Превръщането на Мегали идея в държавна доктрина на Кралство Гърция
The Transformation of Megale Idea into a State Doctrine of the Kingdom of Greece

Summary/Abstract: In the second half of the 19th century, under the mask of association to the „spirit of Hellenism“ Greek nationalism turned towards Hellenizing the East. Language and religion were the two tools which were called upon to put into practice the creation of an imagined community within the framework of the Ottoman Empire. P. Karolidis, N. Kazasis, N. Politis and I. Dragoumis further developed the main tenets of the Megale Idea, adding xenophobia and the fear of the „Slav threat“. Academic circles in Athens fully supported the objectives official Greek policy set itself to popularize them among the public. Gradually, the extreme nationalism imposed with all resources of the state machine also influenced the views of the more democratically-minded representatives of Greek intellectual elite — S. Koumanoudis and A. Rangavis. Even among the supporters of all-Balkan cooperation the federative idea began to be related with attempts to resolve the Macedonian issue rather than joint action of the Balkan peoples against the common enemy. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century Megale Idea already dominated the entire intellectual climate in the Kingdom of Greece and became a state doctrine, debilitating all other ideological trends. It was with this that every policy was explained, every domestic problem — be it economic, political, linguistic or social — was put back in the name of the internal unity of the nation, which was necessary for the implementation of the national idea.

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