ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with some forms of ethno-cultural interaction between Bulgarians and Greeks in the city of Plovdiv in the first half of the nineteenth century, and in particular with facets of everyday coexistence like assimilation, rivalry and syncretism. However, more so than any psychological or cultural pressure, it was economic, social and political circumstances, more specifically their close relationship and collaboration with the local Greek ecclesiastical and commercial establishment, that appears to have been crucial in determining whether Bulgarians became or remained gudilas. Relations between Greeks and Slavs in nineteenth-century Plovdiv were typical of societies in the period prior to the emergence of nations and nationalist ideologies. An essential role in the process of turning Bulgarians into gudilas was played by the guilds, which as a rule maintained close relations with the Episcopal representatives in the city.
