Educatiob of Greek armed forces from the Greek Revolution to the revival of the Olympic Games (1821-1896)

Educatiob of Greek armed forces from the Greek Revolution to the revival of the Olympic Games (1821-1896)

Par Kiriakidis, Marios

University of Athens

Résumé

This thesis attempts to contribute to the study and research of education of the Greek Armed Forces on the eve of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until the time of the First Olympic Games of the Modern period in 1896. It also attempts to the evaluation of the studying programs implemented and the education organizations set up that time in order to describe and understand the overall evolution of the military education of the Greeks. We studied the established based military schools of the west-european countries during the period under review, to show whether affected the organization of the Greek military schools of the time.The years that followed the Greek Revolution in 1821, the structured and organized training of military personnel directly associated with the pursuit of the rulers of the newly-founded state to the endowment with Westwind institutions, because the imitation of western models would be a kind of guarantee for the legitimacy of the new stateTherefore the organization, training and development of the military corps in Greece in the 19th century, must be studied in relation to the socio-political developments, the Greek foreign policy and the overall perception of education at the time. The Greek army, therefore, was organized in such a climate and with many ethno-cultural elements, because of the Romantic Movement across Europe, within an international context where Europe’s Western troops were composed of noblemen who guarantied safety and they could suppress any revolutionary movement. So in Greece, organizers and commanders of the army came from the aristocratic – military rank of Bavaria and the main task of the army in its first thirty years was the consolidation of the central authority. Through a long-time path of switching political expediency, social conflicts and foreign influences, the Greek military education of the armed forces grew, acquiring scientific background based on the Principles of Education and was associated with the Great Idea that pervades almost the entire 19th century.The social advancement of the military in the new Greek bourgeoisie gradually takes over from foreign military officers of the higher social classes. During the Olympic Games in 1896, the fruit of this education came out, the army and navy and became the subject of admiration and positive commentary from Greek and foreign journalists of the time. The armed forces contributed dynamically to the organization and the conduct of the Olympic Games, which took place in 1896 in Athens.Their military education was aimed at the creation of competent and useful leader of the armed forces, who could carry out any mission that would take.

Thomas Fressin

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