300 Greek students had no idea about battle of Marathon

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  • Epirot
    Member
    • Mar 2010
    • 399

    300 Greek students had no idea about battle of Marathon

    Who could even imagine that most of Greeks students are so clueless when it comes to ancient history. While Greek-net warriors from diaspora are engaged in their struggles to promote Hellenism of ancient Macedonians, their compatriots in Greece have no idea what was the battle of Marathon . As media reports, in PADIOS University, more specifically in the Department of Political science, only one Albanian student (Silvana from Albania) knew about that battle. While the well-known historian, Donatos Papagianis was giving a lecture, he asked whether the students knew about the battle of Marathon. His question silenced the class. Then he repeated his question. 300 students furrowed their brows and scratched their heads, but no one could come up with an answer. When everyone had given up, an Albanian student raised her hand. She gave a perfect answer about the Battle of Marathon. "I was amazed when I realized she was from Albania but I felt proud that a foreign girl knows so good the history of Greece, while our students have no clue about the history of their country", said Papagianis.

    Here is the original article:

    Έντονο προβληματισμό για το γνωσιακό επίπεδο των Ελλήνων φοιτητών έχει προκαλέσει που κατέγραψε σε αμφιθέατρο ο καθηγητής του Παντείου Πανεπιστημίου Δονάτος Παπαγιάννης.Ο κ. Παπαγιάννης ρώτησε 300 φοιτητές να του πουν τι ξέρουν για την Μάχη του Μαραθώνα. Θα περίμενε κανείς να ακούσει αρκετές απαντήσεις. Άλλες σωστές άλλες λάθος. Αυτό όμως που συνέβη είναι πραγματικά ανήκουστο...

    Κανείς από τους παρευρισκομένους δεν γνώριζε απολύτως τίποτα!
    Μόνο μία φοιτήτρια ήταν το φωτεινό παράδειγμα για τους υπολοίπους στην αίθουσα η οποία περιέγραψε με καταπληκτική ακρίβεια όπως δημοσιεύει ημερήσια εφημερίδα τα γεγονότα της Μάχης όπου 9.000 Αθηναίοι μαζί με 1.000 Θεσπιείς κατανίκησαν υπερδιπλάσιο αριθμό Περσών που είχαν κάνει απόβαση.



    «Το μάθημα γίνεται σε προχωρημένο εξάμηνο του Τμήματος Δημόσιας Διοίκησης. Το παρακολουθούν περίπου τριακόσιοι φοιτητές. Υπό προθεσμία δηλαδή, νέοι επιστήμονες. Κάποια στιγμή ο λόγος στρέφεται στον Μαραθώνιο που έλαβε χώρα στην Αθήνα και προκάλεσε μάλιστα το ενδιαφέρον σε αθλητές όλου του κόσμου, αλλά και του ελληνικού κοινού, αφού προβλήθηκε live από την τηλεόραση» περιέγραψε ο καθηγητής και πρόσθεσε: «Ρώτησα με την ευκαιρία τους φοιτητές μου να μου πουν, λόγω ποιου γεγονότος οργανώνεται συγκεκριμένος αγώνας δρόμου. Άκρα του τάφου σιωπή. Ουδεμία απάντηση… Ουδείς γνώριζε! Επέμεινα… “Δεν θα προχωρήσω την παράδοση του μαθήματος, αν δεν ακούσω απάντηση στο συγκεκριμένο ερώτημα” είπα. Σιωπή. Ξάφνου σηκώνεται ένα χέρι. Με αυτοπεποίθηση. Δεν τρέμει. Νιώθω μια ελαφριά εκτόνωση. “Επιτέλους, γνωρίζει ένας” σκέφτηκα. Σώθηκε τουλάχιστον η τιμή του πανεπιστημίου».
    Όπως αποκάλυψε ο ίδιος: «Ήταν φοιτήτρια. Με άψογη εκφραστική λεπτότητα και με καταπληκτική ακρίβεια περιέγραψε τα γεγονότα της μάχης του Μαραθώνα. Ένιωσα μια κρυφή αγαλλίαση. Αλλά ταυτόχρονα και περηφάνια για την πληθωρική ευρυμάθεια της φοιτήτριάς μου, έστω και αν ήταν μία και μοναδική. Για να την επιβραβεύσω, την ρώτησα πώς τη λένε και από ποιο μέρος της Ελλάδας είναι (με τον ενδόμυχο φόβο μήπως ήταν από τον Μαραθώνα!) Με έμφυτη ταπεινότητα μου απάντησε: “Με λένε Συλβάνα και είμαι από την Αλβανία”».
    koolnews.gr

