Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1921-01-05
GREECE, NEWaNATloN OF
AN ANCIENT PEOPLE.

NV fOsvSuSsV8 S0s oess
The question of succession to the
throne Of Klnk Alexander Of Greece
turned world interest once more to
southeastern Europe. Tie changes
Greece has undergone territoriaily and
the part II has played In the wars and
crises Of It's corner Of the world. are
discussed In the following bulletin is-
sued by the National Geographic So
ciety: 49,
"What IL Grcecef
"In the light Of the past the answer
might well be tentative. for dehni-
tion Of Greece's area at any time dur
Ing the thousands Of years Of Its his
tory would have held good hardly for
a quarter century; and In latter years.
no swift have been the changes In the
new Greece. each decade has seen the
fixing Of new boundaries.
'NOt until modern times-except
during the momentary empire Of Alex
ander-has Greece meant nation.
In the Grecian Golden Age. us well
as before and since, Greece was a
house divided against itself. Its de-
tailed history would mean the history
Uf more than 100 separate states
And yet there was at all times some
feeling OF Hellenic nationality even
though the rivalrles among the va
rIOus groups stood In the way Of fu'
sion into single nation.
"Whlle Great Britain may be de-
scribed us a land surrounded by seas
Greece may be said to be a sea sur
rounded by land The Hellenes have
always been sea-fnrlng folk. and
the Mediterranean sea. and more par
tlcuiarly the Aegean have been their
own particular herring ponds The
islnnds Of the eastern Mediterranean
became Greek territory In their en-
tirety, and this was true also Of the
island-like PelOpOnnesus and some
other portions Of the Greek peninsula.
but an equally important part Of
Greece-Of better. Of the land Of the
Hellenes-were the settlements made
by Its mariners on the shores Of the
mainland that hem In the Mediter-
ranean. These settlements consti-
tuted an unbroken fringe " 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 HelDas Mt Its greatest--a domain
Of one people but Of mdny states.
'Greece gave the world Its first
League Of Nations. the Delian league.
organized In AZ Il. G. by way of mu-
tual protection against the external
aggression Of Persia. which had
sort Of Berlin-to-B -Bagdnd ambition Of
Its 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
Of democracy, bereft even Of the
trappIngs Of monarchy. At this pc
riOd and under what may be termed
the empires Of Sparta and Thebes, a
close approach to Greek nation may
be said to have existed: but In none
Of these eras were most Of the terri
tories peopled by Greeks included. and
even large parts Of the Greek PENN.
sula itself were governed by other
Hellenic states. For a brief period
under Alexander the Great, Greece
reached the stntus OF a nation, but Il
was a fusion forced by a virtual ont.
slider and contained much territory in.
habited by others than Greeks: and
on the death Of the great military
genius the Hellenes separated again
into numerous governmental units.
"Greece, expanding from the city
state, had comprised for a moment
almost the whole civilized world: hut
the great dilation was followed by ain
equally great contraction. Greece fell
under the rising power of Rome, and
became mere province In the west.
ern empire.
"The military ability and power Of
the Greeks died under the Roman
yoke; hut when the Eastern empire
was formed with ConstantinOple a. its
seat, Greek culture conquered where
Greek arms could not, and Byxantium
becnme In reality a great Greek state.
Once more the territory that. by con.
struction at least. can he REGARDED as
Greece, spread outward until Il held
within it, boundaries much Of south.
eastern Europe. II II ON rcviving the
glory Of this period In Grecinn history
that Greek ambition. when II could
live at all. has dwelt."