1. Family-studies

Son of Savvas Triantafyllidis, Periklis was born in Trebizond in 1818. His Christian name was Konstantinos, but his teacher at the "Frontistirion" of Trebizond renamed him “towards the most Greek” according to the habit of his age. After Savvas’ death in 1823 the Triantafyllidis family suffered great poverty, but Periklis managed to receive proper education thanks to the protection of Andreas Massonas, his father’s friend and attendant of the French consul in Trebizond. After studying for a while in the Frontistirion, he followed a certain monk of the monastery of Vazelon in Kaisareia (Kayseri) to continue his studies, but he returned to Trebizond one year later and studied with Antionios Kambouroglou, whom he succeeded in the direction of the Frontistirion when the former was called to Kerasounta (Giresun) in 1842. He maintained the direction until 1844. In the next year the community of Trebizond sent him with a scholarship to Athens to continue his studies.

2. Educational activity

Periklis Triantafyllidis’ educational activity was very turbulent: in this time the conflicts within the Greek-Orthodox community due to the election of the representatives of the communal treasury divided the people of Trebizond into two parties¹ and caused, amongst others, problems in the function of the Frontistirion due to quarrels of the members of its board. Thus, after his return from Athens in 1848 and the completion of his studies, Trintafyllidis taught for one year in the Frontistirion and in 1850 he assumed its direction once more. But he was dismissed in the following year, since the opposing party prevailed and appointed S. Lefakis as a director. But Lefakis too resigned one year later, after the war which broke out against him. The petitions of many people of Trebizond brought Triantafyllidis back for a short period as a teacher, but he was again dismissed in the following year, since Konstantinos Xanthopoulos preferred D. Kyriakidis, father of the known scholar Epameinondas. After these incidents spirits became acute between the two parties, since the one supporting Triantafyllidis insisted in his appointment. The resignation of the director Xanthopoulos, Kyriakidis and the member of the board D. Karvonidis followed. Thus, in 1854, after the school was left with no board and teachers and many parents threatened to take their children from it, the Church intervened and appointed with a council act as a director of the Preparatory School Eustathios Kleovoulos, who was later to become the metropolitan of Kaisareia. Triantafyllidis, who was by then teaching in a private school,² which the children of his supporters attended, was called by the ecclesiastical authorities to Constantinople (Istanbul) for an apology. After his apology he left for Kerasounta(Giresun) to assume the direction of the school there (1854-1855 until 1857-1858). In 1858 he returned to Trebizond and taught under the direction of A. Chourmouziadis. He became the director of the Frontistirion once more from 1858 until 1861-1862 and worked as a teacher again in the next year. Finally he directed the School of Kerasounta again from 1863 until 1866. From 1866 until his death in Kerasounta in 1871 (he died from a chronic disease) he occupied himself with trade.

3. Work

For the scholar Triantafyllidis Epameinondas Kyriakidis writes: “He was the first of all the scholars after the Ottoman conquest who had the idea to write about his own homeland and to investigate manuscripts and traditions; he also collected information about the life of the people of Trebizond during the long time after the conquest […] These facts attest also his virtue in literature […] and his pure patriotism”.³ During the last years of his life the Pontic scholar published two works. The first, entitled The Greek race of the Pontus (I en Ponto elliniki fyli), published in Athens in 1866, was the first specimen of the collection of the living monuments in the Pontus, something in which great part of the book's value can be found. It contains geographical, financial, demographic, educational, political but also historical information. His second work, entitled The Fugitives (Oi fygades), was published anonymously by Triantafyllidis in 1870. It is a drama in verse of national content where the author interposes and interprets traditions of the Pontus, as well as 13 folksongs. The book also contains an introduction with historical and philological information and, along with Savvas Ioannidis’ book which was published in the same year,⁴ it is the first which gives special importance to the songs of the Pontus and presents them to the wider philological audience. Furthermore Triantafyllidis was the editor of pamphlets which were published in the years 1851-1854 by the party of Chatzi Konstantinos Parigoris, in which also a “Historical account of of D. Karvonidis' term in the board of the schools of Trebizond during 1852” and the “Answer to a suggestion of K. Xanthopoulos about the foundation of a gymnasium” are included.