    http://www.axortagos.gr/apo-tous-300...-marathon.html
    We have to be proud that MTO is frequently visited by dozens of Greeks, who came here to know better the history of Greece which is so obscure to them. Taking into consideration that huge ignorance, narcisoid individuals like Andreas Kyropoulos could easily manipulate with history according to his wishes, because no one of his compatriots is acquainted with history.
    IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!
  • Epirot
    Member
    • Mar 2010
    • 399

    #2
    Any idea where is our old friend Agamoi Thytai? What's about Petros Houhoulis? It appears they vanished into thin air as they cannot handle the truth. Just an observation of mine. Come here and face with your illiterate compatriots!
    IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

    Comment

    • EricTheRed
      Junior Member
      • Oct 2012
      • 41

      #3
      I think the professor confused the apparent unwillingness of these students to answer the question(probably boredom) with lack of basic historical knowledge. When in any university amphitheater, with 300 students, a professor asks a question, do you expect 300 hands to raise? Depending on the question, it may vary from 1-6 at most people willing to answer. This however does not mean that the rest of the students do not know the answer. They just find it troublesome to answer, because a uni prof in an amphitheater probably expects something more than a ''yes. this and that''. Never mind that this particular question has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of the lecture.

      While there should have been more people willing to think for half a minute in order to phrase an appropriate answer, I seriously doubt 299 university students really didnt know what the battle of Marathon was about, since every single one of them was taught about it during elementary and high school, in history classes. Moreover, almost 95% of students entering the Political Sciences school chose theoretical specialization during high school, which has its own set of history courses, apart from the general history lessons taken by the entire student body. The battle of Marathon is mentioned many times for different reasons during the various history courses during the 12 years of elementary and high school. Hence I find it hard to believe that 299 people really did not know ''about it''.

      Which brings me to this point: the question is too general: ''Do you know about the battle of Marathon?''. Imagine a university professor, during a lecture about radiation medicine for example, asking the whole crowd if they know about WW2. As a student, you sit down and think about what the prof wants to hear about. Answers like ''yes'' or ''duh, yeah'' or ''sure'' arent appropriate. Hence you will need to specialize, but on what? The reasons behind the war? The actual events? The aftereffects?. At this point 95% of university students(excluding history students) will conclude that answering is too much trouble for nothing, or that it's a trick question(this happens A LOT, from my experience), and they will leave this troublesome task to their most willing to answer classmates. that remaining 5%.

      In our case, after too much awkward silence, mainly because of how wrongly the prof phrased his question, a girl decided to answer. A logical conclusion, someone had to answer him somehow.

      The rest of it however sounds too ideal..... How is one rewarding a student when asking about names/residence etc? I've never heard something like this being a reward of sorts. And the fact that this student is from Albania makes it sound even more ''too good to be true''. Its not a teenage high school drama, for god's sake, its reality.

      Allow me to seriously doubt the credibility of this incident.

