20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

866 Apostolos PATELAkisThe work, unique in its kind, was a great success, contributing in a largemeasure to determine the attitude of Greece with regard to this problem.The study was not officially translated in Romania, but the diplomateand poet Ion Brad referred to this work in his memoires, published underthe title Ambasador in Athens.(...) His Excellency had read this study inFrench, at the library of the Ministry of External Affairs before taking overthe function of ambassador of Romania in Athens in 1973, so that he wasable to know very well the Hellenic standpoint towards this question. 19In the next years, new works, written by different authors followedtoo, more or less important, like those of Ntoros Pefanis in 1949, NikolaosFistas in 1962, Aris Poulianos in 1963, Tilemahos Katsougiannis in 1964,Georgeos Kolias in 1969, Apostolos Vakalopoulos in 1974, and TheodorosSarantis in 1975. All these authors follow the line traced by Keramopoulos.The great historian Apostolos Vakalopoulos writes in his monumentalwork The History of the Neo-Hellenism that in the 700 years of Romansovereignity, a Romanization process occurred, especially in themontaineous and the contact areas. Further down Vakalopoulos maintainsthat in the 7th century, under the pressure of the Slav populations, someLatin speaking groups from the Balkans advanced as far as northern Greece.As the new-comers spoke the same language as the native inhabitants, theirassimilation process took place much more faster. Later, in the frame of theOttoman Empire, the fact that both the Vlachs in the Hellenic Space andthe inhabitants of the Danubian areas spoke mutually related Neo-Latindialects helped the Hellen Vlachs in their movements towards the richRomanian Principalities. 20In 1976 the doctor’s thesis of the Greek Romanist Achilleas LazarouThe Macedo-Romanian language and its connections with the Greek 21 ,was published. This is a complete work, containing a very rich and solidinformation, written in a language which is understandable for each reader.The work continues the traditions, began by Keramopoulos, concerningthe Hellenic origin of Lazarou were accepted by the majority of the Greekspecialists, as well as by the Greek officials, who had now in their handsas scientific book, with arguments which thy could present and on whichthey could rely. Even the foreign historians who knew Hellenic, except theRomanians, expressed their satisfaction and joy at the apparition of this19Ion Brad 2001, Ambassador in Athens. Bucharest, 30.20Apostolos Vakalopoulos 1974, The history of the Neo-Hellenism, 2 nd edition,Thessaloniki, 34-40.21Achilleas Lazarou 1986, The Macedo-Romania language and its conection withthe Greek, 2 nd edition. Athens.