1821 - 2021 HELLENIC REVOLUTION

Text by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

1821 - 2021, 200 years since the Greek Revolution. Glorious moments, countless battles, greatest heroes and heroines from all over Greece, marked one of the most important moments in Greek history.

Germanos III of Old Patras blesses the flag of the revolution

March 25, 1821, is the starting day of the National Fight. All of Greece is on the fire of the Revolution against the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish occupation. Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace, Crete, Aegean Sea, Moldavia, everywhere from end to end Hellenism rose and the freedom that all Greeks waited for so many years finally came. In this tribute, we will say a few words about the symbolism of the Revolution, while we will focus on events that took place in the Peloponnese.

the beginning of the Revolution in Mani

It is worth mentioning that throughout the Turkish occupation countless revolutions and conflicts took place, which overall failed, as for example the Orlofika in 1770. Nevertheless, we see that the Greeks never accepted the Turkish occupation and always fought for a free Greek nation and an independent state. March 25th was the day of the general beginning of the Revolution, but in Mani the Fight began on March 17, 1821. Mani was never conquered by the Turks, but fought furiously for its freedom and independence, while helping greatly for the freedom of the rest of Greece. On March 17th, in Areopolis, under the leadership of Petrobei Mavromichalis, the Mani chieftains decided together to openly battle the Ottomans.

Fall of Tripolitsa

What to mention first about those heroic moments. Heroes like Nikitaras from Nedousa of Messinia and the Mani chieftains Mavromichalis with historical names such as Petrobeis and Elias. Charalambos Vilaetis from Pyrgos of Ilia, Ioannis Notaras from Trikala of Corinthia, the Chrysanthakopoulos brothers from the village of Koumani in Achaia, as well as countless other heroes from all over the Peloponnese, from Arcadia, Argolida, Achaia, Ileia, Korinthia, Lakonia and Messinia, where you need endless pages to record them all.

Theodoros Kolokotronis

Of course, it would be impossible not to mention the greatest hero, the man who marked the Greek Revolution as much as anyone else, Theodoros Kolokotronis, the Old man of Moria. Born in 1770, the Peloponnesian general wrote history with epic victories and conquests. He was the man where in the most difficult moments of the revolution, the whole of Hellenism relied on him.

the initiation of Theodoros Kolokotronis in the Filiki Etaireia

Regarding it, we will see some great battles won by the Greeks, laying a solid foundation for the liberation. The Fall of Tripoli, September 23, 1821, General Theodoros Kolokotronis besieges the most important administrative and commercial center of the Peloponnese, of the highest strategic importance. On the one hand the 10,000 Greeks, whose leaders were Theodoros Kolokotronis from Limbovisi of Arcadia, Panagiotis Giatrakos from Arna of Laconia, Christos Anagnostaras from Poliani of Messinia and Petrobeis Mavromichalis from Areopolis. Opposite them were 10,000 Ottomans, Albanians, Jews and Asians, while the administration was held by Kehagiabeis, Defterndaris and Selih Mehmet. The overwhelming victory of the Greeks brought the capital of Arcadia in their hands. The conquest of Tripoli was one of the most important events, as it gave great strength to the Greeks, revived their morale and played a decisive role in the outcome of the war.

Grateful Hellas

Ibrahim, who burned and sacked Greece, is trying to conquer the unconquerable Mani. In June 1826, Ibrahim attacked Verga and Diros. As he arrived in Verga, Ibrahim demanded the immediate surrender of the Maniots under the threat of destroying all of Mani. George Mavromichalis, signing as the leader of the Spartans, answered heroically: "we are waiting for you with all the forces you have, the people of Mani are writing and we are waiting for you". Ibrahim with 8,500 men dashed against the few Maniots who numbered about 1,500 defenders, among them countless women with scythes literally leveled the enemy army. Women and men of Mani, descendants of Spartans, managed to defeat the attack of the until then invincible Ibrahim. Two months later, on August 28, 1826, Ibrahim with 4,000 soldiers, Ottomans and Egyptians attacked again in Mani, where he found 2,000 Maniots with Panagiotis, Nikolaos and Georgios Giatrakos, Elias Katsakos, Georgios and Konstantinos Mavromichalis and Elias Tsalafatinos as their leaders. The battle turned into a disaster for Ibrahim, as his army was slaughtered, with him admitting that he could not conquer Mani and so he left. The massacre of his army, which consisted mostly of Arabs, gave the area the name "Polyaravon".

