Poem of the Day: Lord Byron's The Isles of Greece

"The mountains look on Marathon...and Marathon looks on the sea"

View from Schinias-Marathon 

The Isles of Greece

The isles of Greece! the isles of Greece!
Where burning Sappho loved and sung,
Where grew the arts of war and peace,---
Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung!

Eternal summer gilds them yet,
But all, except their sun, is set.

The Scian and the Teian muse,
The hero's harp, the lover's lute,
Have found the fame your shores refuse;
Their place of birth alone is mute
To sounds which echo further west
Than your sires' "Islands of the Blest.

"The mountains look on Marathon---
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dream'd that Greece might yet be free
For, standing on the Persians' grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.

A king sat on the rocky brow
Which looks on sea-born Salamis;
And ships, by thousands, lay below,
And men in nations;---all were his!
He counted them at break of day---
And when the sun set, where were they?

And where are they? and where art thou,
My country? On thy voiceless shore
The heroic lay is tuneless now---
The heroic bosom beats no more!
And must thy lyre, so long divine,
Degenerate into hands like mine?

'Tis something, in the dearth of fame,
Though link'd among a fetter'd race,
To feel at least a patriot's shame,
Even as I sing, suffuse my face;
For what is left the poet here?
For Greeks a blush---for Greece a tear.

Must we but weep o'er days more blest?
Must we but blush?---Our fathers bled.
Earth! render back from out thy breast
A remnant of our Spartan dead!
Of the three hundred grant but three,
To make a new Thermopylae.

What, silent still, and silent all?
Ah! no; the voices of the dead
Sound like a distant torrent's fall,
And answer, "Let one living head,
But one arise,---we come, we come!"
'Tis but the living who are dumb.

In vain---in vain: strike other chords;
 

Fill high the cup of Samian wine!
Leave battles to the Turkish hordes,
And shed the blood of Scio's vine!
Hark! rising to the ignoble call---
How answers each bold bacchanal!

You have the Pyrrhic dance as yet,
Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone?
Of two such lessons, why forget
The nobler and the manlier one?
You have the letters Cadmus gave---
Think ye he meant them for a slave?

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!
We will not think of themes like these!
It made Anacreon's song divine;
He served---but served Polycrates---
A tyrant; but our masters then
Were still, at least, our countrymen.

The tyrant of the Chersonese
Was freedom's best and bravest friend;
That tyrant was Miltiades!
Oh! that the present hour would lend
Another despot of the kind!
Such chains as his were sure to bind.

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!
On Suli's rock, and Parga's shore,
Exists the remnant of a line
Such as the Doric mothers bore;
And there, perhaps, some seed is sown,
The Heracleidan blood might own.

Trust not for freedom to the Franks---
They have a king who buys and sells:
In native swords and native ranks,
The only hope of courage dwells:
But Turkish force and Latin fraud
Would break your shield, however broad.

Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!
Our virgins dance beneath the shade---
I see their glorious black eyes shine;
But, gazing on each glowing maid,
My own the burning tear-drop laves,
To think such breasts must suckle slaves.

Place me on Sunium's marble steep---
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep:
There, swan-like, let me sing and die;
A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine---
Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!

Lord Byron 1788 - 1824 

An Ode to Greece from Lord Byron

one of the greatest Philhellenes and honorary Global Greeks of all time... 

a timeless masterpiece that rings as true today as it ever did...

10 April 1826: The Exodus of Messolonghi - Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi

Greece Standing on the Ruins of Messolonghi 

Eugene Delacroix 1826

Today, 10th of April marks the anniversary of the Exodus of Messolonghi - another bloody chapter in the Greek struggle for Independence from the Turks.

During the Orlov Revolt in 1770 the fleet of Messolonghi was defeated and the town passed to the Turks. Messolonghi revolted against the Turks on May 20, 1821 and was a major stronghold of the Greek rebels in the Greek War of Independence. Its inhabitants successfully resisted a siege by Ottoman forces in 1822. 

  Exodus of Messolonghi (1855) - Theodoros P Vryzakis  

National Art Gallery - Athens, Greece

The second siege started on April 15, 1825 by Reşid Mehmed Pasha whose army numbered 30,000 men and was later reinforced by another 10,000 men led by Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt. After a year of relentless enemy attacks and facing starvation, the people of Messolonghi decided to leave the beleaguered city in the "Exodus of its Guards" (The Sortie) on the night of April 10, 1826. 

At the time, there were 10,500 people in Messolonghi, 3,500 of whom were armed. Very few people survived the Ottoman pincer  movement after the betrayal of their plan.

La Missolonghienne - Η Μεσολογγίτισσα - Woman of Messolonghi

 E. De Lansac 1828 - Town Hall, Messolonghi

Due to the heroic stance of the population and the subsequent massacre of its inhabitants by the Turkish-Egyptian forces, the town of Messolonghi received the honorary title of Hiera Polis (the Sacred City), unique among other Greek cities. 

Celebrated French painter Eugene Delacroix and  British poet Lord Byron were famous philhellenes who lent their support to the Greek cause. Lord Byron actually died in Messolonghi from malaria in 1824.

