ASPIS 2

PRIMARY SOURCES OF GREEK HISTORY AND FOLKLORE

translated into English

1. The Greek nation, is famous for the knowledge of everything. 833 A.D.

 

“After receiving a letter, Theophilus (from the leader of the Saracenians Mamum about the transfer of knowledge to them, mainly about geometry,), he considered it inappropriate to transmit this knowledge, which the Greeks are famous for, for the peoples of idolaters, and did not agree with what he was asked....................

2. The exchange of the sword of Muhammad with patrikios Nikitas! 969 A.D.

From there, he sent preachers (Nikiforos Fokas) to the leader of Carthage, as a gift he presented the sword of the murdered and incompetent Muhammad, which he took as a trophy in the fortress, which he had captured in Palestine, asking again for patrikios Nikita

3. The greatest and most venerable emperor of Romeon against the bloody nation of the Bulgarians! 965 A.D.

“Thus, while he was busy, the messengers of Bulgarians appeared before him, demanding ordinary taxes for their leader, for this reason, they were sent to the Emperor....................

4. Theodora’s response to the threats of the Bulgarians, 863 AD

“The leader of the Bulgarians, having learned that a woman with a small child rules the Romans (Greeks), was greatly devastated.

That is why the messengers, who were sent to the queen, were sent with threats to annul the agreement, and to invade the country of the Greeks..............

5.The baptism of Vogoris in 864.

''Something else happened which led the ruler to the right religion and confirmed him in it. He had an insatiable appetite for hunting and he wanted to satisfy it, not only out on the chase but also when he was relaxing at home – by looking at pictures of hunting scenes. Having just built himself a new house, he now engaged a painter, a greek monk named Mehtodios. He told this monk to fill the dwelling with pictures but (as though he were under the guidance of devine inspiration) he did non specify in so many words which and what kind of wild animals were to................ 

6. When the night hasn’t clouds, the stars become even brighter. 11^th  century

“If you look at the starry sky,

You would say it's a meadow or green grass

the ground is paved with brilliant stones

it's not much compared to the stars and even the best things on earth

... clear sky............................

7. The visiting of emperor Manuel II Paleologos at London, 1400

''On the feast of St Thomas the apostle [21 December], the emperor of the Greeks visited the king of England in London to seek help against the Saracens, and was honourably received by him, staying with him for two whole months at enormous expense to the king, and being showered with gifts at his departure. ......................

8. Constantinople: One homeland for all people

“Like herds of animals, people from all over the earth come here to visit a place of worship. All the nations of the earth and all the languages of the world in Constantinople come into contact with each other, communicate and exchange information with each other, buying and transmitting what they need from here to their homeland, since everything can be found in this city. There is no chance to see our city devastated and calm, it is always full of foreigners....................

9. I lose my self-control by the Byzantine women, 7th c.

"Allow me to stand behind you, not to be tempted, because everyone knows I'm crazy with women, and I'm afraid that if I see the greek (Rum) women, I'll lose my self-control."..................

10. The people of the Balkan Peninsula *, at the beginning of the 19th century.

24. [People of the Balkan Peninsula]

Generations living on the territory of the Balkan Peninsula are Turks, Slavs, Greeks and Vlachs.

The Turks, those who lived in the province of Asia Turkestan and along the Caspian Sea, and the Slavs are Bulgarians, Serbs, Bosnians and Arvanites, where in ancient times the Bulgarians were called Thracians, and Illyrian Albanians.

This clan of Albanians and Bulgarians, Serbs and Bosnians, inhabited the Balkan Peninsula many centuries ago, escaping from the territory of European Scythia, which was also called Sarmatia. But the character of this Northern Slavic clan is still preserved in all parts of the Balkans, having its own special language.................

11. Characteristics of the people of the Balkan Peninsula, early 19^th  century

“26. [Characteristics of the people of the Balkan Peninsula]

Since the people of the Balkan Peninsula are very different, their customs are also different. The Turks are Ottomans, they have big bodies, merciless, ignorant, moderate and not as bad, as Europeans think, coffee and tobacco lovers. They sit cross-legged and sleep on the ground on the carpets. Turks eat little and fast and love hunting. They do not speak much and explain everything briefly......................

