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

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document in English

arts and art history

research papers

published 01/04/2008

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Summary

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.

The Rise of the ‘Megali Idea?.
The new kingdom's citizenry viewed the peace settlement as bittersweet.
The Ottoman Empire was still a very large territory.
The new Greek identity that was formed by Megali Idea became a composite of both Hellenic and Byzantine elements.
Greece looked for more opportunities to gain more land in the Balkan peninsula.
Greece's initial intention was to unite Crete with Greece and within nine months.
Up until the Civil War, there was minimal migration from Greece to America.
The heart of the Greek community was shifted from New Orleans to Chicago.