      Even if it is true, this girl has really wrong mentality or is just socially retarded. If she's a second generation, as it is most ordinary, she has probably lived her entire life in Greece, attending Greek schools, having Greek friends etc. If she attends a Greek uni, she will try to be employed later on in Greece.
      Which brings me to this conclusion: When she was asked about her home, she answered Albania..... Thats a show of loyalty towards a country that has offered her nothing. Knowing albanian irredentism, one can get really worried about such statements coming from twenty year olds otherwise fully incorporated in greek society.

      If on the other hand she's just immigrated(which I sincerely doubt, since she is obliged to follow the entire 6 year high school course in Greece in order to be eligible to apply for greek univesities via the Panhellenic exams), then she answered correctly for both questions-she gets a 10 and a smiley.
      Last edited by EricTheRed; 03-15-2013, 12:04 PM.

      Comment

      • Epirot
        Member
        • Mar 2010
        • 399

        #4
        Originally posted by EricTheRed View Post
        I think the professor confused the apparent unwillingness of these students to answer the question(probably boredom) with lack of basic historical knowledge.
        It's obvious that you did not bother to read the article. I don't think there was an unwillingness to answer to a question which they found boredom. If that was the case, then students would react against their professor asking from him to not provoke with such questions.

        Originally posted by EricTheRed View Post
        When in any university amphitheater, with 300 students, a professor asks a question, do you expect 300 hands to raise? Depending on the question, it may vary from 1-6 at most people willing to answer. This however does not mean that the rest of the students do not know the answer.
        Right. But keep in mind that professor asked twice his students for the battle of Marathon. Even if the students got that as offense toward their intelligence, they would answer when the professor repeated his question. Papagianis describes his students as silent as the grave. His words:

        Ακρα του τάφου σιωπή. Ουδεμία απάντηση... Ουδείς γνώριζε! Επέμεινα... “Δεν θα προχωρήσω την παράδοση του μαθήματος, αν δεν ακούσω απάντηση στο συγκεκριμένο ερώτημα” είπα. Σιωπή. Ξάφνου σηκώνεται ένα χέρι. Με αυτοπεποίθηση. Δεν τρέμει. Νιώθω μια ελαφριά εκτόνωση. “Επιτέλους, γνωρίζει ένας” σκέφτηκα. Σώθηκε τουλάχιστον η τιμή του πανεπιστημίου».
        The last line tell us that Silvana escaped the department from being disgraced. The public in Greece is alerted since the publication of this fact.

        Originally posted by EricTheRed View Post
        I seriously doubt 299 university students really didnt know what the battle of Marathon was about, since every single one of them was taught about it during elementary and high school, in history classes.
        I've seen even worst when students show lack of knowledge on elementary things. I've heard that students in USA universities sometime lack of elementary knowledge on both history (of their country) and geography:

        IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

        Comment

        • Pelagon
          Member
          • Apr 2010
          • 112

          #5
          Originally posted by Epirot View Post
          It's obvious that you did not bother to read the article. I don't think there was an unwillingness to answer to a question which they found boredom. If that was the case, then students would react against their professor asking from him to not provoke with such questions.

          Right. But keep in mind that professor asked twice his students for the battle of Marathon. Even if the students got that as offense toward their intelligence, they would answer when the professor repeated his question. Papagianis describes his students as silent as the grave. His words:

          The last line tell us that Silvana escaped the department from being disgraced. The public in Greece is alerted since the publication of this fact.

          I've seen even worst when students show lack of knowledge on elementary things. I've heard that students in USA universities sometime lack of elementary knowledge on both history (of their country) and geography:

          http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/offbeat/st...raphy-115.html
          Originally Posted by EricTheRed View Post
          I seriously doubt 299 university students really didn't know what the battle of Marathon was about, since every single one of them was taught about it during elementary and high school, in history classes.
          I agree with Eric (i.e. It IS silly to think that Grk uni students would not know anything about the Battle of Marathon!) and I think your posting this topic here is more or less SPAM.

