The Asia Minor catastrophe'constitutes the deepest scar in the history of contemporary Hellenism, and its effects strongly marked the future course of the nation. The tragedy of 1922, sealed by the blood of thousands of innocent people, ended the centuries-long Greek presence in Asia Minor and in this aspect was the'most significant factor of ethnological contraction which characterizes the path of Hellenism in our century'. 2 However, the Hellenism of Asia Minor was not lost; it was only uprooted.