The death of the great Greek lexicographer and philologist Emmanuel Kriaras on August 22, spread sorrow in the academic world of Greece. He lived to become 107 and during the last years he claimed that people were most interested in his age rather than his work and beliefs.
He had many times expressed his views over the financial crisis, the rise of racism, the modern Greeks and love.
For modern Greeks
Kriaras believed that modern Greeks admire their ancestors but without being able to understand them. He had said that the Greeks want to work less and earn as much money as possible. He claimed that the controversial statement of Theodoros Pangalos “we all ate together” is true, meaning that modern society lacks solidarity and instead there is prevalence of the individual interest and materialism.
According to Kriaras, Greek people are intelligent, but intelligence isn’t helpful for people with no moral mentality.
For young people
Kriaras opposed to the immigration of young Greeks to other countries due to the crisis. He believed that young people should stay and work in Greece, to build a better future. He advised them not to get easily disappointed and get involved in politics. “Politics is your life,” he said, “if that goes bad, then your life is also bad.”
For the current political situation
He said that the ultra nationalist Golden Dawn party and its supporters could destroy Greece. Kriaras, however, wasn`t a supporter of the left-wing SYRIZA or the Greek Communist Party (KKE) as he didn`t trust their policies. He had stated that he wasn`t intrested in politics because the contemporary political life is leading to conservatism.
For Skopje
The lexicographer had stated that the name “Northern Macedonia” would not bother him as it shows that Skopje is in the northern and Greece in the southern part of Macedonia. “A part of Macedonia is Greek and others are Bulgarian and Slavic. They certainly want to benefit from Alexander the Great. Alexander was not a Skopjan. It is ridiculous. Alexander was a student of Aristotle and Aristotle taught him Greek,” he said.
“When they talk about the “Macedonian language” they mean the Slavic dialect. The language spoken by Alexander isn’t yet identified. Linguists who study the issue argue that it was related to the Greek language,” he had stated.
For love
Kriaras was married for 65 years to his wife Aikaterini, with whom he was deeply in love. “My joy [his wife] has gone. The love that inspired me – the love for life and creation – is no longer there. So, thank you for the greetings and gifts, but they are now redundant. And in our era, there is no room for redundancies,” he told the Athens Macedonian News Agency.
The great journey of life
Kriaras believed that life is full of satisfactions but also full of sorrows. He was a lucky man, he had said, as he did a useful job that has been widely recognized. In one of his last interviews, Kriaras had said that he never wanted to live for so long and the time has come for him to go. He had complained that the journalists were more impressed by his age, and not his work and personality. He had noted that the secret for longevity is a happy marriage and eating less food.
“My age frightens me. I feel that my childhood is close and far away at the same time. Am I the same? I wonder,” he said.
Despite the 107 years he lived, Kriaras couldn’t deal with the death of the people he loved. “I can’t cope with the loss of friends and loved ones. At my wife’s funeral I said: I’ll be with you soon. It won’t take long. Yet I was late. It’s been so many years.”
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