outside of Greece.

The Library of Congress has been collecting Greek materials (ancient, Byzantine, and modern) since its beginnings in the early 1800s. Books related to Greece, like the now-digitized Grecian history: from the original of Greece to the end of the Peloponnesian War, which bears Thomas Jefferson’s signature, came into the Library as part of his private collection. Building on this foundation, language and history form the strongest disciplines in the Library’s modern Greek holdings, most of which were published after Greek Independence (1821) and are distributed throughout the general and special collections. Although books and bound periodicals account for most items, the Library also collects in other genres including bound atlases, manuscripts, maps, motion pictures, music scores, prints and photographs, and sound recordings.

The treasures shown below illustrate the age and range of Greek materials held at the Library of Congress. The first two items, one a Renaissance manuscript, the second a modern playbill, are both held in the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division. The third, a comic book adaptation, will soon be added to the general collections.

Konstantinos Lascaris’ grammar book Erotemata: Epitome ton Okto tou Logou Meron (Summary of the Eight Parts of Speech) is the first book printed in Greek. Its use of ancient Greek signifies the revival of classical learning during the Renaissance. Lascaris was a Constantinopolitan-born Byzantine Greek scholar who was captured and imprisoned by the Ottomans in 1453. He was able to escape to Rhodes and Crete, where he copied and collected Greek manuscripts. He subsequently fled to Milan, where he then published the Erotemata in 1476.

The following image is the Playbill cover page for Zorba, the 1968 Broadway musical adaptation of the beloved 1964 film Zorba the Greek and of the 1946 novel by the famous Greek novelist Nikos Kazantzakis.

The final image is the cover page of one of the twelve newly arrived Greek adaptations of The Dreamtime Duck of the Never Never comic series by Don Rosa. Once it is cataloged, this comic book will become part of the Library’s general collections.

Americans who grew up in the 1960s and the 1970s likely associate Greek identity with Zorba the Greek, while younger cohorts probably think of films like the 2002 My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its 2016 sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Both films are in the Library’s Moving Image Research Center.

Whatever your taste, or whatever your field of interest, we hope that you have enjoyed this post on modern Greek and the Library of Congress’ modern Greek holdings. Happy International Greek Language Day! For any questions about our holdings, feel free to explore the Library’s home page.