The Cultural Association To Hellenikon gathers university professors and researchers whose scientific and teaching interests focus on Greek civilization, in its different manifestations and historical phases. The association also extends its invitation to Italian and foreign scholars, who, even outside the academic world, are engaged in studying Greek civilization and its traditions due to their professional activities.
The fundamental idea of To Hellenikon is that Greek civilization should be considered in the vastness of its experience, layered over time and varied in spaces and spheres, yet definable by some basic elements. One of these is the Greek language, which, in its millennial existence, has undergone radical changes, also in response to shifting communicative contexts, but has preserved much of its original characteristics: so much so that today's dimotikì is nothing more than the latest evolution of the language documented by the Mycenaean tablets. In the same way, and from a synchronic perspective this time, the regional specificities of the epicoric dialects can be traced back to a "common" Greek language, easily recognizable in its vocabulary and grammatical structures.
If the Greek language is an expressive medium of extraordinary strength in every era and region, the Greek identity is also reflected in other dimensions. The dynamics of Greek civilization highlight a clear tendency to constantly reshape political structures and social categories, developing cores and codes of thought that would play a canonical role in Europe and beyond. The same can be applied to literary production and the evolution of the arts. What is most striking, even here, is the extraordinary ability to change the expressive result, adopting new forms, themes, and sensibilities, but in constant dialogue with the past. Thus, "unum e pluribus," but perhaps a better conception is developed by Herodotus (VIII 144.2) when he has the Athenians say that solidarity is ensured by sharing a common foundation, composed not only of language, "to Hellenikon" indeed.
Greek civilization is vast "far and wide," due to its variety in development and its projection across generations and diverse contexts: the Bronze Age, the Middle Ages, archaism, the Classical Age, Hellenism, the Imperial Age, late antiquity, Byzantium, modern Greek reality and today's Greek reality. This results in a field of research that necessarily opens up to coordinated action of both different skills and methodologies. To Hellenikon To Hellenikon sets out to offer a space for dialogue and exchange between linguistics and literary production scholars, philologists, historians, archaeologists, art, philosophy, and religion historians, called to cooperate, according to their respective orientations, in the field of Universities and cultural debate.
To Hellenikon therefore sets out to organize initiatives promoting research on Greek civilization and enhancing it within contexts that encourage cultural exchange.
In addition to more usual activities, such as conferences, seminars, and lecture cycles, the Association intends to organize trips and promote research fellowships, collaborate in the production of shows and events, and promote publications. Particular attention will undoubtedly be paid to the world of the school, with the involvement of teachers and students: it is essential to wonder about which school policies and teaching methods are capable of maintaining a solid relationship with Greek civilization in classical high schools and of increasing its strength, for an unavoidable contribution to the construction of modern awareness.
By its very nature, To Hellenikon is a space for dialogue and interaction within a large set of Scientific-Disciplinary Groups. This is undoubtedly an important space, especially in a time marked by serious uncertainties for the humanities and the structural survival of sectors with modest impact on the Italian cultural debate, and when overcoming the narrow confines between disciplines has become increasingly urgent.