12.  One statistics of the Cyclades at 1813

« To his Excellency, the most Fortunate, the most Merciful,

my Benefactor and most generous Lord and Master,

Hassan, by the grace of God Captain Pashaw.

The Islands are—Naxia, Paros, Tinos, Andros, Myconi, Zea,

Thermia, Anaffi, Astropalias, Amorgos, and Antiparos.

Naxia,

The largest and most fruitful. Besides the city, it contains 35 villages. In all the island they count 20,000 souls. It abounds in oranges, but particularly in lemons ; the juice of which, and distillations from the rind,....................

13. The marble emperor

“When the time came for the Turks to conquer Constantinople, and they entered the city, King Constantine Paleologos, riding a horse, blocked their path. There was a countless crowd of Turks, thousands surrounded him, and he repeatedly struck them with a sword. Then his horse was killed, and he fell down too.

And then the Arab raised his sword to defeat the king, but the Angel of the Lord came and turned the king into marble to save him from death, seized up him, and carried him into a cave deep underground, near the Golden Gate..................

14. The royal head and the eagle, tradition from Thessaly.

Emperor Constantine was killed after all. They cut off his head and presented it to the Sultan, who stood at the castle and was afraid to enter while Konstantin was alive. When the sultan saw the king’s head, he was delighted and said: “Now this is my city” and went to the Saint Sophia, and there he put Constantine’s head on a pillar in the square, and all the Turks gathered to look at it.

Then the sultan embalmed his head and gave it to Pasha, so that he showed it to all the kings of the world, so that everyone would believe that the sultan really killed the king and captured the city, and that everyone recognized him as the first king of the world..............................

15.  A tale from the region of Epirus - Monoviza (a woman with one breast)

“Was a queen in one kingdom and she had only one big breast, and she threw it on her back. Her name was Vodina, she had one only child and he was crazy, and he came to destroy our lands. But the inhabitants of Epirus killed him, and when a queen found out that her son was killed, she came to avenge her child, armed her ships and took some from the island of Corfu, and arrived with a large army in Avlona and in the port of Forty Saints, and during months captured the city of Berati, the entire region of Liaburian and reached Argiros......................

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ASPIS 3

PRIMARY SOURCES OF GREEK HISTORY AND FOLKLORE

translated into English

1. The destruction of the colossus in Rhodes. 652/653 AD

 

"During this year, Moab captured Rhodes and destroyed the colossus of Rhodes, 1360 years after its construction, bought it by a Jewish merchant from Edessa and loaded nine hundred camels with copper."........................

2. The great mathematician Theophilus Palaeologos heroically dies. May 29, 1453

“Theophilus Paleologos did the same (he fought and tore the opponents with claws and teeth). Watching the emperor fight to save a city, that was in danger, he cried out: It is better to die than to live! Then he rushed at his enemies,..................

3. The huge sea whale Porfyrios. In the time of Justinian I

“During the reign of this emperor, a whale was caught, which was named Porfyrios, who had been harassing the Byzantines for fifty years or more. When he appeared, many boats sank, and many people died.

They used many tricks to trap him, but it was all in vain, however he was eventually caught, hunting dolphins.................

4. Constantine the Great about homosexuals.

"Another law was sent, so that all homosexuals would die, since this is shamelessness, and not leave anyone suffering from this pathological disorder."..................

5. Medical case of Siamese twins men. In the time of Romanus Lacapenus

 

“These days, one strange couple, two Siamese boys, came from Armenia to the kingdom. They were expelled from Constantinople as a bad omen. However, during the reign of Constantine, they arrived again.......................

6. Patriarch Theophylact (+956) leaves the Divine Liturgy to see his newborn foal.

 

“He had an unstoppable love for horseback riding and have collected more than two thousand horses in his stein. He did everything to feed them. He gave them not only grass and barley, but also pine nuts, peanuts and almonds, as well as dates and raisins, the best of their kind, mixing them with aromatic wine, cinnamon and various flavors....................

