FISH UNJ Students Broaden Their Understanding of Language, History, and World Civilization through a Public Lecture with the Ambassador of Greece

He further highlighted that the Greek language is not only significant as a linguistic heritage, but also as one of the foundations of knowledge, history, and modern academic traditions. Through this public lecture, students were encouraged to broaden their global perspectives and understand language as an essential element in the formation of culture, identity, and human knowledge.

The public lecture was moderated by Suci Maharani, M.Pd. In his presentation, Ambassador Dimitrios Michalopoulos explained that the development of Greek literature was deeply rooted in the oral tradition of the Classical period. During this era, epic stories were delivered through declamation in various religious festivals. Although storytellers were allowed a certain degree of flexibility in delivering the text, they were expected to preserve the integrity of the storyline and meaning.

“At the time, adhering to the words of the text was not compulsory, but the story had to be respected. So you could alter the story a bit, but you had to be faithful to the plot. You couldn't change that,” Ambassador Michalopoulos explained.

He further elaborated that this oral tradition gradually developed into historical prose, giving rise to a more systematic approach to historiography. Herodotus was introduced as one of the pioneers of historical writing, although his narratives still included personal perspectives. Meanwhile, later historians such as Thucydides and Xenophon began to apply more objective methods through source criticism, fact verification, and careful historical narration. These developments later became an important foundation for the emergence of modern history as an academic discipline.