Οι αχαρτογράφητοι άνθρωποι της Σμύρνης

Abstract

Smyrna, one of the fastest growing port-cities of modernity, was overshadowed by the ideological use of history, apparent in narratives which focused on the wealth of the ruling class, the literate and self-referred to their comparative advantages. Descriptions highlighted the European ideal in the city of a semi-colonial, dependent Empire, as “ideal” has been the silence regarding the poorer social strata and the laborers hired by day; the majority of the city and driving forces of its wealth, but considered as having no historical mission or impact in the cosmo-historical sweep.
Given that there is a division into social classes, the article studies the gap between upper and lower class. As the upper one had a visible lifestyle and, thanks to affluent writings devoted to them, a well-known mindset, we focus on the latter which found it hard to afford basic essentials. In addition, an underclass was determined in Smyrna. Both social groups were largely ignored by travelers and historians; however, thanks to few of them, we were able to find traces of the so-considered “unworthy” people of Smyrna, but who importantly contributed to the prosperity, the fame and the remembrance of the city.