The geographical position of Greece gives it a strategic and historical role in Europe, the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. That is why we can say that the Greeks had a role in the historical events in these regions which translated itself in the cultural exchange and the double influence in culture. In that sense, we can affirm tha...t Greece is the meeting point between the East and the West.
The Relationship between the Ancient Greek Civilization and the Arab Civilization
Ancient Greece had a strong relationship with the Arab region that can be noticed by the movements of the populations between Greece and the Arab world. Till today, we can find Greek communities in Syria, Jordan, Palestine and other territories of the Arab world.
The commercial relationship between the Greeks and the Phoenicians and the rest of the population of the region lead to an intercultural communication between the different communities.
Philistines
Even the name Palestine (Philistine) was taken from the name of a people coming from the Greek islands in 1200 BC and lived in Gaza and lafa and mixed with the Canaanites later. Even the Arabs viewed the Greeks, as Herodotus mentioned, like witnesses in this relationship to the historical right of the land.
In 322 BC Alexander the Great, who annexed apart of the Arab world and joined it to the Greek Empire, was received by the local populations like a hero, because of their (common) religious belief during that period. The Greek temples, monuments that we can find in the Arab region, prove the strong historical relationship between the Arabs and the Greeks. Even in Islam, we can find in the Koran some writings referring to Alexander the Great as a prophet who built a bridge between “two mountains” which means two different ideologies and two ways of thinking. That is why the Arabs treated the Greek writings and documents with respect and they translated them by adding more to them. We can say that the documents translated by the Arabs are the only source of some of the ancient Greek documents.
The Role of the Greek Orthodox Church
When the Christian religion appeared, the Greeks were the first to believe in it. That is why the Greek Church also played a historical role in the area. For example, in the Conference of the Greek Church in the year 546 AD in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, a decision was taken to forbid the Jewish from entering Palestine. The Church played a role in the Crusades (Church War) and also in the cultural and spiritual communications between the Arabs and the Greeks. It has a respected position in Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and other Arab areas where one can find Greek schools and elements of Christianity.
Even nowadays the Greek Church has many believers among the Christian Arabs, which proves that the Greek Church continues to play the role of the Ancient Greek civilization to the Arab world. That is how we can understand the Greek support to the Arab cases before the Greek Republic.
The Period of the Ottoman Empire
The Arabs and the Greeks shared together a historical period of 400 years the age of the Ottoman hegemonic control which is described by the Arabs as the “period of darkness” while the Greeks consider it as the “worst period” of their history. So, both of them lived under the same conditions, psychologically by suffering and struggling against the Ottoman rule. When the Zionist movement was looking out for Jewish homeland, they considered Greece as well as part of the Arab world to be future options for Jewish settlement. Th. Herzl, the leader of the Zionist movement, offered cooperation to the Ottoman Sultan, means economic help to the media to fight against the revolution in Clytoe, under the condition that Palestine will be given to him. But the Sultan refused because he was worried about the reaction of the Christian and the Islamic worlds.
Britain offered Cyprus to the Zionist movement and the latter sent a commission to study the situation in this area, but due to some reasons they did not like the idea, so they had to offer Cyprus as an exchange for Palestine. From these historical events, we can see how much the Greeks and the Arab world are sharing a common history
The Relationship between the Ancient Greek Civilization and the Arab Civilization
Ancient Greece had a strong relationship with the Arab region that can be noticed by the movements of the populations between Greece and the Arab world. Till today, we can find Greek communities in Syria, Jordan, Palestine and other territories of the Arab world.
The commercial relationship between the Greeks and the Phoenicians and the rest of the population of the region lead to an intercultural communication between the different communities.
Philistines
Even the name Palestine (Philistine) was taken from the name of a people coming from the Greek islands in 1200 BC and lived in Gaza and lafa and mixed with the Canaanites later. Even the Arabs viewed the Greeks, as Herodotus mentioned, like witnesses in this relationship to the historical right of the land.
In 322 BC Alexander the Great, who annexed apart of the Arab world and joined it to the Greek Empire, was received by the local populations like a hero, because of their (common) religious belief during that period. The Greek temples, monuments that we can find in the Arab region, prove the strong historical relationship between the Arabs and the Greeks. Even in Islam, we can find in the Koran some writings referring to Alexander the Great as a prophet who built a bridge between “two mountains” which means two different ideologies and two ways of thinking. That is why the Arabs treated the Greek writings and documents with respect and they translated them by adding more to them. We can say that the documents translated by the Arabs are the only source of some of the ancient Greek documents.
The Role of the Greek Orthodox Church
When the Christian religion appeared, the Greeks were the first to believe in it. That is why the Greek Church also played a historical role in the area. For example, in the Conference of the Greek Church in the year 546 AD in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, a decision was taken to forbid the Jewish from entering Palestine. The Church played a role in the Crusades (Church War) and also in the cultural and spiritual communications between the Arabs and the Greeks. It has a respected position in Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and other Arab areas where one can find Greek schools and elements of Christianity.
Even nowadays the Greek Church has many believers among the Christian Arabs, which proves that the Greek Church continues to play the role of the Ancient Greek civilization to the Arab world. That is how we can understand the Greek support to the Arab cases before the Greek Republic.
The Period of the Ottoman Empire
The Arabs and the Greeks shared together a historical period of 400 years the age of the Ottoman hegemonic control which is described by the Arabs as the “period of darkness” while the Greeks consider it as the “worst period” of their history. So, both of them lived under the same conditions, psychologically by suffering and struggling against the Ottoman rule. When the Zionist movement was looking out for Jewish homeland, they considered Greece as well as part of the Arab world to be future options for Jewish settlement. Th. Herzl, the leader of the Zionist movement, offered cooperation to the Ottoman Sultan, means economic help to the media to fight against the revolution in Clytoe, under the condition that Palestine will be given to him. But the Sultan refused because he was worried about the reaction of the Christian and the Islamic worlds.
Britain offered Cyprus to the Zionist movement and the latter sent a commission to study the situation in this area, but due to some reasons they did not like the idea, so they had to offer Cyprus as an exchange for Palestine. From these historical events, we can see how much the Greeks and the Arab world are sharing a common history
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