Grigorios Konstantas

Grigorios Konstantas (; 1753–1844) was a Greek scholar and figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment. He was actively involved in various educational issues as well as participated in the Greek War of Independence.

Life

Konstantas was born in the village of Milies, Thessaly, Ottoman Empire (present-day Greece), where he received early schooling. At the age of 20 he went to Mount Athos, Chios and Constantinople (Istanbul) where he attended courses in ecclesiastical schools. In 1780 he moved to Bucharest and in 1784 he started his teaching activity in the local Princely Academy. With the arrival of Prince Otto he left the orphanage and in 1835 he returned to his hometown, which was still under Ottoman rule. There he continued his teaching activity until his death, in 1844. It reflected a new revolutionary era in European history after the outbreak of the French Revolution and aired sharp social criticism castigating the corruption of the church authorities, the idleness of monasticism and popular superstition. This work was welcomed with enthusiasm by western intellectuals, especially in France; however, it was largely neglected among Greek scholars, mainly due to the vernacular (Demotic) language the authors used.

Konstantas also edited an anonymous work attributed to Nicholas Mavrocordatos, Φιλοθέου Πάρεργα (The Parerga of Philotheos), printed in Venice, 1800. Moreover, he translated a number of works including: Στοιχεία της Λογικής, Μεταφυσικής και Ηθικής (Elements of Logic, Metaphysics and Ethics, by Francesco Soave), Venice, 1804 Γενική Ιστορία (General history by Abbe Milliot), Venice, 1806