7. Nikiforos Pastilas, drunk, heroically battles in Crete in 960

 

“As soon as the barbarians (Arabs), who lived in fertile and high mountains, saw indiscipline and indifference to precautionary measures, they left their mountains, immediately lining up in a belligerent order and launched an attack against them. Those (Byzantine soldiers), although...................

8. The touching moment of Andronikoi, grandfather and grandson, in the midst of their conflict. 1323

“A few days later he goes out and meets the king, his grandfather, outside in front of the city walls. While the grandfather-king did not get up from the horse, his grandson descended from the horse nearby and, although his grandfather protested, he went up and kissed his hand and his leg, although he remained sitting motionless.

Then he sat on his horse, and they hugged and kissed each other, exchanged a few short sentences, and parted. And the king went to Constantinople, and the young man left for the army camp near the temple of Themitoros Pigi....................

9. Albanian raids impede the development of agriculture and crafts!

“Fear of Albanian raids is a serious obstacle to the development of agriculture and crafts.

From time to time, Albanians invade Moria (Pelopones), even when least expected of them.

They rob people, destroy the countryside, kill men, kidnap girls and boys and return to their mountains,.......................

10. Plan of Saint Sophia

(At Vizye of Thrace)

“When the emperor in Constantinople decided to build the Saint Sophia, no architect could offer him a construction plan that he would like. When the emperor once came to church service and when he took the holy bread, this bread fell to the ground, but when the king bent to pick it up, he did not find it.

Suddenly he sees a bee with this holy bread in his mouth flying out in the window. Decree comes out,....................

11. The ghost and Elena Mataraga. Zakynthos 1794

“Elena Mataraga was 20 years old, and she loved her fellow villager, who died. However, her parents married her to someone else because of other interests.

The night after his funeral, Elena saw the ghost of her beloved, silently standing at the edge of her bed. He appeared to her, on the second and third nights in a row........................

12. The vampires help the lovers!

“Strange stories begin to circulate on the island. One said that he saw a dead man walking and screaming in the dark night.

Another saw how at midday something flew through the air in a burning chariot. Another claims that at midnight he woke up from loud sighs and, opening his eyes, saw in the fire a white ghost, laden with chains, tormented by a herd of devils.

All these monstrous stories accumulate day by day, exaggerate, become more frightening, and everyone gradually begins to believe that the dead terrorize the living in order to free themselves from their sins, that they pull the feet of sleeping people, run through the fields, through thorns and bushes and in ultimately turns into a huge black dog that cools people's blood all night..........................

13. The indifference of the Greeks of Revolution about the Democracy

 ...........................

14. About the stork.

“The stork is the opposite of the crow because he takes care of his baby birds with great love and goes and eats all day and whatever he eats comes and throws vomit for his birds and feeds them until they are full.

The next day if he can't find food, he gives his children the yesterday's meal that he had in his stomach. But also his birds, as they grow older, take care of their elderly parents.

15. Cut off the tongues

“When the Turkish sultan conquered the whole country, he wanted to destroy Christianity. He quickly realized that he could not completely exterminate the Christian faith, since all those people who spoke Greek, should have forgotten their language first in order to change their faith.

He issued a decree to cut off the tongues of all children, and when they grew up, they could not pass on the Greek language to their descendants,........ 

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ASPIS 4

PRIMARY SOURCES OF GREEK HISTORY & FOLKLORE

 translated into English

1.Wealth remains between us, in John III, 13th c.

“Because he saw the Roman wealth lost in vain clothing imported from other nations, in the varied colored silks of the Babylonians and Assyrians, and in the beautiful Italian woven fabrics, he ordered that none of his subjects be used unless one of his subjects and that is, to dishonor himself and his gender....................

2. How did the monks live? on Romanos Argyropoulou. 11th c.

«The income was distributed to the monks, who did not live a life of asceticism but lived a tender, carefree, and full of comforts, giving them entire tracts of land and, indeed, the richest and most fertile. But let's not talk about them anymore..»..........

