Skip to main content

Arvanites: The Bridge Between Ancient and Modern Greece

By Γιώργος Μίχας.

The Arvanites and Arvanitogene Citizens of Greece: Unveiling a In the early 19th century, on the eve of the creation of the modern Greek state, the inhabitants of villages surrounding the ancient city-states of Greece, such as Thebes, Athens, Megara, Corinth, Argos, Sparta, Patras, and others, spoke Arvanitika as their mother tongue. However, the majority of the inhabitants of these ancient city-states were also urban-born, raising questions about the percentage of Arvanitophones at the beginning of the 19th century and after the establishment of the modern Greek state.

To Calculate the Percentage of Arvanitophones
To estimate the percentage of Arvanitophones, it is essential to consider the following factors:
1. The overwhelming majority of Muslims who were expelled or slaughtered during the 1821 Revolution were of Arvanit descent.
2. The Arvanites inhabitants of the regions of Methoni and Koroni left for Lower Italy after the Ottoman conquest of Moria.
3. The presence of Arvanitophonic settlements in the most fertile and cultivated areas of Moria and Rumeli.

Taking into Account the Arvanites Who "Left".
Considering the Arvanites who "left" (either by migrating or being expelled), it can be concluded that the Arvanites were the majority of the inhabitants in the area of "Old Greece."

Noteworthy Observations

Several observations support the significance of the Arvanites in the region:
1. Arvanitophonic settlements are located in the most fertile and cultivated areas of Moria and Rumeli.
2. Arvanitophone settlements exist in areas where Slavic installation is not mentioned.
3. Antiquities were rescued in the largest percentage in Arvanit-speaking areas (e.g., the Parthenon at the Acropolis of Athens).
4. Slavic toponyms and Slavonic characteristics are found more often in areas without Arvanitophonic settlements.
5. The names of ancient city-states, surrounded by Arvanite-speaking settlements, as well as ancient toponyms and names (gods and heroes), can be easily interpreted in the Arvanite language.
Ancient Roots of the Arvanites
Regardless of whether some Arvanites arrived in the 13th and 14th centuries, the presence of Arvanites in the Greek area dates back to ancient times. It can be asserted with certainty that Arvanites are the only Neo-Greeks who have "biological kinship" with the ancient inhabitants of the region.

Distinguishing Characteristics of the Arvanites.

Apart from their language, Arvanites are distinguished from other Neo-Greeks by a network of ethics and customs, which are also encountered in other areas, such as:
- Bravery and patriotic behavior
- Keeping guns in the family
- Kidnapping of women for marriage.
- Feud
- Filerido
- Risk
- Blatant speech (the "barbarbaricism" *speaking with a loud voice "

These common ethics and customs are shared with the inhabitants of other areas, such as Mesa Mani, Crete, and the islands of the Aegean.
Arvanitogene Citizens of Greece

Considering the shared ethics and customs, as well as the existence of many toponyms in these regions that can be interpreted in the Albanian language, it can be concluded that the Maniatas, the Cretans, and the inhabitants of the Aegean islands are... Arvanitogenes.

This revelation has significant implications for our understanding of Greek history, culture, and identity. It highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of Greek heritage, which has been shaped by various influences, including the Arvanites.
Resources
1. Babiniotis, G. (1998). The Arvanites and Their Language.
2. Kretschmer, P. (1905). Die griechische Dialekte.
3. Trudgill, P. (2003). A Glossary of Sociolinguistics.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nephilim

N 'eh - Ph 'ih- L 'ee- M /  Nepheeleem Zacharia Sitchin (July 11, 1920 – October 9, 2010)  wrote the " Nephilim " (נְפִילִים) is derived from “nafàl" and means “fall". The term Nephilim occurs in Genesis 6:1-4, describing the point of time when three things began: men began to increase in number, came into existence the daughters of men , and the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. Is the "nephillim" really only a Hebrew word? That question is very subtle, however I think it has been more a limit of thinking for linguists rather than a serious argument. Let's begin first with the probable meaning the linguists think it is. We know that the " fall"  in every language means moving downward from a higher position involuntarily, usually by an accident, which maybe was the reason why Michael S. Heiser, PhD candidate, Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies , University of Wisconsin...

Word creation. The "D" letter origin and the "D" pictogram rule of the word creation.

  In this article I will cover  the origin of the letter  D letter, and the pictogram concept of the word creation.  It was my first discovery of the word creation. In this blog I will give my discoveries, the rules of word creation of the European languages. Multiple theories exist as to how language first originated. Nobody is sure which one is true. Certified Translations Get Pricing Order Translation What is the Oldest Language in the World? There are over 7,000 languages in the world. Could there have been a time on the earth that we all spoke one language? If so, what is the oldest language in the world?  So what was the first language?  Discovering the first language that people spoke is difficult because so many languages died and were considered lost in history. However, ancient languages still survive until today; these languages may have been transformed a lot but their old origins may be traceable. Written languages existed but this does n...

Total positional tolerance at material condition

Total positional tolerance at material condition (Hole) Suppose the Ø 1.005 / 1.010 hole is inspected and there are six parts with different ID dimensions. Their actual sizes checked with run out methods give that their actual axis is to be .006” over and up from the true position even though they have different actual ID’s. We want to know which part is within true position tolerance at MMC. Parts to be acceptable require some calculation when is used the run out method.             In GD&T, maximum material condition (MMC) refers to a hole that contains the greatest amount of material.             To understand and memorize simply and logically the concept, I suppose that you have a part designed as a square with one hole in the center, Ø 1.005 / 1.010 . You have produced just 5 parts and measured their holes. The hole of part #1 is on the low side of its tolerance Ø 1.005" and the hole of part #5 is on high sid...