Marinos Papadopoulos Vretos : ‘Le trait d’union entre Paris et Athènes, l’intermédiaire naturel entre la Grèce et les Philhellènes des bords de la Seine’ (Victor Fournel, L’Espérance, 1858)

Marinos Papadopoulos Vretos (Corfu, 1828–Paris, 1871) represents a remarkable case of a conscious cultural mediator between Greece and France, during a critical time (1850–1870). Through a variety of print media (Greek, French or bilingual), he sought to inform the French-language public about the cultural identity of modern Greeks and to confute the distorted image provided by travel literature. Thanks to his excellent education in French, he managed to penetrate the French press, writing about Greek issues. He mobilised around him a network of French philhellenes, Hellenists and journalists who rebroadcasted his positions. Through his Greek-language Εθνικόν Ημερολόγιον [National Almanac], he ‘coordinated’ an important discussion on the language question, preparing the road for the foundation of the Association pour l’encouragement des études grecques.