3. Horseback riding on the horse race. on Romanos II, 10th c.

 ............................

4. Where did go at night the teenager Andronikos III? 14th c.

“He used to hang out with his friends at nights with a woman who was from a non-informal family but was immoral in behavior. She had a man named Adonis, a beautiful young man. Because the jealous had burned out  the king's soul, he had set archers and swordsmen to guard the woman’s door. So one night, around midnight, the brother of the Andronikos, despotes Konsgtantinos,.......................

5.The appearance of Zoe and Theodora, 11^th c.

6. Such were the differences that marked the sisters in character. In personal appearance there was an even greater divergence. The elder was naturally more plump, although she was not strikingly tall. Her eyes were large, set wide apart, with imposing eyebrows. Her nose was inclined to be aquiline, without being altogether so. She had golden hair, and her whole body was radiant with the whiteness of her skin. There were few signs of age in her appearance: in fact,................

6.The character of Zoe and Theodora, 11^th c.

«4. For those who did not know them it may be instructive if I give here some description of the two sisters. The elder, Zoe, was the quicker to understand ideas, but slower to give them utterance. With Theodora, on the other hand, it was just the reverse in both respects, for she did not readily show her inmost thoughts, but once she had embarked on a conversation, she would chatter away with an expert and lively tongue. Zoe was a woman of passionate interests, prepared with equal enthusiasm for both alternatives -- death or life...................

7. The princesses visit their grandmother. 9th c.

 ..................

8. The Caesar Varda's Interest in Science. On Michael III, 860s.

17. The Caesar Bardas greatly honored wisdom and learning, even though he was more interested in its display. He gathered wise men at the Magnaura, some of them philosophers and geometricians, others astronomers, and still others grammarians, and instructed them to teach all who came for free. And he paid such great attention to these matters, that he appointed the great philosopher Leo to teach philosophy, his student Theodore to teach geometry,........................

9. The prophecy of the liberation of the empire  from the time of Constantine the Great. 4^th c.

"And a snake stepped out of its nest, ran a little bit, and immediately afterward, an eagle jumped up, grabbed the snake and flies high and the snake was impacted by the eagle's body curled up. The eagle climbed to high heights, not much time again seemed to come and fall with the snake there in the same place, because the snake injured him, people ran and stabbed the snake and the eagle was released. Caesar trembled from them too much and summoned their sages and wise men told the point and they thought and said the Caesar:........................

10.The lamb with golden hair

Many years ago, was a king, with three children. After the king died, he left his property to his children to share. The two older children drunk every day at the wine stores and ate their father's money and became poor. The youngest child, guarded the property left by his father, and married and born a very beautiful girl and built a house inside earth and put her in. And the king killed the craftsman who built the house, and put somebody to shout and say that whoever deserves to find his king's daughter, take him for his wife, but if he does not find her, he will kill him...............

11. The snow of the mt. Olympus at Bythinia.

'”One winter day, where God walks in the Kesis dagi (the mount Olympos in Bithynia) he lost his knife he was holding. He got it wet, but because of the many snow he couldn't find, he got angry and the mountain was always snow-covered. And since winter-summer the snow has not been out of at this mount.”.............

12. The tomb of the emperor

“Near the Vefa Meidani, inside one chain, in the yard there is the tomb of the emperor. In the past, there was a candle on his tomb, but now they don’t light the candle. In the other side of the yard, there is the tomb of the Arab who killed our emperor, with rich clothes.”..................

14. The song of the Roumeli

The Foreign says to Roumeli:

Everyone is happy, everyone is playing games,

Roumeli and the islands sit bitterly

Roumeli, why don't you enjoy it, why don't you play games?

Roumeli says to the Foreign:

In the slavery you see me in the chains of the Turks

Find me happy, how dare you?

Are you a foreign and just got here? And you still don't know?

What is happening in Roumeli, and what is going on at Constantinople?

