The links between Philippos Eliou and the University of Crete and the people surrounding it have been close and long-lasting, with the institutional culmination being his appointment as an honorary doctor of the School of Philosophy (1994).

Thus, the scientific meeting organized by the Department of History and Archaeology in Rethymno (14-15/10/2005) was a meaningful gesture: historians, friends, and collaborators, fellow countrymen of F. Eliou honored his memory in a substantial way, contributing their intellectual contribution to the great treasury of modern Greek historiography.

The volume contains the speeches of the conference. The title "Social Struggles and Enlightenment" reflects the main axes of the texts, as they unfold the thread leading us to the fascinating field of modern Greek history of ideas.

We learn about Korais' initiation into the world of Enlightenment and his interest in the modern schools of the eastern Aegean, about the Greek money-loving enemies of the Enlightenment and the fanatical Kapodistrian Ioannis Mai who is in revolutionary Marseille. Also, about the Histories of the Greek book and the engagement with early modern Greek philology during the turbulent decade of the 1940s, while, finally, more theoretical issues are raised, such as the connection between social struggles and Enlightenment, the "nation" of Enlightenment, and the "deviating" approaches of K. T. Dimaras, P. Kondylis, and F. Eliou to modern Greek Enlightenment. Written by: Spyros I. Asdrachas, Angelos Elefantis, Vasilis Kremmydas, Kostas Lappas, Christos Loukos, Anna Matthaiou, Stratēs Bournazos, Popi Polemi, Alexis Politis, Dimitris Spathis, and Nikos Hatzinikolaou.