Daniel Philippidis
Encyclopedia
Daniel Philippidis was a Greek
scholar, figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and member of the patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia. He was one of the most active scholars of the Greek diaspora in the Danubian Principalities
and Western Europe. Philippidis mainly wrote geographical and historical works as well as translated important handbooks of science and philosophy.
, a village in Thessaly
, Ottoman Empire
, modern Greece
and received early schooling in his home town. He attended the Athonite Academy
, in Mount Athos
but the poor quality of teaching after the departure of Eugenios Voulgaris
frustrated him and in 1779 he continued his studies at the School of Saint Minas in Chios
. A year later he moved to Romania
and studied at the Princely Academy of Bucharest
under notable scholars such as Neophytos Kavsokalyvitis. Philippidis remained in Bucharest until 1784 and became a teacher at the Princely Academy of Iaşi
from 1784 to 1786.
In 1788 he moved to Vienna
were he became acquainted with Anthimos Gazis
, scholar and publisher of the periodical Hermes o Logios
. Two years later he is found in Paris
where he witnessed the outbreak of the French Revolution
. His stay in Paris was crucial for the development of his philosophical and scientific views. There he had the opportunity to attend lessons presented by important scientists such as the astronomer Jérôme Lalande
and the geographer Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage. Philippidis left Paris in 1794, possibly because of the violent developments following the French Revolution
, which had disappointed him. After a series of moves he settled again in Iaşi (1796). For a short period (1803-1806) he taught in the local Princely Academy, despite the objections of its conservative scholar and thanks to the support of the prince Alexander Mourousis
, who intended to upgrade the Academy.
In 1810 Philippidis travelled for a second time to Paris where he remained for two years. During this period his relations with Adamantios Korais
, a leading figure of the Greek Enlightenment, became tense, possibly because of disagreements on linguistic and philosophical grounds. At the following years (1812-1815) he lived in Chişinău
, Moldavia
, as assistant to the scholar and local bishop Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni
, and later (1815-1818) in Leipzig
in order to oversee the publication of his works. He returned to Iaşi in 1818. The next year he became member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia, but did not return to Greece despite an invitation of the conservative scholar Neophytos Doukas
. He died in Bălţi
, Bessarabia
, in November 1832.
wrote the Geographia Neoteriki
, a work which is considered as one of the most remarkable of the modern Greek Enlightenment movement. They addressed the political instability and the economic decay of the Ottoman Empire and reflected a new revolutionary era in European history after the outbreak of the French Revolution
. This work was welcomed with enthousiasm by western intellectuals, especially in France, on the other hand it was largely neglected among Greek scholars, mainly due to the vernacular (Demotic) language the authors used.
In 1816 Pilippidis published two books dedicated to the history and geography of Romania: Ιστορία της Ρουμουνίας, (History of Romania), and Γεωγραφικόν της Ρουμουνίας, (Geographical account of Romania) in Leipzig, in which he adopted the views of various contemporary Romanian scholars. He examined the history of the three Romanian principalities, Walachia, Moldavia
, and Transylvania
, through an acceptance of their historical unity. On the other hand Greek intellectuals, and especially those involved with the journal Hermes o Logios
printed in Vienna from 1811 to 1821, adopted a negative attitude toward Philippidis' historical studies and linguistic approach in the Greek language question
.
In 1817 he wrote the philosophical work Απόπειρα Αναλύσεως του Νοουμένου (Attempt to analyze thought, Leipzig). Philippidis also translated a number of works including:
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
scholar, figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and member of the patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia. He was one of the most active scholars of the Greek diaspora in the Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...
and Western Europe. Philippidis mainly wrote geographical and historical works as well as translated important handbooks of science and philosophy.
Life
Philippidis was born in MiliesMilies
Milies is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Pelion, of which it is a municipal unit. It is a traditional Greek mountain village, at a height of 400 m on Mount Pelion. It is 28 km from...
, a village in Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, modern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and received early schooling in his home town. He attended the Athonite Academy
Athonite Academy
The Athonite or Athonias Academy is a Greek Orthodox educational institution founded at 1749 in Mount Athos, then in the Ottoman Empire and now in Greece. The school offered high level education, where ancient philosophy and modern physical science were taught...
, in Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
but the poor quality of teaching after the departure of Eugenios Voulgaris
Eugenios Voulgaris
Eugenios Voulgaris or Boulgaris or Vulgares was a Greek Orthodox educator, and bishop of Kherson . Writing copiously on theology, philosophy and the sciences, he disseminated western European thought throughout the Greek and eastern Christian world, and was a leading contributor to the Modern...
frustrated him and in 1779 he continued his studies at the School of Saint Minas in Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
. A year later he moved to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and studied at the Princely Academy of Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
under notable scholars such as Neophytos Kavsokalyvitis. Philippidis remained in Bucharest until 1784 and became a teacher at the Princely Academy of Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
from 1784 to 1786.
In 1788 he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
were he became acquainted with Anthimos Gazis
Anthimos Gazis
Anthimos Gazis was a scholar, a philosopher during the Greek Enlightenment, a cartographer and one of the heroes of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. He was born in Milies in Ottoman Greece in 1758 and died in 1828...
, scholar and publisher of the periodical Hermes o Logios
Hermes o Logios
Hermes o Logios, also known as Logios Ermis was a Greek periodical printed in Vienna, Austria, from 1811 to 1821. It is regarded as the most significant and longest running periodical of the period prior to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, containing contributions by key scholars and...
