The exhibition showcases the significant collection of Asia Minor editions, manuscripts, and documents of the Gennadius Library from 1764 to 1922, focusing on the geographical dispersion of Greek printing houses in Smyrna (Izmir), where the «Smyrnaean Bibliography» records more than 2,000 editions, as well as in Kydonies (Ayvalik) and Trebizond (Trabzon). The book, as a…
An important cartographical rendering of the region of Asia Minor is shown in the Map of the Ottoman State printed in Athens in 1861. A series of studies, bound together thanks to the interest and care of the founder of the Library, Joannes Gennadius, offer early testimonies about the Hellenism of Asia Minor. Studies concerning…
In addition to publications, newly acquired manuscripts offer snapshots of the daily life of the Greeks, but also of the tragic events of the Asia Minor Campaign. The notebook of a teacher who studied in Kydonies with notes on mathematics, algebra, and geometry, exemplifies the ramifications of Greek education in the early 19th century. The…
In the Ottoman period the first Greek schools operated near the church. Eventually, the basic unit of education became the community school, which offered primary education even to girls. Secondary education was available in the large cities in the Central Schools and Gymnasia, i.e. the Evangelical School of Smyrna, the Academy of Kydonies, and the…
A wide range of novels and theatrical plays highlight the lively cultural environment of Smyrna, especially on the theater stage. Among the original Greek editions, we should single out the Neos Erotokritos, a verse adaptation of the work of Vincenzo Cornaro in a katharevousa Phanariot language by Dionysios Fotinos, as well as the works of…
Many publications of female interest reflect the increasingly active role that women played in the society of Asia Minor. The establishment of girls’ schools, such as the «Homerion Girls’ School of Smyrna,» from the middle of the 19th century, exemplifies the special concern for female education. The scope of women’s education was to edify a…
The intense religious character of Asia Minor stems from the tradition of the Churches of the Apocalypse, while the rich and lively Christian heritage of the Byzantine era was preserved during the Ottoman period. The original schoolbooks were ecclesiastical: the Octoechos and the Psalter. The first known book printed in Smyrna is the Akolouthia of…
The exhibition presents the important collection of Asia Minor editions at the Gennadius Library, with a focus on the geographical dispersion of Greek printing houses in the cities of Smyrna (the “Smyrnaean Bibliography” records more than 2,000 editions), Kydonies (Aivalik), Trebizond (Trabzon), and Amisos (Samsun). The history of Greek typography in Asia Minor begins in…
