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Leonardos Philaras

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Leonardos Philaras (Λεονάρδος Φιλαρᾶς)
Leonardos Philaras, 1658
Leonardos Philaras, 1658
BornLeonardos Philaras (Λεονάρδος Φιλαρᾶς)
1595
Athens, Ottoman Greece
Died1673 (aged 77–78)
Paris, France
OccupationScholar, politician, diplomat, medical doctor, Supporter of Greek independence
NationalityGreek[1]
GenreGreek independence, Greek literature, and Medicine
Literary movementRenaissance, Greek literature, Medicine

Leonardos Philaras (c. 1595 – 1673[2])(Greek: Λεονάρδος Φιλαρᾶς, Leonardos Filaras, French: Leonard Philara also known as Villeret, Villare) was a Greek French[3]Athenian scholar,[4] politician, [5] philosopher, writer, diplomat, and doctor of theology. [6][7] He is best known for his plot to liberate Greece in the early 1600s along with Charles III as Duke of Nevers who proclaimed himself King Constantine Palaeologus which never surfaced. Philaras wrote a poem for the Virgin Mary entitled Τη θεοτόκω καί Άειπαρθενω Μαρία Αγνώσ καί Àμώμωσ Συλληφθείσ (To the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the fruit of a Pure Immaculate Conception) and became well known among European aristocracy serving as ambassador to the French court of French King Louis XIII for the Duke of Parma Odoardo Farnese and French King Louis XIV for the Duke of Parma Ranuccio II Farnese. Philaras also became acquainted with Cardinal Richelieu and British statesmen and poet John Milton. Philaras campaigned to liberate Greece his entire life.[8]

Philaras was born to a prominent Greek family in Athens while it was part of the Ottoman Empire, and his father's name was Ioannis. He travelled to Rome from a young age where he studied at the Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius from 1613-1617 and obtained the equivalent of a doctorate of divinity. In 1619, along with Charles known as King Constantine and the Greek community of Rome, Philaras was involved in an organized plot to overthrow the Ottoman Empire and liberate Greece.[9] The small group was able to amass a massive European force but the organized plot ended during the 1620s before they could go to battle. By the 1630s, Philaras was a diplomat living in Paris, France, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died in 1673.[8][10]

Biography

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Leonardos Philaras by Claude Mellan, 1673.

Leonardos Philaras was born in Athens to a distinguished Athenian family his father's name was Ioannis. From a young age, Philaras exhibited a higher level of intelligence and was sent to study at the Greek College in Rome from 1613-1617, where he studied Greek and Latin and received a doctorate in theology. There was a huge Greek influence throughout Europe and in Venice, San Giorgio dei Greci was the epicenter for Greek scholars. A large number of Greeks also inhabited Crete and the Ionian Islands which belonged to the Republic of Venice. Regretably, the Venetians enlisted countless Greeks to fight wars against the Ottoman Empire. Philaras sought to liberate Greece from the tyranny and enslavement of the Ottoman Empire.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Former members of the Byzantine Royal family were scattered around Europe, one example was Thomas Asen Palaiologos who founded Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci. Philaras became acquainted with Charles, Duke of Nevers a descendant of the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus. Charles served as the ambassador of Henry IV of France at the Vatican. Charles met Philaras and other members of the Greek community in Rome in 1619. They all trusted Charles and supported his hereditary claims to the throne, naming him King Constantine Palaeologus. They tried to help him liberate Greece from the Ottoman Empire.[9] During this period, they worked hard to obtain the assistance of many important European figures but their efforts did not amount to a significant battle and the maniots of Greece were in contact with the group and were known for constantly holding uprisings against the Ottomans.[8][18][19][10]

During the 1630s and 1640s, Philaras became the ambassador to the French court of French King Louis XIII for the Duke of Parma Odoardo Farnese. While he was in France, Philaras became close friends with Cardinal Richelieu. In 1633, he translated Saint Robert Bellarmine's Doctrina Christiana from vernacular Greek to Latin for Richelieu and by 1644 Philaras wrote Τη θεοτόκω καί Άειπαρθενω Μαρία Αγνώσ καί Àμώμωσ Συλληφθείσ (To the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the fruit of a Pure Immaculate Conception) and Έγκωμιαστικον εισ τον έξοχωτατον καρδινάλιν δούκα τον Ριχελιον (Encomiastic to the most distinguished Cardinal Duke Richelieu). Philaras constantly campaigned for the Greek cause throughout his life obtaining connections within the highest European circles.[8][18][9][19][10]

By the 1650s, he became friends with English poet John Milton, who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. Philaras served as ambassador to the French King Louis XIV for the Duke of Parma Ranuccio II Farnese until April 1654, Philaras was fifty-nine years old. Three years later Philaras was in Venice, where he remained for four years while the Venetian Empire was involved in its fifth Ottoman–Venetian War also known as the Cretan War (1645–1669). Philaras returned to Paris in 1661 where he remained for the rest of his life and died in 1673.[8][18][9][19][10]