Are you a friend of the Greeks and want to learn?

What do I have and am not happy about? Why am I sad?................

15. Which is the national name of the inhabitants of the Greek land? 18th c.

“Today's Greeks are abusively called Romaioi. It is well known that all of Greece was in ancient times a part of those where they were supplemented by the great authority of the Romans, whom the ancient Greeks called Roman, and their language Italian, and in their language they were called Romans.

So Roman became common to all the inhabitants of different nations where they were subject to the Romans, but each nation had its own name.

After Constantine the Great transferred the throne of the empire from Rome to Byzantium in Thrace, which was originally a Greek city, he was later called emperor of the Romans, and his Roman troops, named Byzantium new Rome, thinking that they would now inspire the souls of that patriotism of old Rome, the inhabitants of Byzantine where most of the Greeks were, and all the Thracians, and all the rest of the Greeks called Romaoi, the name of their tyrants, and said that the term Hellenes is a name which belonged to pagans............................

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ΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΠΕΞΗΓΗΣΗ - PURPOSE & EXPLANATION - ЦЕЛЬ И ОБЬЯСНЕНИЕ

Η ΑΣΠΙΣ συλλέγει διάφορα ιστορικά και λαογραφικά στοιχεία του νέου ελληνικού έθνους για τις δύο πρώτες καθοριστικές φάσεις της ιστορίας του. Πρώτη είναι το Βυζάντιο, και δεύτερη φάση η Τουρκοκρατία.

*** Περί πηγών, ιστορίας και λαογραφίας. ***

Η μελέτη των ανθρωπίνων πράξεων ενός λαού και γεγονότων του παρελθόντος, πέραν της ευχαρίστησης της εκμάθησης, μπορεί να αποτελέσει και δίδαγμα, με παραδείγματα προς μίμηση και προς αποφυγήν, για τους απογόνους του. Στην ιστορία έρχεται να ταιριάξει και η λαογραφία που έχει ως στόχο να εξετάζει τις κατά παράδοση, δια λόγων, πράξεων ή ενεργειών εκδηλώσεις του ψυχικού και κοινωνικού βίου ενός λαού. Οι πρωτογενείς πηγές είναι τα κείμενα που τα έγραψαν οι άνθρωποι που έζησαν την εποχή που μελετάμε και από αυτές μαθαίνουμε άμεσα τα γεγονότα όπως συνέβησαν, χωρίς τη παρεμβολή και επεξεργασία των μετέπειτα ιστορικών. Η πηγή δεν αφήνει περιθώρια αμφισβήτησης του γεγονότος και είναι αναγκαίο σήμερα το κάθε τι τουλάχιστον ιστορικό, να συνοδεύεται με την πρωτογενή πηγή του για την αποφυγή συγχύσεως, παραπλάνησης, ημιμάθειας και ψεύδους.

*** Τι είναι το Νέο Ελληνικό Έθνος και ποιό το σύνηθες όνομά του; ***

Επειδή δημοσιεύονται πρωτογενής πηγές, ο αναγνώστης μπορεί να παραξενευτεί με τη χρήση του όρου «Ρωμαίος» για το έθνος που μελετάμε. Γι’ αυτό είναι χρήσιμο να εξηγηθεί συνοπτικά ποιο ήταν αρχικά το όνομα του νέου ελληνικού έθνους και η εξέλιξή του. Τα παρακάτω δεδομένα, θα είναι ένα αντικείμενο εκτενής μελέτης της Ασπίδας.

