Recap: Conference on “Ancient Greece and the Shaping of Modern Greek Identity”

On Saturday, October 24th, 2020, from 1-4 pm, the 4th UMD Modern Greek Studies Conference on “Ancient Greece and the Shaping of Modern Greek Identity” was held as a webinar on Zoom.  

It featured Dr. Polyvia Parara, Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern Greek, and six of her undergraduate students, who presented papers discussing the impact of ancient Greek literature and history on the shaping of modern Greek Identity from the War of Independence to the present.
The papers discussed the continuity of the Greek World from the past to the present and the ethical value of Hellenism in the shaping of Modern Greek identity and universal cultural identity. The students discussed the Greek values such as moderation, self-limitation, collectivity, self-completion, love for the fatherland, self-denial, philanthropy, and many others. Moreover, the papers discussed the nature of Hellenism as the foundation for an anthropocentric society based on democracy and freedom. Last but not least, the papers emphasized the modern Greek identity as a Greco-Christian fusion that comprises the ethical values of Hellenism and the moral teaching of Christianity.