 Lord Byron on his Deathbed

J D Odevaere c 1826, Groeninge Museum, Bruges

A cenotaph containing his heart and a statue located in the town were built to pay tribute to this great poet's generous support of Greece's struggle for Independence.

The  Exodos of Messolonghi Memorial Day is a significant anniversary and is held annually on Palm Sunday in the presence of the President of the Republic, politicians and Ambassadors. 

Read what the French Ambassador to Greece wrote about his visit to Messolonghi for the annual celebrations, on Palm Sunday, 28th March 2010, in his blog Le Blog de L'Ambassadeur de France en Grece.

Listen to Nikos Xylouris sing the magnificent poem, Eleftheroi Polyorkimenoi (Free Besieged) which was written by national poet, Dionysios Solomos in honour of the heroic people of Messolonghi, and set to music by composer Yiannis Markopoulos. 

Άκρα του τάφου σιωπή στον κάμπο βασιλεύει·

λαλεί πουλί, παίρνει σπυρί, κι η μάνα το ζηλεύει.

Τα μάτια η πείνα εμαύρισε· στα μάτια η μάνα μνέει·

στέκει ο Σουλιώτης ο καλός παράμερα καί κλαίει:

«Έρμο τουφέκι σκοτεινό, τι σ' έχω γω στο χέρι;

οπού συ μού ΄γινες βαρύ κι ο Αγαρηνός το ξέρει».

Source: Wikipedia

Global Greece: 25th March 1821 - Zito i Ellas! 25η Μαρτίου 1821 - Ζήτω η Ελλάδα!

             
Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν κόψι

Τοῦ σπαθιοῦ τὴν τρομερή,

Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν ὄψι,

Ποῦ μὲ βιά μετράει τὴν γῆ.

Ἀπ’ τὰ κόκκαλα βγαλμένη

Τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ ἱερά,

Καὶ σὰν πρῶτα ἀνδρειωμένη,

Χαῖρε, ὢ χαῖρε, Ἐλευθεριά!

The Oath - O Orkos

Se gnorizo apo tin kopsi

tou spathiou tin tromeri,

se gnorízo apo tin opsi,

pou me via metrai tin gi.

Ap' ta kokkala vgalmeni

ton Ellinon ta iera,

kai san prota andriomeni,

chere, o chere, Eleftheria!  


                         
To Kryfo Sholio - The Secret School

  We knew thee of old,

O, divinely restored,

By the lights of thine eyes,

And the light of thy Sword.

From the graves of our slain,

Shall thy valour prevail,

As we greet thee again,

Hail, Liberty! Hail! 

(Translation Rudyard Kipling - 1918) 

           

 Theodoros Kolokotronis  

The Hymn to Liberty (Ýmnos is tīn Eleftherian) was written by Dionýsios Solomós in 1823 and set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros. At 158 verses it is in fact the longest hymn in the world.   

On the 4th August 1865, the first two verses officially became the national anthem of Greece and in 1966 also that of the Republic of Cyprus. Corfiot operatic composer Nikolaos Mantzaros composed two choral versions, a long one for the whole poem and a short one for the first two stanzas; the latter is the one adopted as the National Anthem of Greece.   The Greek War of Independence, the Greek Revolution, was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1829, with later assistance from several European powers, against the Ottoman Empire.  

Following the capture of Constantinople in 1453 and the fall of the Byzantine Empire most of Greece came under Ottoman rule. During this time, there were many unsuccessful revolts by the occupied Greeks attempting to gain their independence.

In 1814, three Greeks, Nikolaos Skoufas from Arta, Emmanouil Xanthos from Patmos and Athanasios Tsakalof from Epirus met one another in 1814 in Odessa and decided the constitution of a secret organization to unite of all the Greeks in an armed organisation, in order to eventually throw off the Ottoman rule.

At the beginning, during the 1814–1816 period, there were about twenty members.

In 1817, the Society expanded mainly bringing in the Greeks of Russia and of Moldovlachia (the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia), which had a particularly strong Greek element and the Lord of Moldavia, Michael Soutsos himself, became a member.  Massive initiations began only in 1818 and by early 1821, when the Society had expanded in almost all regions of Greece and Greek communities abroad, the membership numbered in thousands. Among its members were tradesmen, clergy, Russian consuls, Ottoman officials from Phanar and Serbs, one of them the revolutionary Karageorge.   

Alexandros Ypsilantis, Theodoros Kolokotronis, Odysseas Androutsos, Dimitris Plapoutas, Manto Mavrogenous, Bouboulina  and the  Bishop Palaion Patron Germanos were among the legendary leaders of the revolution and are revered to this day.    

Because of Greece's classical heritage, there was tremendous sympathy for the Greek cause throughout Europe. Many wealthy Americans and Western European aristocrats, such as the renowned poet Lord Byron and later the physician Samuel Howe, took up arms to join the Greek revolutionaries. Many more also financed the revolution. The Scottish historian and philhellene Thomas Gordon took part in the revolutionary struggle and later wrote the first histories of the Greek revolution in English.  

