Hellenic Nomarchy
Cover
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| Author | Anonymous Greek |
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| Original title | Ελληνική Νομαρχία: ήτοι Λόγος περί Ελευθερίας |
| Language | Greek |
| Subject | Revolution, Freedom, Politics |
| Genre | Pamphlet |
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Publication date
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1806 |
Hellenic Nomarchy (Greek: Ελληνική Νομαρχία The Greek rule of law) was a pamphlet written by "Anonymous the Greek" published and printed in Italy in 1806. It advocated the ideals of freedom, social justice and equality as the main principles of a well-governed society, making it the most important theoretical monument of Greek republicanism. Its author, arguing for both social autonomy and national sovereignty, supported the Greek struggle for national liberation and turned to the moral greatness of ancient Greece in order to stimulate collective pride. Although this work was widely read by Greeks before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, from its first appearance it was received with discomfort by contemporary scholars, and generated debates on the identity of its author.
The origins of modern Greek republican thought can be traced in the works of Iosipos Moisiodax, a major representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment, especially in his work Apology (Greek: Απολογία, 1780). Further development of republican thought in Greek culture was stimulated by French Revolutionary ideas.
An articulate expression of Greek republicanism can be found in the works of the revolutionary author Rigas Feraios. Feraios' execution in 1798 at the hands of the Ottomans gave an aura of heroism to these political ideas, which also visualized the liberation of Greece in the context of political reforms. In addition to Feraios' writings, other works in the same polemical style took on a sharper revolutionary character, as social contradictions in the Ottoman Empire grew.
It was in this context that the most important theoretical monument of Greek republicanism, Hellenic Nomarchy, was written. This work, an anonymous tract, was published somewhere in Italy in 1806, under the full title: Hellenic Nomarchy: a Discourse on Freedom (Greek: Ελληνική Νομαρχία: 'Ητοι Λόγος περί Ελευθερίας). The author was perhaps a merchant who lived in Livorno or Venice, in northern Italy, styling himself Anonymous Hellene. Several personalities of that time have been suggested, such as Adamantios Korais, Pashalis Donas, Christophoros Perraivos and George Kalaras. However, the author's identity was so well-concealed that even repeated scholarly investigations in recent decades have proven unable to attribute the work.
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