The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-11-13
Geographic News
Bulletin
Greece-New Nation of An Old
People

|
VI succession 10 the throne Of King
alexander Of Greece turns world in
'erest once more to southeastern Eu-
rope. The changes Greece has un-
dersone territorially and the part il
mas played in the wars and crises of
Ns corner of the world are discussed
IN the following bulletin issued by the
National Geographic society:
What is Greece?
IN the light of the past the an
Wer might we'll be tentative. for q
'ehnlllon OF Greece's area at any
''lne during the thousands of years
OF It's history would have held good
hardiy Tor quarter century; and in
iatter years, so swift have been the
changes in the New Greece, each de-
cade has seen the fixing Of new .boun-
darieS.
lHreece "a Sea Surrounded by Land"
! Not until modern times-except
during the momentary empire OF Alex.
ander-has Greece meant a nation.
IN the Grecian Golden Age, as we'll as
/ pelore and since, Greece was a house
| aiVlded against itself It's detailed
| history would mean the history of
more than $50 separate states. And
| let there was at all times some feel
ing OF Hellenic nationality even
! though the rivalries among the va
| '1ous groups stood in the way Of fu-
sion into a single nation.
! While Great Britain may be de-
scr1bed az land surrounded by seas,
Greece may be said to be "a sea sur-
rounded by land The Hellenes have
always been a sca-faring folk, and
the mediterranean sea and more par
ticularly the Aegean have been their
| own particular herring ponds The
| Islands of the eastern Mediterranean
became Greek territory in their en-
tircty, and this was true also of the
.Ijand like Pelcponncsus and some
liter portions of the Greek PENN
sula. But an equally important
'art Of Greece-or better, of the land
OF the Hellenes---were the settlements
4Ade by it's mariners on the shores of
the mainland that hem in the Medi-
t&rranean. These settlements consti-
Luted an unbrokenn fringe of Hellas
along the shores Of Asia Minor, and
scattered communities on the shores
OF Italy, in Sicily, even in northern,
Africa and what, is now southern
France. This was the loose Greece
or Hollaa at its greatest--a domain
Of one people but OF many states.
Greece Had League Of Nations Against
External Aggression.
Greece gave the world its first
League OF Nations: the Delian League,
organized in Az p. G. by way Of nu-
tual protection against the external
aggression of/Persia, which had q
sort of Berlin-to -Bagdad ambition of
it's own in those days. Athens was
the only principal power in this
league and was the recognized leader
of the organization.
Later came the hegemony Of Ath-
ems by force, the paradoXical empire
# democracy. bereft even Of the
trapping3 of monarchy. At this period
and under what may be termed the
empires Of Sparta and Thebes, a close
approach to "A Greek nation may be
said TO have existed; but in none of
these eras were most Of the territories
peopled by Greeks included. and even
large parts of the Greek peninsula it
self were governed by other Hellenic
states. For a brief period under
Alexander the Great Greece reached
the status Of a nation, but it was q
tpSion forced by a virtual outsider
and contained much territory inhabit-
ed by others than Greeks; and on
the death Of the great military genius
the Hellenes separated again into nu-
merous governmental units. ...
Greece, expanding from the city
state, had comprised for moment
almost the whole civilized world but
the great dilation was followed, by
an equally great contraction. Greece
fell under the rising power Of Rome,
and became mere province in the
western empire.
THE military ability and power of
the Greeks died under the Roman
yoke; but when the Eastern Empire
was formed with Constantinople as it's
seat, Greek culture conquered where
Greek arms could hot, and Byzantium
became in reality a great Greek state.
Once more the territory that by con-
struction at least, can be regarded as
Greece, spread outward until it held
within it's boundaries much Of south
eastern Europe. 1t is on reviving tho
SlOry OF TINS perlOQ IN GreClan history
that Greek ambition, when it could
| live at all, has dwelt.
Greece Snuficd Ont TcrIitorially
| "The night OF Greecc's martyrdom
was not under the Roman yoke but
IN the long period from the fall Of
hVzantium to modern times. During
that time Greece was all but snuffed
out territorially while the blood Of
its people suffered dilution from the
hordcs OF conquerors and immigrants
or almost every nation OF Europe that
poured in upon it-Albanians, SlavS,
Teutons, Spanish, French, Venctians,
Turks. In 1869 Turkey finally gained
complete dominance OF what had been
Greece