The substance of the Greek language: More than just words

International Greek Language Day is celebrated annually on February 9, the date when Dionysios Solomos, the national poet of modern Greece, has been commemorated since his death in 1857. Unmatched in its content and expression, the Greek language substantiates anthropocentric meanings. In ancient tragedy, the term "philanthropia" is defined as love for man: "Philo ton anthropon" means "love for mankind."

In Aeschylus' tragedy "Prometheus Bound," the poet attributes the term "philanthropos" to his titanic hero. That was the first time in the history of world literature that the term and intellectual conception were introduced. It is no coincidence that the poet conceived and created this term. Aeschylus was shaped by the self-governed democratic polis, a political environment of holistic freedom for the Athenian citizenry.

Aeschylus experienced mankind at the peak of...