The Greek Revolution

Famous heroes and heroines

Do you know any names of Greek heroes and heroines of the Greek War of Independence? Theodoros Kolokotronis, Georgios Karaiskakis, Athanasios Diakos, Markos Botsaris, Georgios Dikaios or Papaflessasa, Nikitas Stamatelopoulos or Nikitaras, Andreas Miaoulis are some emblematic figures. Mado Mavrogenous and Laskarina Bouboulina are the most well-known heroines, who offered money and guns to the Greeks.

Filiki Etaireia

Filiki Etaireia was a sercret association formed in 1814. The founders of this secret society were Emmanuel Xanthos,  Athanasios Tsakalof and Nikolaos Skoufas. Odessa was the place where these three men set up the Filiki Etaireia. Their aim was to prepare the Greeks to overthrow the Ottoman Rule. The members of this secret organisation were Greeks from Russia, Greeks from the Danubian Principalities as well as Greek heroes. All the members gave an oath, the “Great Oath of the Filiki Etaireia”, in order to accepted as novices at the society. A priest was always present during the ceremony of the “Oath of the Initiation into the Society”.

Ioannis Kapodistrias

Ioannis Kapodistrias was elected the first head of independent Greece. He arrived in Nafplio in January 1828. He was a successful diplomat and great politician. He  also served as a Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire. He was indeed a very progressive politician. He established the National Bank of Greece and replaced the Turkish coins with the Greek coin (palm). Ioannis Kapodistrias also established the Agriculture School in Tiryns and founded the First Greek High School. Furthermore, the Central School operated in Aegina during his term in power. Last but not least, he organised the regular army of Greece. The first governor of Greece was murdered by Konstantis and George Mavromihalis. On September 27 in 1831 these two men shot him on the steps of Saint Spyridon church in the old city of Nafpion. After his assassination, Greece was in chaos.

Λεξιλόγιο – Vocabulary