International Greek Language Day will be the opening event of the celebrations for the 2,500-year anniversary of the founding of Naples (Napoli), Italy, by ancient Greeks.
Celebrated annually on February 9, in recognition of the Greek language’s contribution to modern culture, the establishment of an International Greek Language Day since 2017 was an inspiration and achievement of the Diaspora, the Greek high-schools of Naples and the Philhellenes in Italy.
The day for the celebration was chosen to coincide with the day of the passing of Greek poet Dionysios Solomos, writer of the epic poem verses of which would become Greece’s national anthem, “Hymn to Liberty.”
This year, the city of Naples is also celebrating 2,500 years since its founding, which is attributed to ancient Greeks, thus International Greek Language Day events will be opening the program of celebrations for the city’s astonishing milestone anniversary.
Tenth celebration of International Greek Language Day
The initiative for the launch of an International Greek Language Day was spearheaded since 2014 by professor Jannis Korinthios, a Diaspora Greek in Italy who is also the author of a dictionary of the ancient Greek language.
For Naples in particular, this is the tenth celebration of International Greek Language Day, as the first event was held in 2016, one year prior to the official, global launch of the initiative by a joint decision of the Greek Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Education.
Naples has remained the heart of these celebrations, which will take place on Monday, February 10 this year. The day will start with students’ competitions from Greek and Italian schools and will conclude with a majestic concert at the iconic Basilica San Giovanni Maggiore, where a chapel of the Byzantine House of Palaiologos was built in 1523.
Joining the celebrations online from anywhere in the world
Since the launch of the annual global celebration for the Greek language, Philhellenes and Greek communities abroad have embraced the initiative that promotes knowledge, peace, and friendship between people.
Greeks and Greek language enthusiasts from across the world will be able to join the celebrations of International Greek Language Day online this year.
The concert of the Basilica San Giovanni Maggiore will be livestreamed by the official Facebook page and YouTube Channel of the Giornata Mondiale de la Lingua Greca.
In the meantime, Greek public broadcaster ERT has put together a special tribute on Ertflix International, its free access streamer, under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy.
The initiative is a collaboration between ERT’s Department for Greeks Abroad, the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, and the E’ General Directorate of Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aiming for the widest possible international outreach.
Starting Sunday, February 9, Greeks around the world will be able to enjoy the tribute’s selection of documentaries, concerts, dedicated programs, and rare footage from ERT’s archive, on VoD.
A great part of the tribute is its presentation of Greek poetry through music.
ERT Radio is hosting its own tribute, including an interview with Jannis Korinthios, who spoke of the materialisation of his idea for an International Greek Language Day and its significance.
Naples, the “new city” of ancient Greeks
The name of the city of Naples -Napoli in Italian- is a paraphrase of its ancient Greek name, Neapoli, which literally means “new city,” derived from nea, meaning new, and polis, meaning city.
Founded by ancient Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. It started as a small port under the name Parthenope, built by sailor merchands from the Greek island of Rhodes in the 8th century BC, but was refounded as Neapolis two centuries later.
The city became an important part of the Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and was a significant cultural centre under the Romans before becoming one of the wealthiest and more powerful kingdoms of the Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and eventually uniting with the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
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