          Comment

          • Epirot
            Member
            • Mar 2010
            • 399

            #6
            Originally posted by Pelagon View Post
            . It IS silly to think that Grk uni students would not know anything about the Battle of Marathon!) and I think your posting this topic here is more or less SPAM.
            It's even silly you come up with a worthless comment that has nothing to do with the topic. You probably did not read what the article says because you don't understand Greek, yet you dare to comment on something. How pitiful! The height of irony is that you can easily include yourself in the group of clueless Greeks, because even you do not know when and where exactly occurred that battle without consulting Wiki, do you?
            IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

            Comment

            • dekapentaugoustos
              Banned
              • Feb 2013
              • 21

              #7
              That’s the old problem. Sensational stories are found to be not true. And true stories are not sensational enough.

              1. It was 40 students, not 300. It’s not your fault, this fake story has been already reproduced thousands of times and at some point the 40 students became 300 (maybe an influence of the American film)



              2. For the second mistake, it is Prof. Papagiannis who can be held responsible. One can find the difference if he reads the Greek text above and below the picture (the text DOES come from Papagiannis himself). He asked them if they know on which occasion the Athens Classical Marathon is held on. Yet, when he disseminated his “sensational story” he implies they didn’t know what the Battle of Marathon was.

              3. Hilariously enough, Prof. Donatos Papagiannis may be wrong. It was only since 2010 that Athens Classical Marathon was related to the celebrations and anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. While it is held on the classical marathon course (which itself IS related to the battle, I guess you know the story), before 2010 this Marathon was actually related to the memory of Grigoris Labrakis.

              In short that idiot was too much in a hurry to defame his students. Anyway he IS a funny guy who has his own website often writing inappropriate funny stories or stupid things written by students in exams. Here’s some funny answers concerning Albania, I mean Epirus, no… I mean Albania.

              It’s impossible to translate them as the perplexed and inconclusive language is part of the problem.

              2. Στο ερώτημα αν η Αλβανία μπορεί να γίνει μέλος της ΕΕ, οι απαντήσεις είναι εξίσου απολαυστικές.

              Ας δούμε δύο:

              "Η Αλβανία μπορεί να γίνει μέλος της ΕΕ γιατί αν και η γεωγραφική της διάσταση πληρεί μερικώς την ιδιότητα του κράτους μέλους ως "Ευρωπαϊκού" γιατί βρίσκεται δίπλα στην Ευρώπη, θα πρέπει να αποκτήσει δημοκρατικό τρόπο διακυβέρνησης για να γίνει μέλος".

              Η ωραιότερη όμως απάντηση είναι τούτη:

              "Οι πολιτικές εξαθλίωσης των τελευταίων ετών στον Ευρωπαϊκό Νότο (καταρχήν) οδηγούν, ας μου επιτραπεί η έκφραση σε "αλβανοποίηση" - και όχι μόνο - τις ευρωπαϊκές κοινωνίες. Άρα η γειτονική χώρα θα έπρεπε να είναι μέλος μιας τέτοιας Ένωσης". (καλό ε.
              Last edited by dekapentaugoustos; 03-17-2013, 11:57 AM.

              Comment

              • Pelagon
                Member
                • Apr 2010
                • 112

                #8
                Originally posted by Epirot View Post
                It's even silly you come up with a worthless comment that has nothing to do with the topic. You probably did not read what the article says because you don't understand Greek, yet you dare to comment on something. How pitiful! The height of irony is that you can easily include yourself in the group of clueless Greeks, because even you do not know when and where exactly occurred that battle without consulting Wiki, do you?
                You are an UCK apologist and supporter and that makes you an anti-Macedonian propagandist from where I stand.

                Secondly, I stand by what I said and I think this topic is useless spam and the requirement to understand Greek confirms that point even more so.

                Comment

                • makedonche
                  Senior Member
                  • Oct 2008
                  • 3242

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Pelagon View Post
                  You are an UCK apologist and supporter and that makes you an anti-Macedonian propagandist from where I stand.

