With the title "My Hellenism and the Greeks," Ion, during a period of six years, from 1903 to 1909 - during which he served in various consulates in Macedonia, Thrace, Egypt, the embassies of Constantinople and Rome, and the ministry in Athens, in other words, in the most crucial points of Hellenism and the most important political centers of the East - filled two notebooks with notes, like a diary for his personal use.

There is a direct external connection between one note and the others, but they are all tied together by the same general theme. As the title explains, in these notebooks he recorded all the impressions he received, observations and thoughts he made, analyses, generalizations, and comparisons related to all kinds of Greek issues that he encountered daily on his path and that captivated his attention persistently. He also had thoughts related to himself, as he saw himself almost constantly within his environment, within the national organization, as an essential element or instrument, or only as a small useful cell for the existence of this organization, which he made the purpose of his life. But he constantly explored and tested himself, unrelated to the nation. [...]

(from the preface by Philip Dragoumis)