Kosmas Balanos
Encyclopedia
Kosmas Balanos (1731–1808) was a Greek
mathematician, author and school director. He continued the work of his father Balanos Vasilopoulos
, and was among Greece's leading scholars of his time.
, center of the 17th–18th-century modern Greek Enlightenment movement. Balanos was the first son of the scholar Balanos Vasilopoulos
and became a priest as his father had done before him. He taught at various Greek-language schools of the Ottoman Empire
, initially in Thessaly
, and then in Thessaloniki
. Around 1760 he succeeded his father as director of the Gouma School in Ioannina.
During the 1790s, the Gouma school faced serious financial difficulties, but Balanos managed to find new sponsors among the prosperous Ioannite diaspora and especially the Zosimades
brothers. After about 40 years in the Gouma school, Balanos left his post in 1799 to his brother Konstantinos.
Balanos, as a conservative scholar, used archaic Greek in his work and rejected the use of the Demotic
, the vernacular form of the Greek language. He also became involved in a personal conflict with the progressive scholar Athanasios Psalidas
, schoolmaster of the Kaplaneios School
in the same city, whom he denounced to the local ruler, Ali Pasha
, as an atheist and voltairianist.
the work Έκθεσις συνοπτικής αριθμητικής, αλγέβρης και χρονολογίας (Concise Exposition of Arithmetics, Algebra and Chronology). He wrote the philosophical work Περί ελλείψεως των παραλειπομένων φωτών παρά τοις αρίστοις των ποιητών και των καταλογάδην συγγραψάντων (On the omission of the unmentioned lights by the excellent among the poets and among those whο wrote prose). Moreover, he published his father Balanos Vasilopoulos
' work Έκθεσις ακριβεστάτη της Αριθμητικής (Most Precise Exposition of Arithmetic, Venice, 1803).
After his death, his work Αντιπελάργησις (Antipelargisis, Against the Stork) was published in 1816, in which he rejected his father's claim to have solved the problem of doubling the cube
, i.e. finding the cube root of 2 by a graphical method (which was later shown to be impossible).
He composed a historical work about Epirus
, in which Ioannina was the urban center, Ιστορικό της Ηπείρου (History of Epirus), which remains unpublished. Balanos also wrote various texts about the social conditions of the region he lived, like describing the forced 18th century Islamizations of local Christians by the Ottoman authorities. Moreover, he composed theological and philosophical works, as well as school textbooks. Many of these works remained unpublished and were burned with the destruction of the Balanos family library during Ali Pasha's defeat by the Sultan's forces in 1822.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
mathematician, author and school director. He continued the work of his father Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos was a Greek scholar, cleric and author. He made a significant contribution in the growth of Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of the Greek world.-Life:...
, and was among Greece's leading scholars of his time.
Life
He was born in IoanninaIoannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, center of the 17th–18th-century modern Greek Enlightenment movement. Balanos was the first son of the scholar Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos was a Greek scholar, cleric and author. He made a significant contribution in the growth of Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of the Greek world.-Life:...
and became a priest as his father had done before him. He taught at various Greek-language schools of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, initially in Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, and then in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. Around 1760 he succeeded his father as director of the Gouma School in Ioannina.
During the 1790s, the Gouma school faced serious financial difficulties, but Balanos managed to find new sponsors among the prosperous Ioannite diaspora and especially the Zosimades
Zosimades
The Zosimades or Zosimas brothers were 18th-19th century Greek benefactors and merchants.The Zosimades were six brothers:*Ioannis Zosimas *Anastasios Zosimas*Nikolaos Zosimas *Theodosios Zosimas...
brothers. After about 40 years in the Gouma school, Balanos left his post in 1799 to his brother Konstantinos.
Balanos, as a conservative scholar, used archaic Greek in his work and rejected the use of the Demotic
Dimotiki
Demotic Greek or dimotiki is the modern vernacular form of the Greek language. The term has been in use since 1818. Demotic refers particularly to the form of the language that evolved naturally from ancient Greek, in opposition to the artificially archaic Katharevousa, which was the official...
, the vernacular form of the Greek language. He also became involved in a personal conflict with the progressive scholar Athanasios Psalidas
Athanasios Psalidas
Athanasios Psalidas , was a Greek author, scholar and one of the most renowned figures of the modern Greek Enlightenment.-Early years and diaspora:...
, schoolmaster of the Kaplaneios School
Kaplaneios School
The Kaplaneios School was a Greek educational institution that operated in Ioannina from 1797 to 1820/1. The school evolved into the most significant intellectual center of the city through the work of Athanasios Psalidas, a major representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment...
in the same city, whom he denounced to the local ruler, Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
, as an atheist and voltairianist.
Work
In 1798 Balanos published in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
the work Έκθεσις συνοπτικής αριθμητικής, αλγέβρης και χρονολογίας (Concise Exposition of Arithmetics, Algebra and Chronology). He wrote the philosophical work Περί ελλείψεως των παραλειπομένων φωτών παρά τοις αρίστοις των ποιητών και των καταλογάδην συγγραψάντων (On the omission of the unmentioned lights by the excellent among the poets and among those whο wrote prose). Moreover, he published his father Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos was a Greek scholar, cleric and author. He made a significant contribution in the growth of Greek Enlightenment during the Ottoman occupation of the Greek world.-Life:...
' work Έκθεσις ακριβεστάτη της Αριθμητικής (Most Precise Exposition of Arithmetic, Venice, 1803).
After his death, his work Αντιπελάργησις (Antipelargisis, Against the Stork) was published in 1816, in which he rejected his father's claim to have solved the problem of doubling the cube
Doubling the cube
Doubling the cube is one of the three most famous geometric problems unsolvable by compass and straightedge construction...
, i.e. finding the cube root of 2 by a graphical method (which was later shown to be impossible).
He composed a historical work about Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, in which Ioannina was the urban center, Ιστορικό της Ηπείρου (History of Epirus), which remains unpublished. Balanos also wrote various texts about the social conditions of the region he lived, like describing the forced 18th century Islamizations of local Christians by the Ottoman authorities. Moreover, he composed theological and philosophical works, as well as school textbooks. Many of these works remained unpublished and were burned with the destruction of the Balanos family library during Ali Pasha's defeat by the Sultan's forces in 1822.
External links
- Works of Kosmas Balanos:
- Έκθεσις Συνοπτική Aριθμητικής, Άλγεβρας και Χρονολογίας (Vienna, 1798)
- Αντιπελάργησις (Vienna, 1816)