Adamantios Korais

Adamantios Korais was born in Smyrna, in 1748, to a wealthy merchant family of Chios origin. He received his early education at the Evangelical Greek School of Smyrna, where he learned ancient and modern Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. He then studied medicine at the University of Montpellier in France, where he graduated in 1786. He practiced medicine for a few years in Amsterdam and London, but his main interest was in classical studies and philology. He moved to Paris in 1788, where he devoted himself to the study of ancient Greek texts and manuscripts. He also became involved in the French Revolution and the Greek national movement, supporting the cause of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. He wrote several works on Greek history, literature, language, and politics, as well as editing and publishing editions of ancient Greek authors. He also advocated for a revival of classical Greek as the basis of a modern Greek language, and created a purified form of Greek, known as Katharevousa, which he used in his own writings. He was a major influence on the Greek Enlightenment and the Greek War of Independence, as well as on the modern Greek language and culture. He died in Paris in 1833, at the age of 84. In 1877, his remains were transferred to Greece and buried in Athens.