Was Columbus Greek?

greecetravel.com ^ | 2003 | Matt Barrett

[Destro]

Whatever the truth, Ruth G. Durlacher Wolper is a real published scholar.

I think I recall reading that Columbus kept bringing up creating wealth to use for a new Crusade for the liberation of Constantinople as a motive for his trip to the Indies (using the Ptolomies charts no less).

[My2Cents]

If you listen to the father in the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," he would give you reasons for believing that Columbus was Greek.

[Destro]

That's funny. Most Greeks I met are like that too. I was bored at work so I posted this. I wish FreeRepublic had a history section. We have A Lord of the Rings section but no History section????

[My2Cents]

I wish FreeRepublic had a history section

Hear hear!

[muawiyah]

Christopher Columbus learned his navigational skills working on ships owned by Rene d'Anjou. Rene was Isabella's grandfather (among other things - I think he's also an ancestor of Henry IV, the Huguenot who became King of France). Rene managed to support two wives, one of whom was the last Valois Princess, and three concubines. There is a real possibility Chris was one of Rene's relatives (the red hair is a clue!).

There's never really been a question about Columbus having access to the royal courts of Brittany, France and Spain. He even married a Braganza Princess and would have had access to the Portuguese Court except King John was busy executing his cousins for treason.

[pabianice]

No. He was a Ukrainian Jew. With black great-grandparents. And he had a gay step-brother. And he voted Democrat.

[Savage Beast]

It's true that the Greeks are chauvinistic. When they calculate the population of Greece, they include all those living abroad.

I always knew that we Americans were decendants of the cultured and enlightened rather than those upstart Romans.

[eleni121]

Given the the time frame (15th century) and parallel events (Greeks fleeing from Byzantium and other parts to the west after Constantinople fell to the Muslim Turks), I wouldn't be surprised to hear this. After all, El Greco the artist (real name Domenicos Theodorokopoulos)left Crete to go West as well, along with many others.

Fascinating...

[brewcrew]

Sorry, I misread the title. I thought you were asking if Columbus was a geek. Nevermind.

[Savage Beast]

Well, I know. We do tend to be tacky. But there is a strain in us that bypassed those Romans and urges us--some of us anyway--not to polish the marble. I'll bet Ruth's right, that it's our original strain and comes straight from Columbus.

BTW, I think we have a clear and overwhelming claim to the Elgin Marbles. Not to mention the Venus de Milo and the Victory of Samothrace.

[Savage Beast]

P.S. Hey, Ruth! Do you suppose Columbus had any Egyptian blood?

[yankeedame]

No. He was a Ukrainian Jew. With black great-grandparents. And he had a gay step-brother. And he voted Democrat.

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LOL! Plus, don't forget the fact that he was a vegetarian, refused to wear furs, paid his crew a "livable wage", and only ended up in the Americas because, while studying the dolphins and whales, he got blow off course.

[College Repub]

Was Columbus Jewish?

[Destro]

From your link: He also would have at least suspected the existence of the American continent. In his personal library was the 1472 edition of Bibliothecae Historicae, written by Diodorus Siculus, a first century b.c. Greek historian who spoke of "a very great island many day's sailing from Africa."

Was he a Jew? He was an outsider. If a Greek, then possibly a Greek Orthodox or those Greek Orthodox recently converted to the Latin rite as they sought refuge in the West and therefore like Jewish converts were possibly considered suspect but not as suspect as Jews or Muslim converts.

[Destro]

Well Italians should know their origins and where Magna Grecia is located, then.

[johnny7]

I've heard he was a black woman from Zimbabwe. HA!