Adamantios Korais

Adamantios Korais (Greek: Αδαμαντιος Κοραης) (Born: April 27, 1748 - Died: April 6, 1833). Greek Scholar also known as "Teacher of the Nation". He was born in Smyrna, in 1748, he was the son of Ioannis Korais, a wealthy merchant involved in the rag trade, from the island of Chios and Thomasina Rysios (daughter of the rich merchant Adamantios Rysios) a Smyrna woman.

He commenced studies in the Evangelical school of Smyrna, a school that did not offer education and Adamantios was forced to complement his studies by reading books he inherited from his rich grandfather Adamantios Rysios.

His father Ioannis, did not envisage his son as a scholar. In 1771 he sent him to Amsterdam to take control of the local business branch. The cultural freedom in Amsterdam increased his appetite for knowledge and he neglected the business in order to devod himself to the Arts and Culture. Using numerous private teachers, he studied the languages Dutch, Hebrew,Spanish and French as well as Geometry, fencing and Kythar. He also frequently visited the opera.

The assistant manager of the business was very worried and constantly in touch with his parents. It did not take long for the business to close and in 1778, he was forced to return to Smyrna. It took four years (1782) for Korais to travel to Paris, France to study Medicine in University of Montpellier. After the death of both parents, he relied upon the support of relatives and friends to survive as his only income was from translations of German and English medical documents into French. He also translated some dokuments for the Metropolite of Moscow Plato in to Greek.

in 1788, Korais graduated from the University of Montpellier with a degree in Medicine and settled in Paris.

A classical scholar, Korais was repelled by the Byzantine influence in Greek society and was a fierce critic of the ignorance of the clergy and their subservience to the Ottoman Empire, although Korais admitted that it was the Orthodox Church that preserved the national identity of Greeks. His main preoccupation was with education and he encouraged wealthy Greeks to open new libraries and schools throughout Greece, Korais believed that education would ensure not only the achievement of independence but also the establishment of a proper constitution for the new liberated Greek state. Adamantios Korais also assisted in creating a purified form of the Greek language, Katharevousa, largely based on ancient Greek and devoid of foreign influence.

Korais died in Paris in 1833. His remains were taken to Athens in 1877 and reinterred in the A' Athens Cemetery. His private library of 3,500 volumes was donated to the Greek state.