Adamantios Korais

Adamantios Korais (Coraïs) (April 27, 1748 - April 6, 1833) was a Greek intellectual. He was born in Smyrna, in 1748.

Korais was exceptionally passionate about Philosophy, Literacy and Linguistics and studied greatly throughout his youth. As an adult Korais traveled to Paris, France where he continued his learning and search for knowledge. He translated ancient Greek authors and produced 30 volumes of those translations. Korais graduated from the University of Montpellier in 1788 and was to spend most of his life as an expatriate 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 believed 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.

A portion of content for this article is credited to Wikipedia. Content under GNU Free Documentation License(GFDL)