Megali Idea
Megali Idea (
Greek for "Great Idea") is a concept of
Greek nationalism expressing the goal of establishing a Greek state that encompasses all ethnic Greeks. A major proponent was
Eleftherios Venizelos, who expanded Greek territory in the
Balkan Wars of 1912-13. A major defeat followed in 1922, however, when the Turkish nationalists defeated and expelled the Greeks from
Anatolia.