{"id":29351,"date":"2021-05-19T13:57:20","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T11:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/?p=29351"},"modified":"2021-05-19T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T12:19:32","slug":"filotimo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/filotimo\/","title":{"rendered":"Filotimo"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"project":[353,795],"project_type":[743],"class_list":["post-29351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","project-online-publications","project-untranslatable","project_type-themes"],"acf":{"bgcolor":"","bgcolor_custom":"","custom_color_css_variable":"","content_type":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content_txt","bgcolor":"","bgcolor_custom":"","layout_col_size":8,"txt_cols":"is-1-txtcol","txt":"Etymology: From p\u00edlos (ph\u00edlos = friend, here \u00bbloving\u00ab) + T\u012bm\u0144 (t\u012bme = honor) + -o (-o)\r\n\r\nThe most untranslatable, sophisticated, and truly mysterious word in the Greek language is the noun filotimo<\/em>, literally translating into \u00bbfriend of honor.\u00ab1<\/sup>\r\n\r\nHowever, filotimo is infinitely more. It is a complex constellation of values that is hard to define; even Greeks cannot agree on one meaning. It describes an array of virtues, including ideas such as honor, justice, dignity, pride, self-sacrifice, respect, gratitude, and hospitality. The core concept is that of small, random acts of kindness that reflect one\u2019s personality and the manner in which one was raised. Filotimo describes an attitude toward fellow humans and humanity at large. It means showing empathy, compassion, and generosity without expecting anything in return, taking pride in doing what is right and honorable and being humble at the same time. It extends to appreciation for one\u2019s heritage, manifested in love for family, community, and country. Filotimo is something that has to be inspired and cannot be imposed. If one \u00bbdoesn\u2019t have filotimo,\u00ab one embarrasses not only oneself but also one\u2019s family and community. This idea of being accountable for your family and community pervades Greek culture and makes filotimo, next to filoxenia<\/em> (hospitality), one of the horizontal measures that govern the Greek collective soul. To a Greek, filotimo is essentially a way of life.\r\n\r\nFilotimo comes from the word filotimia<\/em>.2<\/sup> The first attested written reference of the word dates to the early writings of the Greek Classical period.3<\/sup> At that time, filotimia was used in a rather ironic or negative manner, meaning \u00bbcovetous of honour and distinction,\u00ab while the verb filotimeomai<\/em> was used in the sense of \u00bblavish upon.\u00ab4<\/sup> It took a couple of centuries for the word to gain a positive connotation. Around the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. the meaning shifted from the individual toward the collective, when classical Athens saw the consolidation of democracy, competition was replaced by cooperation, and a man with filotimo was someone who loved to receive the praises of his city but first served the community. From then on it developed in its more noble senses such as meekness, humility, and selflessness. Over the centuries, it was reduced to its modern use, which is infused in all layers of modern Greek society and popular culture,5<\/sup> allowing individuals to claim it and give it those different meanings, filling them with pride and confidence.6<\/sup>\r\n\r\nPeoples and languages invent words out of the necessity to express specific concepts7<\/sup> and apparently Hellenism had this need. But where did this need come from; what circumstances promoted its establishment as one of the building blocks of the Greek disposition and imaginary, and why is it relevant today?\r\n\r\nIn the fifteenth century, while the West was experiencing Enlightenment and developing modern states that tied together individuals under the rule of law and an abstract sense of responsibility, Greece spent 400 years under Ottoman rule, which forced a large part of the population into subsistence farming through heavy taxation and limited education. The subjugated and inward-looking Greeks were bound by pride, localism, and interpersonal relationships. Instead of developing the kind of institutional consciousness seen in Western Europe, Greek communities were imbued with filotimo, which was triggered not by law and logic, but intense emotion and some degree of intimacy.8<\/sup>\r\n\r\nThose ideas of empathy and intimacy reflect the emotional side to a national character and are the pillars on which the word filotimo is well-founded. They can be found in actions and stories throughout modern Greek history until the most recent days. Decades of poor governance and corruption, the great depression that the ongoing financial crisis caused, followed by a humanitarian crisis and \u2013 with a general fear of the Other \u2013 the rise of nationalism, exhausted large parts of Greek society. However, people rallied around each other and society kept its cohesion, individuals were mobilized and did their \u00bbduty\u00ab in solidarity. Solidarity manifests itself through different forms of human values, behaviors, protocols, and negotiations. Filotimo is this common value, the common imaginary, that has kept the Greek community strong and vibrant in the hardest of times.\r\n\r\nAt the height of the refugee crisis, locals on the eastern Aegean islands9<\/sup> dove in icy waters trying to help refugees as their rickety boats reached the shores. Hundreds of fishermen, volunteers, housewives, retirees, teachers, artists, and students waited by the beach every day to offer help and open their homes to people fleeing war and terror \u2013 an international disaster in the hands of individuals practicing filotimo. For them it is simply a way of being, and the emotional and moral satisfaction far outweighs any attempt at conceptualizing it. This willingness to open one\u2019s home and embrace others, without implicit expediencies and rewards, is care put into practice. I don\u2019t have anything, but you can have it all. It is a kind of altruism, but more extroverted, more open. Unlike other forms of relationships (friendship or love) you cannot transmit filotimo on your own, or say \u00bbI have filotimo.\u00ab It is the intelligence of the Other that defines \u00bbyou have filotimo.