                  Secondly, I stand by what I said and I think this topic is useless spam and the requirement to understand Greek confirms that point even more so.
                  Pelagon
                  Absolutely correct, if the mods can remove this thread it would be appreciated!
                  On Delchev's sarcophagus you can read the following inscription: "We swear the future generations to bury these sacred bones in the capital of Independent Macedonia. August 1923 Illinden"

                  Comment

                  • momce
                    Banned
                    • Oct 2012
                    • 426

                    #10
                    Theyre about as dumb as ROM students thinking they are ancient Macedonians, or Albanians thinking they are Illyrians.
                    Last edited by momce; 03-17-2013, 10:25 PM.

                    Comment

                    • Epirot
                      Member
                      • Mar 2010
                      • 399

                      #11
                      Originally posted by momce View Post
                      Theyre about as dumb as ROM students thinking they are ancient Macedonians, or Albanians thinking they are Illyrians.
                      The question is not what the students think about as their opinion is irrelevant as ever. What matters the most is the the general opinion among scholars whether the Albanians are Illyrians or not.

                      Most historians agree that the Albanian people are partly descended from the ancient Illyrians. The name “Albania” is derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe, Arber (or Arbereshe, later Albanoi), who were located near Durres.

                      The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1, edit. Michael Gagarin, Elaine Fantham, 2009, p.54
                      Tell me a good reason why students should think otherwise?
                      Last edited by Epirot; 03-18-2013, 06:34 AM.
                      IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

                      Comment

                      • Epirot
                        Member
                        • Mar 2010
                        • 399

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Pelagon View Post
                        You are an UCK apologist and supporter and that makes you an anti-Macedonian propagandist from where I stand.

                        Secondly, I stand by what I said and I think this topic is useless spam and the requirement to understand Greek confirms that point even more so.
                        Impressive! You have less than 60 posts, yet you label me UCK apologist without reading not a single post of mine. I rather tend to ignore some individuals like you who did offer nothing of substance. It's not fault of yours at all as your knowledge on history is little as your Greek colleagues. I bet if you were on that amphitheater you would hide under desk had Papagiannis addressed that question to you. The fact is that you knew nothing of Marathon, without consulting Wiki. hahahah
                        IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

                        Comment

                        • Epirot
                          Member
                          • Mar 2010
                          • 399

                          #13
                          Originally posted by makedonche View Post
                          Pelagon
                          Absolutely correct, if the mods can remove this thread it would be appreciated!
                          Do whatever you want but you're going absolutely nowhere if you're asking mods to remove a thread without a good reason. I rather think that some of members who dissented the content of article, at the very moment of reading felt somehow embarrassed. I'm sure that most of you knew nothing about the Battle of Marathon, as Papagiannis asked.
                          IF OUR CHRONICLES DO NOT LIE, WE CALL OURSELVES AS EPIROTES!

                          Comment

                          • EricTheRed
                            Junior Member
                            • Oct 2012
                            • 41

                            #14
                            Epirot, I guess you know a lot of things about the greek educational course during elementary/high school/university. Because if you dont, then your statement about being sure that almost all in this forum and greece know basic things like the battle of Marathon from wikipedia ALONE is simply unreasonable.

                            Anyways, before criticizing our worthless educational programs, stop and think for a second. What's a proud Albanian girl(her behavior shows that) doing in our worthless universities in our crap-sack country? Why doesnt she just go back to her home, Albania, and attend the magnificent educational institutes of Tirana? Lastly, why is her behavior imitated by hundreds of thousands young Albanians in Greece? Especially keeping the economic crisis in mind.

                            Before bashing the Greek educational system, make sure that it's Albanian equivalent becomes at least comparable with it.

                            Comment

                            • momce
                              Banned
                              • Oct 2012
                              • 426

                              #15
                              But Epirot whats the point of your post its almost like nasty gossip. Students are uneducated almost everywhere.

                              Comment

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