Η ύπαρξη του νέου, που είναι κοινώς αποδεκτή, προϋποθέτει και το αρχαίο. Το αρχαίο είναι αυτό που κοινώς ονομάζουμε «αρχαίοι Έλληνες», ενώ το νέο ελληνικό έθνος προκύπτει από την αναδιαμόρφωση που εξελισσόταν τους πρώτους μετά Χριστόν αιώνες. Τότε που οι Έλληνες στο γένος εκχριστιανίστηκαν και το κέντρο της ρωμαϊκής εξουσίας μεταφέρθηκε σε μια ελληνική περιοχή, άλλαξαν το όνομά τους σε «Ρωμαίοι», σε αντιδιαστολή με τον όρο Έλλην που σήμαινε πια ειδωλολάτρης. Οι μετέπειτα εξελίξεις επίσης συνέχισαν την διαμόρφωσή του υπό την επίδραση α) κυρίως της νέας θρησκείας, που διαπότισε ισχυρά και διαχρονικά όλο τον κοινωνικό και πολιτικοστρατιωτικό βίο του, β) του συστήματος διοίκησης της ρωμαϊκής εξουσίας το οποίο περιήλθε τελικώς στα χέρια του κυρίαρχου πληθυσμού της περιοχής και γ) της επιλεκτικής συνέχισης της αρχαίας ελληνικής δημιουργίας.

Έτσι ήδη από τον 7^ο αι. κυριαρχεί στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο ένας λαός που αυτοαποκαλείται κυρίαρχα «Ρωμαίοι» ενώ από τους υπόλοιπους ευρωπαίους «Graeci», διαφοροποιείται από τους εξ Ιταλίας Ρωμαίους αλλά και από τα υπόλοιπα έθνη που είναι υπήκοοι στο κράτος του. Συνεχίζει τη ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία με κέντρο τη Νέα Ρώμη, Κωνσταντινούπολη περνώντας μερικούς αιώνες διεθνούς φήμης και ισχύος, και κατακτάται ολοκληρωτικά από τους Οθωμανούς τούρκους τον 15^ο αι.

Με βάση τις πηγές, αυτοί που αποκαλούμε σήμερα «Έλληνες» της Τουρκοκρατίας αυτοαποκαλούνται κυρίαρχα επίσης «Ρωμαίοι» αλλά και «Γραικοί» ή «Έλληνες», θεωρούν τον εαυτό τους και είναι απόγονοι τους γένους των Ρωμαίων που σήμερα τους αποκαλούμε «Βυζαντινούς» ενώ περηφανεύονται και για το αρχαίο ελληνικό ένδοξό τους παρελθόν, έχοντας όμως μια συγκεχυμένη εικόνα για αυτό. Απόγονοι του λαού αυτού (με τις όποιες προσμίξεις) είναι η πλειοψηφία των κατοίκων του Βασιλείου της Ελλάδος και μετέπειτα της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας μέχρι τις μέρες μας. 

Το νέο λοιπόν, αποτελεί ως ένα βαθμό συνέχεια του αρχαίου, διαμορφωμένο με τις εξελίξεις της εποχής, και η αρχή του τοποθετείτε τους πρώτους αιώνες της Αυτοκρατορίας της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. Σε όλα τα ξένα και ελληνικά λεξικά της Τουρκοκρατίας το «Ρωμαίος» μεταφράζεται ως «Γραικός» ή «νέος Γραικός» και το αντίστροφο, «ρωμαίικα» τα «νέα ελληνικά», «ρωμαίικο» το κάθε τι «νέο ελληνικό». Το όνομα «Έλληνας» το μεταχειρίζονται κυρίαρχα οι λόγιοι για τους συγχρόνους τους ομόφυλούς τους «Ρωμαίους», ήδη από τον 11^ο -12^ο αι. (χωρίς πια να παραπλανά) μέχρι και τα χρόνια της Ελληνικής Επανάστασης του 1821. Από τότε το «Έλληνας» έρχεται να αντικαταστήσει το «Ρωμαίος» (ή Ρωμηός), και να επικρατεί μέχρι τις μέρες μας. 

