The dispute over a Greek history book

Amalia van Gent reports that a new history textbook brought out by the Greek Ministry of Education is causing a stir. The Orthodox Church has accused the initiators of the textbook, which was published by historian Maria Repousi and is intended for sixth graders, of embellishing the details of Greek-Turkish relations for reasons of political correctness and of undermining the role of the Orthodox Church. According to van Gent, this is intentional: "Maria Repousi and her group decided to ignore the legend of the 'secret school' in the new book, for example. According to the legend, which originated in the 19th century, the Greek language and culture only survived thanks to the efforts of Orthodox priests who resisted a ban imposed by the Ottoman Empire and secretly taught children in churches and monasteries. The picture by the famous painter Nicolaos Gyzis, showing a white-bearded Pope reading to a group of girls and boys by candlelight, has influenced generations of Greeks, but it has little to do with historical reality. The fact is Greek schools were not forbidden under the Ottoman Empire."

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