\u00ab In that sense, the word is active, but only through the perspective of the observer. This existence of a bidirectional relationship is fundamental and important. Filotimo entails mutual recognition, coexistence, and togetherness. Beyond the popular \u00bblegend\u00ab Greeks like to brag about \u2013 that filotimo is something that Greeks are born with and that runs through their veins \u2013 for me, filotimo is truly a practice of solidarity and care.\r\n\r\nIn our individualistic, alienating, capitalistic society of constant competition and striving for growth, where \u00bbrelationships have been converted to services and commons to commodities,\u00ab10<\/sup> there is an urgency for collective actions that nurture collectivity, solidarity, and care: \u00bbcivic \u2013 person-to-person and horizontal \u2013 responsibility that enables people to be able to conduct, with agility, the full spectrum of the stages and elements of care as an ongoing, interrelational practice [\u2026]\u00ab11<\/sup>\r\n\r\nWhat if we incorporated the principles of filotimo into the fabric of our societies and let it permeate every aspect of our daily lives? Can this multifaceted word, with its multiple meanings and etymological and syntactic peculiarities, bring meaning back into our broken social systems? There is a certain magic around filotimo and its use can be of benefit both on a personal and collective level, be exemplary for a more solidary and care-ful dealing with each other, living well, and thriving."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_footnotes","bgcolor":"","footnotes_list_hide_numbers":false,"footnotes":[{"footnote":"Here, \u00bblover of honor\u00ab like filoxenos (hospitable): \u00bblover of foreigners.\u00ab"},{"footnote":"\u00bbA strong sense of self-worth and dignity, manifested mainly in one\u2019s desire to gain the appreciation of others, in our sensitivity to what others think of us.\u00ab Georgios Babiniotis: Dictionary of the Modern Greek Language<\/em>, 5th edition, Athens 2019."},{"footnote":"Sixth and seventh centuries B.C. The word appears, for example, in Plato\u2019s Republic, Book 2, section 347b."},{"footnote":"The Online Liddell-Scott-Jones Greek-English Lexicon<\/em>, entries 114532\u2013114534 of 119556, http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu\/hopper\/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:alphabetic%20letter=*f:entry%20group=31:entry=filotime\/omai<\/a> (accessed November 26, 2020)."},{"footnote":"In postwar Greece, in a time of massive urbanization and internal migration, the emerging and at the time very popular Greek cinema contributed to forming and disseminating specific images of and for Greek society of the nineteen-fifties until the nineteen-seventies. The word \u00bbfilotimo\u00ab is featured in the titles of at least three Greek films.* All three stories highlight the clash of classes in the major urban centers and describe basic ethics of Greek family and society. Usually poor and uneducated people, coming from rural areas to the urban centers in search for better life, struggle to survive and must compete with a wealthy and well-educated urban class in both private and public life. My suggestion is that filotimo in this case was used as a means of empowerment. Here the word takes a more popular meaning, that one might not have wealth and higher education, but rather a big heart and morals. *\u039b\u03b1\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u03bd\u03b1, \u03a6\u03c4\u03ce\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03cc\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf (1955) (Laterna, Poverty and Philotimo), \u03a5\u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03cc\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf (1965) (There is Filotimo, Indeed), \u039f \u03a1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b9\u03cc\u03c2 \u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03cc\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf (1968) (The Greek has Filotimo)."},{"footnote":"It is fair and worthwhile to mention that in Greek popular culture, filotimo has often been used\/abused. It has also been cut and sewn, in an opportunistic manner, to fit weaknesses or strengths of different aspects and habits of Greek society, usually connected with national pride, political give and take, and the promotion of personal interests."},{"footnote":"Philotimo Foundation: Nikos Lygeros talks about filotimo.YouTube video, 13:41, uploaded by Philotimo Foundation, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HNVFUf7vw94&ab_channel=PhilotimoFoundation<\/a> (accessed November 26, 2020)."},{"footnote":"8 Stav Dimitropoulos. \u00bbThe Greek word that can\u2019t be translated,\u00ab in: BBC Travel<\/em>, June 7, 2017, http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/travel\/story\/20170605-thegreek-word-that-cant-be-translated<\/a> (accessed November 26, 2020)."},{"footnote":"Lesbos, Chios, and Kos are well-known tourist destinations that the recession greatly affected."},{"footnote":"Phineas Harper: \u00bbEnough: The Architecture of Regrowth,\u00ab in Dezeen<\/em>, September 19, 2017, https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2019\/09\/25\/oslo-architecture-triennale-architecture-degrowth-phineas-harper\/<\/a> (accessed November 26, 2020)."},{"footnote":"Genevieve Costello: \u00bbOn Care and Vulnerability,\u00ab in: Solitude Journal, Collective Care & Response-ability<\/em>, July 23, 2020, https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/de\/solitude-journal\/on-care-and-vulnerability\/<\/a> (accessedNovember 26, 2020)."}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_txt","bgcolor":"","bgcolor_custom":"","layout_col_size":8,"txt_cols":"is-1-txtcol","txt":"

Alkistis Thomidou<\/strong>, born in 1984 in Thessaloniki, is a Berlin-based architect. She holds a diploma in architecture and a master\u2019s degree in urban design from the ETH Zurich. In her work, she investigates the built environment across multiple scales in its social, economical, and structural components through design and interdisciplinary research. She is interested in collecting alternative city-making narratives and protocols and collective approaches, while developing open spatial frameworks inspired by the inventiveness of everyday life. She is cofounder of forty-five degrees, an architecture and urban design practice currently in search of emerging \u00bbrituals\u00ab and their potential to shape radical practices of commoning along the 45-degree North parallel.<\/p>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project?post=29351"},{"taxonomy":"project_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.akademie-solitude.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_type?post=29351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}