 Η ΑΣΠΙΣ, λοιπόν, έρχεται να ρίξει φως στο χαρακτήρα, την ταυτότητα, το όνομα, το κοινωνικό και πολιτικοστρατιωτικό καθημερινό βίο, τα ήθη, έθιμα, τις παραδόσεις, τα παραμύθια και άλλα λαογραφικά στοιχεία, τα ιδανικά, τα προτερήματα και ελαττώματα του γένους των Ελλήνων την περίοδο του Βυζαντίου και της Τουρκοκρατίας, καθώς αυτές οι δύο περίοδοι συγκρότησαν και καθόρισαν τον νέο χαρακτήρα των Ελλήνων, αλλά και επειδή είναι πολύ λιγότερο μελετημένες σε σχέση με την αρχαία. Κύριο μέλημα είναι η παρουσίαση πρωτογενών πηγών και η ανάδειξη στοιχείων που τείνουν να ξεχαστούν σκόπιμα και μη, συμβάλλοντας στην προστασία του παραδοσιακού ελληνικού χαρακτήρα.

***

ASPIS collects various historical and folklore elements of the new Greek nation for the first two decisive phases of its history. The first is Byzantium, and the second is the Turkish occupation.

*** About sources, history and folklore. ***

Studying the human actions of a nation and the events of the past, in addition to the pleasure of learning, can also be a lesson, with examples to imitate and to avoid, for its descendants. Folklore, which seeks to examine the traditional manifestations and actions of a nation's mental and social life, also fits into history. The primary sources are the texts written by the people who lived during the time we are studying, and from these we immediately learn the facts as they happened, without interfering and editing later historians. The source leaves no room for disputing the fact and today it is necessary, at least at the historical events, to be followed by them primary source in order to avoid confusion, misleading, half-learned and false.

*** What is the New Greek Nation and which is its usual name? ***

Because primary sources are published, the reader may be surprised by the use of the term "Romaioi" for the nation that we are studying. It is therefore useful to briefly explain what was originally the name of the new Greek nation and its evolution. The following data will be the subject of extensive study at ASPIS. 

The existence of the new, which is commonly accepted, presupposes the ancient. The ancient one is what we commonly call "ancient Greeks", while the new Greek nation derives from the remodeling  that took place in the first centuries after the born of Christ. When the Greeks were converted to Christianity and the center of Roman power was transferred to a Greek territory, they changed their name to "Romaioi", as opposed to the term “Hellen” which meant the pagans. 

Subsequent developments also continued its formation under the influence of (1) mainly the new religion, which strongly and permanently soaked through all of its social and political militaristic life, (2) the system of administration of Roman rule that eventually fell into the hands of the dominant population, and (3) the selective continuation of ancient Greek creation. 

So, already, from the 7th c. dominated in the Eastern Mediterranean a nation who call themselves mainly "Romaioi" while by the other Europeans called "Graeci", it is distinguished from the Romans from Italy but also from the nations that are citizens of its state. It continues the Roman empire centered in New Rome, Constantinople, spanning several centuries of international fame and power, and was completely conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. 

According to sources, those who we today call  "Hellenes" of the Turkish occupation, call themselves also mainly "Romaioi" but also “Graikoi” or “Hellenes”, consider themselves to be, and are, descendants of the “Romaioi” who today we call them "Byzantines" while also boasting of the ancient  glorious Greek past, but having a confused view of it. Descendants of this people (with any mixes) are the majority of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Greece and later the Hellenic Republic until today. 

The new, then, is to a certain degree a continuation of the ancient, shaped by the developments of the time, and its beginning date back to the first centuries of the Empire of Constantinople. In all the foreign and Greek dictionaries of the Turkish Occupation, "Romaioi" is translated as “Greek” or “new Greek”, and vice versa, the language “Romaiika” is the “New Greek” language, “Romaiiko” is everything “new Greek”. The term "Hellenes" has been used mainly by scholars for their contemporary of the same race "Romaioi" as early as from 11th-12th centuries (no longer is misleading) until the years of the Greek Revolution of 1821. Since then the "Hellenes" has come to replace the "Romaioi" (or Romioi), until  today.

 ASPIS, therefore, sheds light on the character, identity, name, social and military everyday life, morals, customs, traditions, fairy tales and other folklore elements, ideals, and advantages and disadvantages of the Greeks during the Byzantium and Turkish occupation, as these two periods formed and defined the new character of the Greeks, but also because they are much less studied than the ancient one. The main concern is the presentation of primary sources and the emergence of elements that tend to be deliberately or unintentionally forgotten, contributing to the preservation of traditional Greek character.