flag with a representation of Greece in the form
of the goddess Athena which originally belonged to Theodoros
Kolokotronis and was given to Konstantinos Drakos

Also of great importance was the Liberation of Kalamata, on March 23, 1821, led by Kolokotronis, Anagnostaras, Papaflessas and Petrobeis Mavromichalis. The leader of the Turks was Suleiman Pasha. The Turks handed over the city to the Greeks without any particular resistance. Also of great importance was the Occupation of Palamidi in Nafplio, on November 30, 1822. The Greeks, led by Staikos Staikopoulos from Zatouna of Gortynia, with a secret raid took over control of Palamidi and forced the Turks to surrender. The Patras uprising also played a big role, where Odysseas Androutsos hid for some time, while Makrygiannis there tried to bring the leaders of the uprisings in contact in order to coordinate them. The Siege of Acrocorinth took place on January 14, 1822, where the Turks were forced to hand over Acrocorinth to Theodoros Kolokotronis.

flag of the Filiki Etairia, one of the
oldest and most famous flags of the Revolution

April 3, 1821, the battle of Pyrgos took place. Ileia fighters led by Charalambis Vilaetis, fought against the Ottomans and the Turkalvans. A series of battles followed until June, 1821, when after a great campaign of the Greeks, Ileia was liberated. July 26, 1822, Battle at Dervenakia, an area between Argolis and Corinthia, one of the most important battles known as the "Slaughter of Dramalis". On the one hand the Ottoman Mahmut Pasha Dramalis, led by 30,000 men and on the other hand Theodoros Kolokotronis, Dimitris Plapoutas, Papaflessas, Nikitaras and Dimitrios Ypsilantis, with 2,500 Greek warriors. The battle ended with a great victory of the Greeks and the destruction of the Ottoman army.

Maniots women carrying scythes and fighting Ibrahim's army

What to mention first about the women who fought like lionesses for freedom. One of them is Stavriana Savvaina from Parori of Laconia. When the Turks killed her husband, she herself created an army consisting of women and joined the army of Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis. She fought in the Fall of Tripoli, in the battle of Valtetsi, in the battle of Trikorfa, in the battle of Diros and in many other battles. Konstantina Zacharia, a Spartan warrior who persecuted the Turks from Sparta to Mystras where they were forced to hide. She also took over Leontari in Arcadia, killed the Ottoman commander, lowered the Turkish crescent banners and burned all the mosques. Of course, a tribute is not enough to praise all the heroines of the struggle, who fought for our country on an equal footing with the men.

flag of independent Mani, for that reason
the word "Victory" is written and not the word
"Freedom" because Mani was always free

200 years have passed since when golden pages were written in the history of Greece, but also tragic, as unfortunately the end of many heroes was not what it should be, as betrayals, foreign powers, civil wars and other situations blatantly wronged many heroes who gave their fortunes, and even their lives for the freedom of our homeland.

flag of the family Kolokotronis which
Theodoros also used. During the Revolution it
was also used by other chieftains

200 years later, almost nothing reminds of these heroic moments. Unfortunately, the modern descendants of these heroes are nothing like their ancestors who gave the last fight in the name of freedom. Governments that in no way resemble the values ​​and dreams as well as the actions of those heroes, and people that unfortunately do not remember their power and history. A memorial day, a significant day for all Greeks but also for all people living in slavery. A day when an entire empire kneeled before thieves, armatoles and people who gave everything, so that today we and our children can be free. Whatever one writes, words are not enough to describe the significance of the event. It is the duty of all of us to honor them, not to forget them, but also not to forget and sell out the legacies left by those people, the manners and ideals, the love for the freedom that all people deserve to have. The page En Astron as well as all of us honor the memory of these heroes and wish all Greeks good freedom, because as Rigas Velestinlis said: "Better an hour of free life, than forty years of slavery and imprisonment".