The Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople (HLSC), 1861-1922

Abstract

Despite an increasing interest in historical accounts regarding the Greek community of Istanbul, research on the Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople (HLSC – Ο Ελληνικός Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) had been sparse (Stavrou 1967, Svolopoulos 1992) until the late 1990s. It was not until that period, with the future prospects of the dwindling Greek community in Istanbul being imminently bleak, that the history of its cultural institutions began to attract the attention of scholars (Sarioglou 2003). This paper attempts to present a brief account of the activities of the Hellenic Literary Society of Constantinople, from its establishment in 1861 to the cessation of its function, in 1922, when all its property was confiscated by the Turkish state.