Geographical name changes in Greece: Difference between revisions
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== Notable geographical name changes == |
== Notable geographical name changes == |
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Since 1977 all Turkish village names of [[Western Thrace]] have been changed to Greek names. Western Thrace is home to a large Turkish minority. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 12:42, 9 June 2013
The geographical name change in Greece was an initiative by the Greek government to replace non-Greek geographical and topographic names within the Greek Republic with Greek names as part of a policy and ideology of Hellenisation.[1][2]The main proponent of the initiative has been a Greek homogenization social-engineering campaign which aimed to assimilate or obliterate geographical or topographical names that were deemed foreign and divisive against Greek unity or considered to be "bad Greek".[3] The names that were considered foreign were usually of Ottoman, Albanian, Slavic and Turkish origin.[4] Most of the name changes ocurred in the ethnically heterogenous northern Greece and the Arvanite settlements in central Greece. Place names of Greek origin were also renamed after names in Classical Greece.[5]
The policy commenced after the independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1830s, after the territorial expanses of Greece and continued into the Greek Republic.[6] To this day use of the old Turkish, Albanian or Slavic placenames by authorities, organisations and individuals is penalized under Greek law.[7]
Notable geographical name changes
Since 1977 all Turkish village names of Western Thrace have been changed to Greek names. Western Thrace is home to a large Turkish minority.
| Old name | Named changed to: | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Liopesi | Paiania | Old name was Arvanite |
| Menidi | Acharnes | Old name was Arvanite |
| Gümülcine | Komotini | Ottoman version of the old original Byzantine name Koumoutzina |
References
- ^ Tsitselikis, Konstantinos (2012). Old and New Islam in Greece: From Historical Minorities to Immigrant Newcomers. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 49. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Zacharia, Katerina (2012). Hellenisms: culture, idenitity, and ethnicity from antiquity to modernity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 230-233. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Zacharia, Katerina (2012). Hellenisms: culture, idenitity, and ethnicity from antiquity to modernity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 230-233. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Zacharia, Katerina (2012). Hellenisms: culture, idenitity, and ethnicity from antiquity to modernity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 230-233. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Zacharia, Katerina (2012). Hellenisms: culture, idenitity, and ethnicity from antiquity to modernity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 230-233. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Zacharia, Katerina (2012). Hellenisms: culture, idenitity, and ethnicity from antiquity to modernity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 230-233. ISBN 9789004221529.
- ^ Tsitselikis, Konstantinos (2012). Old and New Islam in Greece: From Historical Minorities to Immigrant Newcomers. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 50. ISBN 9789004221529.