The atmosphere was cordial and emotional yesterday afternoon at a special swearing-in ceremony held at the Bank of Greece. It was about the honorary naturalization of the eminent Scottish Hellenist Roderick Beaton, a brilliant historian and holder of the Korai Chair of History at King’s College from 1988 to 2018. I wonder how this place was chosen for his inauguration. The reason is that there is a long friendship between Giannis Sturnaras and the Brit.

In fact, a proposal for the latter’s honorary naturalization was made by the governors of the Bank of Greece, to which the government responded immediately through Minister of the Interior Makis Voridis and the responsible general secretary, Athanasios Balerbas, who swore in. . The ceremony was marked by the presence of the President of the Greek Parliament, Konstantinos Tasoulas. The President of the Greek Government was represented by Secretary General of Higher Education Odysseus Ioannis Zoras.

old friend

“We are happy to welcome, and now officially, in our bosom the great Greek Rodrik Beaton. His honorary naturalization is simply a formal confirmation of a lifelong relationship with Greek letters and Greek culture,” Yiannis Sturnaras enthusiastically declared yesterday. He explained that they were introduced by the former British Ambassador to Greece, John Kitmer, who is also a deep connoisseur of our history, language and literature. Their friendship was born at a difficult time.

This was the stage where Beaton fought hard to keep the headquarters and succeeded with the support of the Chamber of Commerce, individuals and organizations. This is just one of his achievements, which, of course, extend to studies, writing, teaching, cultural diplomacy.

Modern Philhellenicism

“Beaton,” Yannis Sturnaras stressed in his speech, “belongs to a tradition of newer and more modern philhellenicism, which was discovered after the war by such writers as Henry Miller, Patrick Lee Fermor, Lawrence Durrell, Kevin Andrews, Edmund Keely, Philip Sherard . and others. This philhellenicism, in contrast to the traditional one, oriented exclusively towards the ancient Greek heritage, gravitates toward medieval and modern Greek culture.

The focus is on language as a key element of the Hellenistic continuity and the main component of Greek identity. As he states in the introduction to his latest book, The Greeks. World History”, “Greeks are those who speak Greek”. Based on this definition, the professor, Brigadier General of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic since 2019, is already Greek. Greece is his homeland, in the same sense in which Thomas Mann said: “My homeland is the German language.”