Mani and the Maniates
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This book is primarily written for use of the student of Modern Greek at the high school or college level. The book can be used as a basis for a complete course of study, for reviewing, or for ready reference purposes.
It is the purpose of this book to present the rules of Greek pronunciation, grammar, and spelling in the most succinct form possible. This has been done, for the most part, by using the simplest charts that could be devised. In addition to the charts, lists of the most commonly used words and sample sentences are given. Before attempting to use the book, though, the facts that follow concerning the Greek language and the use of the book must be throughly understood.
Modern Greek has two forms. The puristic, kaqar?bousa, is a continuation of Ancient Greek. It is mainly used by the courts and the newspapers. The demotic, dhmotik?, is a more simple form that contains many words that are borrowed from other European languages. It is the language that is ordinarily spoken and written. Hopefully, to solve this language dilemma, these two forms will merge into one language in the future. For the present, though, the puristic and demotic forms must be distinguished. In this book when only one form is given it is the puristic, or it is used both in the puristic and demotic. When there is a distinct demotic form, it is placed after the puristic form. The sample sentences and verb listing given in this book are in the demotic.
The modern Greek language is spoken in a very dynamic fashion, questions and exclamations being especially emphasized. The speech is rapid, each syllable being stressed equally except for the one that is accented. The pronunciation of Greek should not be especially difficult for an English speaker. English is made up of fifty-six basic sounds, while Greek has only twenty-two. Only three sounds may cause difficulty. These are initial KS, initial PS, and CH; which correspondingly are represented by the letters X, Y, and C. C represents the only Greek sound that does not exist in English. But since this is the Scotch sound that is represented by CH, most English speakers are familiar with it.
With a few exceptions, Greek is a phonetic language, each letter having only one distinct sound. Even the exceptions follow fixed rules, as can be seen in the Greek Alphabet Chart. Although in Classical times there were various vowel lengths, today only the five Continental vowel sounds exist. But since Ancient Greek spelling has been retained in Modern Greek,
two or more symbols representing the same sound has resulted. For
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About the Book
Mani, Laconia, Greece has a unique position in the history of the Greek nation. Although a few
other regions of Greece at times opposed the Turks in their four hundred year occupation of Greece,
Mani continually opposed them. This book covers the history ofMani from her pre-historical period
to her independence from Turkey in 1821.
In prehistoric times Mani was inhabited by the Leleges, Achaeans, and Dorians. The Dorians
evolved into the Spartans. Tradition says that the Spartans were given their highly-disciplinary laws
by Lycurgus. They developed a society composed of freemen, perioeci, and helots. Nabis's revolt
drove the oligarchic Spartans to neighboring Mani. Mani first became a distinctive region when
Rome recognized her as the Commonwealth of the Lacedaemonians because she aided Augustus
in the battle of Actium.
Through the ages various people have immigrated to Mani: Albanians, Mardaltes, Slavs, and
Wallachians. Because of her isolation by the rugged mountain Taygetus, Mani was not generally
converted to Christianity until the tenth century. After the Crusaders conquered Constantinople in
1204, the Franks descended to Laconia, conquered her, and established themselves in three great
fortresses in Mani.
After the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453, the Maniates revolted eight different times
against the Turks. In 1685 the Venetians drove the Turks out of the Peloponnese, but in 1715 they
returned.
Two social classes developed in Mani: the Nyklians and achamnomeroi. The Nyklians were the
upper class of merchant-landowners. The Nyklians built tower houses to protect themselves during
their family feuds. To maintain peace, the Maniates evolved the "unwritten laws"' ofMani. They
developed the unique funeral dirge of revenge in which family dirge singers fanatically urged
revenge whenever a person was killed.
Each region of Mani was governed by a captain. From 1776-1821 the Maniates were ruled by a
bey, who was one of the captains of Mani. The Turks appointed this bey but had difficulties in
controlling him.
When the Renaissance came to western Europe, the Period of-Enlightenment also came to Mani.
This was manifested by the beautiful artwork in the many small Byzantine churches of Mani.
About the Author
John Antonakos is a retired electrical engineer who holds degrees in physics and electrical engineering. He was employed as an electrical engineer for over forty years, thirty-two of which were with the United States Army at
He has always been interested in history, biography, linguistics and ethnography, and has read widely in these fields. Being of Greek background, he is especially interested in exploring his roots.
In connection with these interests, in addition to this book, Noted Greeks of the Middle Ages, he has written or is writing books on the following Greek subjects: a compendium on the Greek language, a history of the Mani District of Greece, the experiences of his wife Eva during World War II, and the biographies of the noted Greeks of antiquity.