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Greece and the Megali Idea (Great Idea) Nationalism has been an important force in shaping countries and politics since ancient times. In the Greek world, nationalism is a part of every day life. It defines and reminds the people of who they are, and where they have come from. Greek Nationalism would reach its height in the years following World War I. In the Greco-Turkish war of 1920-1923, nationalism was the main driving force in the Greek attempt to create a Greater Greece. The nationalistic ideology of Greece for the past two centuries was known as the Megali Idea (Great Idea). The goal of the Great Idea was ¡§to unite within the bounds of a single state, whose capital would be Constantinople, all the areas of Greek settlement in the Near East.¡¨ This idea originated in the 1700¡¦s, and was for some, a reason for the Greek war for independence. However, the Great Idea would not become popular until the mid 1800¡¦s. Ioannis Kolettis said: ¡§Not only were inhabitants of the kingdom Greeks but so too were those who lived in any land associated with Greek history or the Greek race. There were two main [centers] of Hellenism: Athens, the capital of the Kingdom; and the ¡¥CityÂ