. Two years later he is found in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he witnessed the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. His stay in Paris was crucial for the development of his philosophical and scientific views. There he had the opportunity to attend lessons presented by important scientists such as the astronomer Jérôme Lalande
Jérôme Lalande
Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande was a French astronomer and writer.-Biography:Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse...
and the geographer Jean-Denis Barbié du Bocage. Philippidis left Paris in 1794, possibly because of the violent developments following the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, which had disappointed him. After a series of moves he settled again in Iaşi (1796). For a short period (1803-1806) he taught in the local Princely Academy, despite the objections of its conservative scholar and thanks to the support of the prince Alexander Mourousis
Alexander Mourousis
Alexander Mourousis was a Great Dragoman of the Ottoman Empire who served as Prince of Moldavia and Prince of Wallachia. Open to Enlightenment ideas, and noted for his interest in hydrological engineering, Mourousis was forced to deal with the intrusions of Osman Pazvantoğlu's rebellious troops...
, who intended to upgrade the Academy.
In 1810 Philippidis travelled for a second time to Paris where he remained for two years. During this period his relations with Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais
Adamantios Korais or Coraïs was a humanist scholar credited with laying the foundations of Modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment. His activities paved the way for the Greek War of Independence and emergence of a purified form of the Greek language, known as...
, a leading figure of the Greek Enlightenment, became tense, possibly because of disagreements on linguistic and philosophical grounds. At the following years (1812-1815) he lived in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, as assistant to the scholar and local bishop Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni
Gavril Banulescu-Bodoni
Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni was a Romanian clergyman who served as Metropolitan of Moldavia , Metropolitan of Kherson and Crimea , Metropolitan of Kiev and Halych , Exarch of Moldo-Wallachia , and Metropolitan of Chişinău , being the first head of the church in Bessarabia after the Russian...
, and later (1815-1818) in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in order to oversee the publication of his works. He returned to Iaşi in 1818. The next year he became member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia, but did not return to Greece despite an invitation of the conservative scholar Neophytos Doukas
Neophytos Doukas
Neophytos Doukas was a Greek priest and scholar, author of a large number of books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of modern Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of Greece...
. He died in Bălţi
Balti
Balti can refer to:* Balti language, a language spoken in Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir* Balti people, Muslims of Ladakhi/Tibetan origin from Baltistan in Pakistan and Ladakh in Kashmir...
, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, in November 1832.
Work
His work includes geographical, historical essays, and translations of important European handbooks of science and philosophy. In 1791, Daniel Philippidis together with Grigorios KonstantasGrigorios Konstantas
Grigorios Konstantas was a Greek scholar and figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment. He was actively involved in various educational issues as well as participated in the Greek War of Independence.-Life:...
wrote the Geographia Neoteriki
Geographia Neoteriki
Geographia Neoteriki is a geography book written in Greek by Daniel Philippidis and Grigorios Konstantas and printed in Vienna in 1791. It focused on both the physical and human geography features of the European continent and especially on Southeastern Europe, and is considered one of the most...
, a work which is considered as one of the most remarkable of the modern Greek Enlightenment movement. They addressed the political instability and the economic decay of the Ottoman Empire and reflected a new revolutionary era in European history after the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. This work was welcomed with enthousiasm by western intellectuals, especially in France, on the other hand it was largely neglected among Greek scholars, mainly due to the vernacular (Demotic) language the authors used.
In 1816 Pilippidis published two books dedicated to the history and geography of Romania: Ιστορία της Ρουμουνίας, (History of Romania), and Γεωγραφικόν της Ρουμουνίας, (Geographical account of Romania) in Leipzig, in which he adopted the views of various contemporary Romanian scholars. He examined the history of the three Romanian principalities, Walachia, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, and Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, through an acceptance of their historical unity. On the other hand Greek intellectuals, and especially those involved with the journal Hermes o Logios
Hermes o Logios
Hermes o Logios, also known as Logios Ermis was a Greek periodical printed in Vienna, Austria, from 1811 to 1821. It is regarded as the most significant and longest running periodical of the period prior to the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, containing contributions by key scholars and...
printed in Vienna from 1811 to 1821, adopted a negative attitude toward Philippidis' historical studies and linguistic approach in the Greek language question
Greek language question
The Greek language question was a dispute discussing the question whether the language of the Greek people or a cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek should be the official language of the Greek nation. It was a highly controversial topic in the 19th and 20th centuries and was finally resolved...
.
In 1817 he wrote the philosophical work Απόπειρα Αναλύσεως του Νοουμένου (Attempt to analyze thought, Leipzig). Philippidis also translated a number of works including:
- Λογική (Logic by Étienne Bonnot de CondillacÉtienne Bonnot de CondillacÉtienne Bonnot de Condillac was a French philosopher and epistemologist who studied in such areas as psychology and the philosophy of the mind.-Biography:...
), Vienna, 1801 - Επιτομή της Αστρονομίας, (Astronomic Epitomes by Jérôme LalandeJérôme LalandeJoseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande was a French astronomer and writer.-Biography:Lalande was born at Bourg-en-Bresse...
), Vienna, 1803 - Επιτομή των Φιλιππικών, (Epitome of Philippic history by Pompeius TrogusGnaeus Pompeius TrogusGnaeus Pompēius Trōgus, known as Pompeius Trogus, Pompey Trogue, or Trogue Pompey, was a 1st century BC Roman historian of the Celtic tribe of the Vocontii in Gallia Narbonensis, flourished during the age of Augustus, nearly contemporary with Livy.His grandfather served in the war against Sertorius...
), Leipzig, 1817 - Επιτομή των Ρωμαϊκών, (Epitome of Roman history by FlorusFlorusFlorus, Roman historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus . The work, which is called Epitome de T...
), Leipzig, 1818