Ελληνική Σμύρνη GREEK SMYRNA

In the second part of our exploration of Greek Smyrna, this video enters into more detail about the institutions and customs which defined Greek Smyrna, and set it apart from other cities. It describes how Greek Smyrna was a very well-organised, and balanced city in terms of having facilities which were world-class, and very advanced for their time. As a small barometer of its achievements, Greek Smyrna boasted 9 hospitals, with specialists who were leaders in their fields, 387 schools, with 1944 teachers, and 63,000 male and female students.

 

Smyrna was also proud to have the Evangelical School (H Ευαγγελική Σχολή), a prestigious institution amongst whose graduates included Adamantios Korais, Manolis Kalomiris, and Aristotle Onassis, to name just a few famous alumni. The video also includes privileged snapshots of the life of Greek Smyrna citizens, ranging from the hospitals, theatre, entertainment district, and many other revealing photos and facts. I hope you enjoy this journey into a fascinating era which exemplified the sheer excellence, and high standards which the Greek people of Smyrna upheld so well, with their characteristic grace, and serene disposition.

 

Ελληνική Σμύρνη - Greek Smyrna

It is a well documented fact that the Greeks of Smyrna were an advanced civilization in all respects, and the following video is one example of how progressive they were, and before their time. It is also a reflection οf, and insight into, just how cosmopolitan Smyrna was in this era.

The Greeks of Smyrna were a people who published a vast array of newspapers which dealt with various topics of interest to their readers, and, apart from this, wrote invaluable literature which has survived the test of time, and, is thankfully stored at the Ένωση Σμυρναίων (The Association of Smyrnaens) which is in Athens, Greece. The role of Greek women in Smyrna society, also, is another topic explored in the video.

Women were more liberated in Smyrna than their female counterparts were in Greece, holding various employment positions outside the home but, at the same time, they were proud of, and valued their husbands and families, their families reciprocating this in return. The Greek women of Smyrna were also notable for their dignity, and the particular care they took with their appearance, wearing only the finest, most tasteful jewellery and fashions of the era.

Apart from this, the Greeks of Smyrna also partook in other cultural pursuits, and were active in sports such as soccer, hurdles, cycling, fencing, boxing, sailing, golf, tennis, and equestrian sports. Smyrna was also the birthplace of the rembetiko, and key singers of this music, such as Marika Ninou and Rita Abatzi, were born there. Finally, the video also outlines how the theatre was of paramount importance to the Greeks of Smyrna, and that Smyrna was the birthplace of noted Greek thespians, among these, Kyveli Adrianou, Mitsos Myrat, and over one hundred and fifty others. I hope you enjoy this excellent video.