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The Oresteia riots (Greek: Ορεστειακά, Orestiaka), which took place in November 1903 and resulted in two deaths, were a series of riots against the translation of the ancient tragedy Oresteia into Demotic Greek.
Background
The Greek language question -the dispute on whether katharevousa or Demotic Greek should be used as the language of the state and of the people- was a controversial topic at the time, that had already resulted in the Gospel riots in 1901 after a translation of the Gospel of Matthew into a "radical" version of Demotic Greek and a reaction by supporters of katharevousa.
The events
The triggering of the riots was the translation and premiere in the theater of the ancient Greek trilogy Oresteia by Georgios Sotiriadis which caused a reaction by fanatic supporters of a more ancient-like katharevousa version of the Greek language. Georgios Mistriotis, a professor of linguistics in the University of Athens, was the main inciter of the riots encouraging students and pro-katharevousa newspapers to participate in rallies against the play.
The government of Dimitrios Rallis did not accept the demand to ban the play and riots occurred. On November 16, the army interfered shooting against the rioters, resulting in two deaths and 7 injured. This was the last day of the riots which were subsequently ended, with their main orchestrator returning to his duties as a university professor towards the end of the January 1904.
References
- http://www.elia.org.gr/research-tools/history-of-the-greek-language/modern-era/fanaticism-for-the-language/
- ^ Lila (2018-11-07). "Δύο νεκροί και 10 τραυματίες στην Αθήνα επειδή μεταφράστηκε η "Ορέστεια" στη δημοτική με πρωταγωνίστρια την Κοτοπούλη. "Κάτω οι χυδαϊσταί", φώναζαν οι φοιτητές που συγκρούστηκαν με το στρατό". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 2025-01-15.
- Σήμερα .gr, Σαν. "Τα Ορεστειακά". Σαν Σήμερα .gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2025-01-15.
- ΗΜΕΡΟΔΡΟΜΟΣ (2024-10-31). "«Ορεστειακά» 1903: φανατικοί υπέρμαχοι της αρχαϊζουσας εναντίον δημοτικιστών". Ημεροδρόμος. Retrieved 2025-01-15.