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NICKNAME: STRONG AND IRREGULAR MIRROR OF SOCIETY

The aim of this short work, based on the study of nicknames in a province, is to show that they were used in various ways, and constituted, for the most part, a form of painless social game or a peculiar social "exclusion" or leveling, satisfying the masses' lower passions, as a valve of anti-social outlet, relief, and on the other hand, fun, satire, a permanent game that highlights the truth of the saying "when the devil has no work, he bores (or something worse...) his children". As a rule, nicknames were used very aptly, with recipients all those whom the nicknamers – by convention "professional" jokers, who were usually the "guys" of the market, but oftentimes the hidden instruments of devils – set as their goal, either for reasons of jealousy and malice, to belittle someone, or to equalize them, or, in rare cases, in praise when it came to powerful or noble people, demonstrating ingenuity and seeking an opportunity for self-promotion. And so nicknames developed into an "institution". The origins are very old. Since ancient times, there has been a tendency to use pseudonyms for various reasons that were related either to physical (physical) or professional qualities, or to behaviors, to random incidents, or for reasons of facilitating identification when there were many people with the same surname or name, or, finally, due to other social, etc. parameters or even place names that attracted public attention, ridicule or satire. During the Turkish occupation, cunning and cunning rulers invented diminutives to flatter or satirize Greeks (e.g. in Crete, Leventis became Leventakis, Palikaris became Palikarakis, Androulas became Androulakis, and so on). And this unhealthy and corrupting mentality continued after Liberation. In the villages, people who did not find an outlet in cultural or other fruitful activities – because the generally “combo-gianni” state was not interested in the education of the people in order to exploit them in various ways – especially the lazy or the parasites of the market, who, due to complexes cultivated by social inequality, etc., felt disadvantaged, or became instruments of politicians, etc. expedients, and as "professionals" of the peculiar competitive system, they resorted to pseudonyms (commonly nicknames), which, as mentioned above, on the one hand contributed to a peculiar form of social exclusion, on the other hand they substituted satire and in this, let's say primitive way, they joked, at the expense of their compatriots, who tolerated them if they were not offensive, thus participating in the collective joke, either voluntarily because the pseudonyms did not offend them, or out of inability to react because things might get worse. However, some people reacted by not tolerating pseudonyms for understandable reasons. And certainly, when it came to derogatory nicknames, their originators and users took care to maintain their pretenses, they did not use them in front of their "victims", especially when they were powerful people, but in the milieu, to laugh on the safe side, believing that in this way they were earning credit for resourcefulness for themselves - which, indeed, sometimes deservedly so when they were intelligent and positive - but also satisfying, in many cases, the general climate of malice and jealousy or, in the most lenient case, causing a joke. Of course, in some harmless cases, inventors took care, when circumstances required, to invent laudatory nicknames that would please their recipients. This applied to leading individuals who influenced them and thus flattered them, commonly known as "smoothies."  Or, in the opposite case, they reduced them to gain credit from "rivals" or for their own cheap satisfaction.  So, with this, let's say, primitive sport, they perpetuated a kind of peculiar racism. It also caused competition, meaning that people who had already been victims of nicknames tried to come up with one for others who did not have one, so that they would feel that the situation was being balanced. An old proverb said that when fire cannot burn a peak, it smudges it with smoke. Or Kolokotronis' famous "they throw stones at the fruitful walnut trees".  The "institution" was operating like an epidemic. When someone, at some point, for some reason, addressed a certain nickname either in front of the "victim" or in his absence, the rest of the "group" immediately took care to spread it, reveling in participating in the "feat". There was also the other category of surnames due to physical attributes or neutrals. Another parameter that is worth investigating further is that in some cases, depending on family upbringing, etc. and the power of resistance and emulation, negative, derogatory nicknames were also a motivation for resistance to social "purification", discrimination, etc. It should be noted that in many cases, many were the last to learn that someone was using pseudonyms against them.

The selection of pseudonyms, in alphabetical order, was made in a mountain village whose name, for obvious reasons, is not mentioned. For some nicknames there is no explanation of their origin.

