User:MaryRazou/Κωνσταντίνος Κούμας

Konstantinos Koumas (Larissa, 1777 - Trieste, 1836) was a Greek teacher of the Nation, pioneer of the modern Greek Enlightenment, historian, philosopher and literary translator

Childhood and studies

He was born in Larisa in 1777.His father was Michael Koymas

'',a fur merchant. Fearing that the janissaries would take him, he spent his chilhood hiding in the house until he was ten years old , without going to school or church. In 1787, due to a plague that broke out in Carissa, Kouma's family fled to Tyrannosaur. There little Constantine learned to read the seminaries in the church and the Savior of the Land of Sinners. Because he developed a great zeal for letters, his parents taught him for fifteen years in the school of Tyrannosaur, where he had a teacher, John Prosper. He studied there for six years and gained a reputation as a distinguished student. He taught ancient Greek classical writers and basic principles of philosophy together with mathematics, geometry and physics, in which he seems to have a special inclination. The Metropolitan of Carissa, Dionysios Kalliarchis, took him with him to Constantinople and recommended him to the Grand Interpreter of the High Gate, Konstantinos Ypsilantis. When Ypsilantis was proclaimed ruler of Wallachia, he offered to hire him for his services, but Koumas preffered to return to his homeland, where he bacame a teacher.''

Teacher in Tsaritsani and Ambelakia

''Due to the constant terrorism of the Turks, he took refuge in Tsaritsani, where he taught and preached from a pulpit. He taught Greek and scientific courses in simple Greek according to the standards of the democrats and introduces algebra as a new course. In October 1798 he married the sister-in-law of hiw teacher John Pezaros.''

''Then he went to Ambelakia, where Grigorios Konstantas and the Kefalonian doctor Spyridon Asanis taught, from whom he learned algebra. In 1799 Koumas had a daughter but lost his wife. Deeply sad, he takes refuge in Ambelakia, where he works with Asanis to translate the work of the French astronomer and mathematician Abbe de la Caile On conical sections.''

In Vienna

''At the end pf 1803, Anthimos Gazis took him with him to Vienna, when he visited hiw birthplace in the summer. And Koumas wanted to know “The enlightened Eyrope”. In the Aystri-Hungarian capital, where he was pastor of a prosperous Greek community, he included Kouma in his staff for the pyblication of his Greek dictionary. Koumas was also appointed special teacher of the wealthy merchant Stefanos Moschos and at the same time enrolled as a stydent at the Univercity, studying mainly mathematics. With the strong echo of the French Revolution, Vienna pf the time is overflowing with freedom and new ideas, it is a center of intellectual and artistic movement, it has a univercity since 1365, while books, newspapers and magazines are published in various languages. He starts learning German himself. 1807 was a difficult year for Kouma, as after the death of his father he found himself in a dire financial situation.''

Επανάσταση και διαφυγή στην Αυστρία
In Smyrna

''In 1808 he received an invitation from the Greeks of Smyrna to take over the management of the newly established Public School, which the following year was renamed the Philological High School of Smyrna. At the urging of Adamantion Korais, who appreciated him for his abilities, he accepted amd left.In this position he taught mathematics, philosophy, experimental physics, geography and ethics, while he organized physical and chemical experiments by equipping the school with the corresponding instruments [7]. With his teaching he introduced rationalism and experimentation, displacing the ecclesiastical tradition of teaching based on memorization and obedience. He gained a great reputation as a worthy school organizer, and Patriarch Cyril VII invited him to Constantinople to direct the Great School of the Nation. In 1814 he accepted the principality of the Kourotsesmeio school in Xirokrini (north of Istanbul), where he remained for only one year [7] and returned to Smyrna, where in 1815 he married his daughter.''

His attitude towards the Friendly Society ''Koumas was beaten to become a member of the Friendly Society, but he was skeptical, if not negative, about the Revolution and the Friends. In his work "Stories of human deeds ..." (1832) he describes many friends as money-lovers, who catechized new members because they were paid one florin for each new member. He criticizes the Friends because they predicted the certain fall of the Ottoman Empire and "broke the brakes of the simplest". He described Alexandros Ypsilantis as "naive and childish". However, this negative attitude towards the Friendly Society was widespread among scholars before the Revolution.'' In Germany In October 1817 the Greek scholar went to Vienna to publish books and to enrich his knowledge. He travels to German universities and meets great contemporary scholars, such as Wolf, Krug, Schelling, Kreuzer. He admires the rational spirit of Immanuel Kant. The University of Leipzig awarded him a doctorate in Philosophy and Fine Arts by sending him the corresponding diploma in early 1820, while the Royal Academy of Berlin and the Academy of Munich in turn recognized him as an honorary member. After two-year wandering, which is particularly useful for his intellectual training, he will take the road back to Smyrna, having in his assets a rich translation and publishing work.

Return to Smyrna The school of Smyrna, however, was closed in 1819 and Koumas rejected the proposal for the management of the Evangelical School. During his stay there he translated a Greek-German dictionary (a "Reimer"), considering German the language of devotion to science and rationalism. This work is forced to stop with the proclamation of the Greek revolution. All his property, including his remarkable library, is confiscated by the Turks who consider him a suspect.

Revolution and escape in Austria He escapes by Austrian ship to Trieste. From there he will go to Vienna where he is arrested by the Austrian Metternich police on charges of involvement in a conspiracy, but he is quickly released on restrictive terms. In Vienna he completed the compilation of his dictionary - the only work he managed to save - and then proceeded to publish it, and immediately afterwards to write his History of Human Acts from Ancient Times to 1831.This work, published in the same year in 12 volumes, is his most important intellectual creation. In the period until 1836, Koumas twice refused to undertake duties related to educational events in Greece due to his fragile health.

His last years were spent in Trieste where he died in 1836 of cholera [7] at the age of 59.

Ηιs stance on the language issue Koumas has always remained "the most loyal and consistent follower of Korai", an opponent of the ancient, which he considers as a brake on the enlightenment effort for the progress of Greek-speaking education. Kumas believed in the social nature of education and believed that teaching in a more familiar language contributed decisively to this goal. For these reasons he came into conflict with representatives of the ancient language such as Neophytos Doukas.