***

АСПИС собирает различные исторические и фольклорные элементы ново- греческой культуры первых двух решающих этапов своей истории. Первый - Византия, а второй - турецкая оккупация.

*** Журнал о источниках, истории и фольклоре.***

Изучение различных действий людей и событий прошлого, помимо увлекательного обучения, также может быть уроком и примером для подражания, но также примером чего нужно избегать в будущем.

В этом журнале прекрасно сочетаются фольклор и история греческого народа, а именно традиции, обычаи и поговорки, которые вошли в историю народа.

 Первоисточниками являются тексты, написанные людьми, которые жили в то время, и из них мы узнаем факты, которые произошли, без вмешательства историков. Источник не позволяет оспаривать факты, и в наше время, необходимо каждый исторический текст сопровождать его первоисточником, чтобы избежать путаницы и введения в заблуждение.

*** Что такое Ново-Греческая нация и как ее обычно называют? ***

Поскольку используются первоисточники, читатель может быть удивлен использованием термина «Ромэос», для эпохи, которую мы изучаем. Поэтому полезно кратко объяснить, какое первоначально было название ново - греческой нации и ее эволюции.

Следующие данные будут предметом всестороннего изучения журнала Аспис. Существование нового, предполагает и существование древнего. Древний период - это то, что мы обычно называем «древне – греческая культура», в то время как новая греческая нация происходит от изменений, которые произошли в первые столетия после Христа.

Когда греки были обращены в христианство и центр римской власти был перенесен на греческую территорию, они изменили свое имя на «Ромэи», в отличие от термина «Эллин», что означало идолопоклонство. Последующие события также продолжали свое формирование под влиянием (1) главным образом новой религии, которая сильно и постоянно насыщала всю  социальную и политическую жизнь; и (2) также под влиянием системы управления Рима, которую перенял император Константин и привнес в Грецию.

Так с 7 в. в Восточном Средиземноморье преобладают люди, называющие себя преимущественно "Ромэос", в то время как другие европейцы называют их "Греки", они отличаются от римлян из Италии, а также от жителей тех регионов разных национальностей. Продолжается Римская империя с центром в Новом Риме - Константинополе, который охватывает несколько столетий международной славы и власти,  был полностью завоеван турками-османами в 15-м веке.

Согласно источникам, те, кого сегодня называем «Греками» турецкой оккупации, они также называют себя преимущественно «Ромэи», но также  и Греками, они являются потомками Ромэйцев, которых сегодня называем «Византийцы», а также гордятся своим древним славным прошлым. Потомки этого народа составляли большинство жителей Королевства Греции, а затем и Греческой Республики по сей день.

Таким образом, новое в определенной степени является продолжением древнего, сформированного событиями того времени, и его начало восходит к первым векам Константинопольской империи. Во всех иностранных и греческих словарях турецкой оккупации, «Ромэос» переводится как Грек и наоборот, Ромэйский язык – это ново - греческий, и Ромэйское – это что либо ново-греческое.

Название "Эллинас" использовалось преимущественно только учеными, для обозначения греков той эпохи, которых тогда называли "Ромэос", с 11-12 в. вплоть до греческой революции 1821 года. Только со времен греческой революции, вошел в обиход термин «Эллинас», и он пришёл на смену термину «Ромэос», который мы используем и по сей день.

Таким образом, АСПИС проливает свет на характер, личность, имя, социальную и повседневную жизнь, нравы, обычаи, традиции, сказки и другие элементы фольклора, идеалы, сильные стороны и недостатки греческого народа во время Византии и турецких окупаций, так как эти два периода сформировали и определили определенный характер греков, но также и потому, что эти периоды  гораздо менее изучены, чем древне - греческий. Основная задача заключается в предоставлении первоисточников, которые, как правило, преднамеренно или непреднамеренно забываются, способствуя сохранению традиционных греческих особенностей.