1)England (champion shooter who had competed in England and shot a volley in a ring and was called "England") {praise}, 2)Akamatis (lazy) (reducing), 3) Alivanitos (who had not been incensed in the church) {reducing}, 4) Alipogatos (like a cat in a litter) {reducing}, 5)Ablas {mdiminutive}, 6) Ablanigos {reducing}, 7)Arapis (from the color –{reducing), 8) Asikis (praised), 9) Astrinis, 10) Vetos (from birch), 11) Vidonis (from screw) {reducing{reducing}, 18) Giannakaris (looked like someone Giannakaris), 19) Gaidosotiros (reducing), 20) Gildis, 21) Glaxon (from the sound of IX {reducing}, 22) Gianitsoulas, 23) Gouvoutis {diminutive}, 24) Gules, 25) Fur (from fur) {diminutive}, 26) 27) Diogenes (turner) {praise}, 28) Zvigos (throwing stones and saying "svig" from the noise they make) {reducing}, 29) Zgouris, 30) Zenios, 31) Zizis, 32) Zobolis (he was a Zavoliarian) {reducing}, 33) Will (he kept saying "will"), (reducing), 34) Theonis (from his wife because she was defending){reducing}, 35)Thymionikolas, (from anger) (reducing), 36) Kazanis (from kazani) (reducing), 37) Kalapostolou (from the "good Apostle" she used to call her husband), 38) Kakoskalis (from the dangerous steps outside his house) {reducing}, 39) Kamberis, 40) Kanayas (due to unscrupulous character), {reducing}, 41) Kantarchos, 42) Cantrilias (he played a lot of cantrilias, {reducing}, 43) Captain (from his trade in the merchant marine), 44) Kaunis (from the melon),{reducing},45) Kalaitzis (by profession - potter), 46) Kaplanis (Turkish-Meiotic), 47) Karkazis, 48) Kantarchos, 49) Karabelas, 50) Karoubalis (from the caroubalas he had), {reducing}, 51) Watermelon (from watermelon) {reducing}, 52) Katsimouris, 53) Coffee (sold coffee),{reducing}, 54) Kapsondamis ("he was burning" with the queen at cards),{reducing}, 55) Kin, Kin reducing, 56) Quinine (yellow like quinine) (reducing), 57) Kologionnis (diminutive), 58) Kolokas, 59) Kolytiris (from his profession, a plumber-glued things), 60) Klitsis (from klitsa), 61) Kombinas (made combs){reducing},62) Kontokouris, 63) Korais (because he was called Adamantios, at school they combined it with Korais) {commendative},64) Koraklis, 65) Kosyvogiannis, 66) Katsianis, 67) Korfitis (he easily climbed peaks) {commendable} .reducing}, 73) Kules {reducing}, 74) Koumoutsoyiannis (very poor, he had no "koumoutsi" (piece of bread) to eat) {reducing}.reducing), 78) Kourkoumbas, 79) Kourlos, 80) Kournutis, 81) Koutifaris {reducing}, 82) Koutouzos {reducing}.reducing}, 87) Crasoulas (drank a lot of wine) {reducing} 88) Lagadis (due to descent from Lagadia, 89) Lagoudis (like the hare) {reducing}, 90) Of Lainis, 91) Lakas (she ran away quickly), 92) Lamponicolis, 93) Lambritsas (he walked happily like Lambri) {praise}, 94) Lapathas, 95) Lapathoyannis, 96) Lardanos (from lard) . ) Lyseas, 97) Lordos (pronounced as Lords (ironic), 98) Louridas, 99) Mavias (because of color), 100) Makriopalissios, (from toponym) 101) Maliaras, 102) Malisovas, 103) Maluchos, 104) Mantzalas, 105) Mandukos, 106) Mapas (as mapa) (reducing), 116) Carpenter (by profession), 117) Margoulis (from the name of Marigoula's wife, who was a commander) 118) {reducing}.reducing{reducing}.reducing}, 132) Mokos (did moko) {reducing}, 133) Muzzle (due to muzzle, face), (reducing), 134) Murkhoutis, 135) Mousgas, 136) Mouchtouris, 137) Bayas (from stale) {reducing}.reducing), 145) Blutsoyannis 146), Bulldozieris (from the bulldozer he had), 147) Bourbounis (looked like a bourbuna (diminutive), 148) Bournovalos, 149) Bratsioulias (had strong arms), 150) Brouklis, 151) Nelos, 152) Nerofidas (drank water like a snake) (reducing), 153) Dakos, 154) Darlas, 155) Darlolias, 156) Delicas, 157) Dovaios, 158) Doilas {reducing}.reducing},161) Xesmichtis (he was separating goats), 162) Palamidis, 163) Panotiras (he kept looking up), 164) Papadogangros (father's son-in-law), 165) Paparoumbas, 166 ) Parparas (he was saying par-par){reducing{reducing}. 169) Petrandrikos (son of Peter), 170) Platanias (from the plane tree), 171) Putanis {reducing}. .reducing}, 190) Sinagridas (from Sinagridas),{reducing}, 191) Skaltsoras {reducing}, 192) Scouse (scouze), {reducing}, 193) Sioutis, 194) Sclavunos, 195) Kotsaftis) {reducing}. . .reducing}, 212) Trakas (reducing), 213) Trapatsas (from the word strapatso), 214) Triadis (from his wife Triada), 215) Triantafyllos (from the roses he wore), 216) Tsavalas, 217) Tsagris, 218) Jackal (from the jackal) .reducing}, 224) Tselepakos (origin), 225) Tsinonis, 226) Tsimbas (from the sting), {reducing}, 227)Slut {reducing}.reducing}, 234) Chutsos, 235) Trapatsos (from strapatso), {diminutive}, 236) Treklas (he staggered when he was drunk){reducing}, 237) Tremors (tremulous from Parkinson's),{reducing}, 238) Tsochos (from the weed zochos) {reducing}, 239)Jirilis (he often threw jirils (abscesses) on his body){reducing}.reducing}, 244) Flechtouris (flechtourage), 245) Floris (from his father-in-law's surname), 246) Pholos (from the egg){reducing}. (diminutive), 250) Haliouris (dumb){reducing}.reducing}, 254) Hatjiloukas (combination of two names), 255) Chitis (from the period of the civil war),{reducing}.reducing} 259) Liar (reducing), 260) Tall (neutral), 261) Flea (like a flea),{reducing}, 262) Psychas (spirited, his soul said so) {praise}.

The sad conclusion, which should be troubling, is that out of the 262 nicknames, a very large percentage are derogatory, insulting, negative, and this demonstrates the tendency of anti-social behavior, idiosyncratic racism, jealousy, malice, the social "civil war", which they ransacked and ransacked the society especially in the villages, and which, unfortunately continues (fortunately to a lesser extent) to the glory of the "education" and "civilization" of the country that was their cradle, because of the political, social and cultural Komboyanism that prevails and also because of which our Country has reached its present sad point of decline.

P.I.Karafotias