Constantine Karamanlis: "The Greece of Karamanlis"

Essay by JarnismUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, February 2006

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In his book, "The Greece of Karamanlis", Maurice Genevoix describes in great detail Greece's most beloved and respected political figure, Constantine Karamanlis. It is an account of a man's life, who was on a mission to restore the democracy in the Greek world. I had decided to take this book into account as a text for my analysis of a Greek historical work because Karamnlis' place of origin and time period in which he lived, interested me the most. I was able to enhance my understanding about the political development of Greece throughout the 20th century and the political hero who provided hope for the unstable Greek government, by investigating the history behind the fight for Macedonian-Greeks' independence, the Second World War, the two civil wars and Karamanlis' establishment as a Prime Minister.

Genevoix has established a base for the story of the 'President' of Greece, by very prompt explanation of the essential reasons behind looking back in time at the life of a hero:

It is indeed one of my deepest convictions, which experience has constantly confirmed, that the years of childhood have a decisive importance in the formation of character and the direction of destiny.

In his opinion, truly understanding a nationally important figure like Karamanlis, would include an in deep research of his past as to increase the reader's perception and enlighten the character with more insightful information about how and why did he grew to be the leader of national recognition. In a way the past of a person provides a back door into his or her reasons and moral values, which will explain their later actions.

The historical account provided by Genevoix strengthened his points by bestowing further information of the struggle through which the Greek government had been put. In other words, he...