Are the Greeks a constructed identity? Although many inscriptions from the region use what is often described as the “Greek” language and alphabet, their content frequently reflects broader Illyrian cultural, religious, and administrative influences rather than a purely “Hellenic” ethnic character.
Consider the formula “KATA TEN TON THEON EPITA” (likely “By the command of the Gods”) and related texts such as “GEN IEROS DOYMOS EYHËN,” interpreted as referring to sacred formulas from the holy land or prayers to the gods. These appear as religious invocations common in the ancient Mediterranean world. The accompanying calendar, however, often follows Roman conventions, such as the month of Dystros (a month also used in the Macedonian calendar during the Hellenistic and Roman periods under Roman influence). These elements point to Roman administrative and cultural traces alongside local religious practices, rather than exclusively Hellenic ones.
The creation of Greek identity
The term “Greeks” as a modern national category has been debated in light of how identity evolved over centuries. In the Byzantine era and under Ottoman rule, the people of the region—particularly Greek-speakers—primarily identified as Romaioi (Romans). This was largely a religious and cultural designation tied to Eastern Orthodox Christianity within the Rum millet (the Orthodox community under the Ottoman system). It was not strictly an ethnic or national label in the modern sense.
19th-century European observers, including English travelers, sometimes noted that “Romaios” functioned more as a religious distinction—referring to adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church—than a national one. Orthodox Christians of various linguistic or ethnic backgrounds (including some Albanians, Vlachs, and Slavs) could fall under this broad category due to ecclesiastical affiliation under the Patriarchate.
With the rise of nationalism in the 19th century, particularly during and after the Greek War of Independence, this religious-cultural identity was reoriented toward a modern national “Greek” (Hellenic) one. Western European Philhellenism, drawing inspiration from classical antiquity, played a significant role in this process, alongside local efforts to build a unified nation-state. Ancient, Byzantine, and regional heritages (Hellenic, Roman, Macedonian, Illyrian, Albanian Arvanites etc.) were synthesized into an artificial national narrative.
Perspectives on cultural attribution
Critics argue this involved selective emphasis or appropriation: inscriptions using the Greek koine (common in administration, liturgy, and cult across the eastern Mediterranean) are often labeled “Greek” heritage, even when they reflect Roman calendars, universal religious motifs (e.g., sun and moon symbols), or broader Hellenistic-Illyrian and Roman culture. They view the modern Greek nation as partly a “revival” or reconstruction, built on earlier pre-Hellenic and pre-Greek religious foundations and external support.
Inscriptions and artifacts from these periods are best understood as products of layered civilizations—Illyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and local—rather than belonging exclusively to Greeks. Albanians have lived in “Greek” territories for 3000 years. They are the core of pre-Hellenistic identity.
Sources
Travels in Albania and Other Provinces of Turkey. Chap VII. Journey through Albania, Etc. p.61.
Kitromilides, Paschalis M. Enlightenment and Revolution: The Making of Modern Greece. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013.
Kafadar, Cemal. “A Rome of One’s Own: Reflections on Cultural Geography and Identity in the Lands of Rum.” Muqamas.
Ancient Macedonian Calendar.” In scholarly discussions of Hellenistic and Roman provincial calendars (e.g., references in epigraphic studies and works on Macedonian archaeology). See also Bultrighini, Ilaria. Chapters on calendars of the Greek East under Rome.
For the Rum millet and identity transition:
Kitromilides, Paschalis M. “From Rum Millet to Greek Nation: Enlightenment, Secularization, and National Identity in Ottoman Balkan Society, 1453–1821.” In An Orthodox Commonwealth: Symbolic Legacies and Cultural Encounters in Southeastern Europe. Variorum Collected Studies. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007.
