We study the history of "modern" Hellenism starting, usually, from the fall of Constantinople (1453). It was the final act in the collapse of what we today call "Byzantine" Hellenism, the end of the "middle" and the beginning of the "modern" times of Greek history.
However, from the perspective of the evolution of Greek civilization, the starting point of the "modern" times is not 1453. It is rather 1354: the year when Demetrios Kydones, with the encouragement of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, translates Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologiae" into Greek. Enthralled by the new "light" coming from the West, Kydones undertakes to transmit it to his fellow Greeks.
This event marks a new era for Hellenism, a new historical period. A period where the interest of the Greeks progressively shifts from their own tradition and culture to another model and vision of life. [...]