Literary works

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Books and Articles authored by Leonardos Philaras
Date Title Title in English
1633 Nέα έκδοση του Δόγμα Χριστιάνα του Αγίου Ρόμπερτ Μπελαρμίν (translation of vernacular Greek from 1600s to Latin) New version of St. Robert Bellarmine's Doctrina Christiana
1644 Τη θεοτόκω καί Άειπαρθενω Μαρία Αγνώσ καί Àμώμωσ Συλληφθείσα To the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the fruit of a Pure Immaculate Conception
1644 Έγκωμιαστικον εισ τον έξοχωτατον καρδινάλιν δούκα τον Ριχελιον Encomiastic to the most distinguished Cardinal Duke Richelieu

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Parker, William Riley – Campbell, Gordon (1996). Milton: The life. Oxford University Press. pp. 418–419. ISBN 0-19-812889-4. The writer was a Greek, Leonard Philaras (or Villere, as he was known in France), an able diplomat and scholar, ambassador to the French court from the Duke of Parma{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ IJsewijn, Jozef (1977). Companion to neo-Latin studies. North-Holland Pub. Co. p. 70. ISBN 0-7204-0510-6. the Athenian Leonardus Philaras (d. 1673) who had visited England. Much more important for our purpose, however, were the Greeks who, fleeing from the Turks, came to italy and in much smaller numbers
  3. ^ Parker, William Riley – Campbell, Gordon (1996). Milton: The life. Oxford University Press. pp. 418–419. ISBN 0-19-812889-4. The writer was a Greek, Leonard Philaras (or Villere, as he was known in France), an able diplomat and scholar, ambassador to the French court from the Duke of Parma{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Duran, Angelica (2007). The age of Milton and the scientific revolution. Duquesne University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8207-0386-2. In a letter to Athenian politician and scholar Leonard Philaras ( 1600?-1673), Milton movingly expresses his hope for a cure for his blindness.
  5. ^ Buhayer, Constantine (2006). Greece: a quick guide to customs & etiquette. Kuperard. p. 36. ISBN 1-85733-369-1. The Athenian politician and medical doctor Leonardos Philaras (1595-1673) was an advisor to the French court, enjoying the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu
  6. ^ Buhayer, Constantine (2006). Greece: a quick guide to customs & etiquette. Kuperard. p. 36. ISBN 1-85733-369-1. The Athenian politician and medical doctor Leonardos Philaras (1595-1673) was an advisor to the French court, enjoying the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu
  7. ^ Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of modern Greek literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 442. ISBN 0-313-30813-6. Leonardos Filaras (1595-1673) devoted much of his career to coaxing Western European intellectuals to support Greek liberation. Two letters from Milton (1608-1674) attest Filaras's patriotic crusade.
  8. ^ a b c d e Masson 1877, pp. 443–445.
  9. ^ a b c d Sainty 2018, pp. 87–90.
  10. ^ a b c d Pontani 2021, pp. 71–72.
  11. ^ Milton, John – Flannagan, Roy (1998). The Riverside Milton. Houghton Mifflin. p. 1048. ISBN 0-395-80999-1. The letters to Philaras also tell us that Milton wished to be in touch with an Athenian Greek because of his love for the classical culture{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Parker, William Riley – Campbell, Gordon (1996). Milton: The life. Oxford University Press. pp. 418–419. ISBN 0-19-812889-4. The writer was a Greek, Leonard Philaras (or Villere, as he was known in France), an able diplomat and scholar, ambassador to the French court from the Duke of Parma{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1874). The poetical works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Volume 1. F. Warne and co. p. 106. OCLC 298895450. Writing, on the 28th of September, 1654, to his Greek friend Philaras, in answer to a letter which Philaras had sent him, giving him hope that his blindness
  14. ^ Broadbent, John Barclay – Daniells, Roy (1973). John Milton: introductions. CUP Archive. p. 59. ISBN 0-521-09799-1. Latin letter to Leonard Philaras, a Greek friend 1654{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Hutton, James (1946). The Greek anthology in France and in the Latin writers of the Netherlands to the year 1800 Volume 28. Cornell University Press. p. 188. OCLC 3305912. LEONARD PHILARAS or VILLERET (c. 1595-1673) Philaras was born in Athens of good family and spent his childhood there. His youth was passed in Rome, where he was educated, and his manhood
  16. ^ Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of modern Greek literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 442. ISBN 0-313-30813-6. Leonardos Filaras (1595-1673) devoted much of his career to coaxing Western European intellectuals to support Greek liberation. Two letters from Milton (1608-1674) attest Filaras's patriotic crusade.
  17. ^ Milton, John – Diekhoff, John Siemon (1965). Milton on himself: Milton's utterances upon himself and his works. Cohen & West. p. 267. OCLC 359509. Milton here refuses a request from Philaras for the assistance of his pen in the freeing of the Greeks from Turkish rule on the basis of his confidence that only those people are slaves who deserve to be.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b c Hunter, Jr. 1979, pp. 134.
  19. ^ a b c Paradoulakis 2022, pp. 141–143.

Bibliography

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