 In Europe, the Greek revolt aroused widespread sympathy among the public, although at first it was met with lukewarm and negative reception from the Great Powers.

 

One of the Ottoman massacres inspired Eugène Delacroix's famous painting The Massacre of Chios (below) while other philhellenic works by Delacroix were inspired by many other poems by Byron, the most celebrated philhellene of all. Byron lent not just his name, prestige and wealth to the cause, he died for it ...  

The mountains look on Marathon --

And Marathon looks on the sea;

And musing there an hour alone,

I dream'd that Greece might yet be free

For, standing on the Persians' grave,

I could not deem myself a slave.

Lord Byron - Isles of Greece    

Byron's poetry, along with Delacroix' magnificent art, helped arouse European public opinion in favour of the Greek revolutionaries to the point of no return, and led Western powers to intervene directly.  

The anniversary of the Revolution is a major National Holiday, celebrated on the 25th of March on Evangelismos,  the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary,  and is a double celebration for Greece and for Greek Communities everywhere in the world. 

ΖΗΤΩ!!! Zito to Ethnos! Zito i Ellada!

The Massacre of Chios

Global Greek Issues: Presenting Costas Gavras' Masterpiece - The Parthenon! There Are No Excuses Anymore! Bring Home the Parthenon Marbles!!!

Photo Source: Alexis Mantheakis

One of our Global Greeks, renowned film producer Costas Gavras, producer of 'Z' and 'Missing' produced the magnificent video which we have embedded below for the Cultural Olympiad of Athens, 2003 - 2004. It eloquently depicts the history of the Parthenon and it's trial and tribulations through the centuries. During the video you can hear the following excerpt from 'The Curse of Minerva' written by Lord Byron in 1811 being recited.

Byron passionately opposed Lord Elgin's removal of the Parthenon marbles from Greece and denounced it at every opportunity.He wrote this poem, The Curse of Minerva, castigating Elgin's shameful actions in removing the friezes and metopes so integral to the Parthenon.

"Mortal!" -- 'twas thus she spake -- "that blush of shame

Proclaims thee Briton, once a noble name;

First of the mighty, foremost of the free,

Now honour'd less by all, and least by me;

Chief of thy foes shall Pallas still be found.

Seek'st thou the cause of loathing? --look around.

Lo! here, despite of war and wasting fire,

I saw successive tyrannies expire.

'Scaped from the ravage of the Turk and Goth,

Thy country sends a spoiler worse than both.

Survey this vacant, violated fane;

Recount the relics torn that yet remain:

These Cecrops placed, this Pericles adorn'd,

That Adrian rear'd when drooping Science mourn'd.

What more I owe let gratitude attest--

Know, Alaric and Elgin did the rest.

That all may learn from whence the plunderer came,

The insulted wall sustains his hated name:

For Elgin's fame thus grateful Pallas pleads,

Below, his name--above, behold his deeds!

Be ever hailed with equal honour here

The Gothic monarch and the Pictish peer:

arms gave the first his right, the last had none,

But basely stole what less barbarians won.

So when the lion quits his fell repast,

Next prowls the wolf, the filthy jackal last;

Some calm spectator, as he takes his view,

In silent indignation mix'd with grief,

Admires the plunder, but abhors the thief.

In 1812, Lord Byron went on to write 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, with the same reproach and recrimination for such an ignoble deed on the part of his countryman!

Cold is the heart, fair Greece, that looks on thee,
Nor feels as lovers o’er the dust they loved;
Dull is the eye that will not weep to see
Thy walls defaced, thy mouldering shrines removed
By British hands, which it had best behov’d
To guard those relics ne’er to be restored.
Curst be the hour when their isle they roved,
And once again thy hapless bosom gored,
And snatch’d thy shrinking Gods to northern climes abhorr’d!

We at Global Greek World are grateful that Greece has had such wonderful friends, truly great men and women, and that Philhellenes such as Lord Byron were outspoken critics of Elgin's actions and condemned these actions so vehemently!

We continue to consider Elgin's action criminal and those of the British Museum, which like an ostrich hiding it's head in the sand determined to ignore the international wave of protests, self-centred at the very least! To the British Government, the only body with any real power to do something about it - we reiterate:

There are no excuses anymore!

Bring the Parthenon Marbles home!!

Related articles:

Pilgrimage for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles

In Memory of Global Greeks Melina Mercouri and Jules Dassin

Global Greek Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou on the Parthenon Marbles

We thank Global Greek writer, Alexis Mantheakis, for allowing the use of his oh so evocative photo of the British Museum. Alexis recently launched a new initiative for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles , gathering more than 100,000 members on Facebook! To read about this Campaign Click here

Alexis Mantheakis - Pilgrimage for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles

Dull is the eye that will not weep to see  Thy walls defaced, thy mouldering shrines removed  By British hands, which it had best behoved  To guard those relics ne’er to be restored.  Curst be the hour when from their isle they roved,  And once again thy hapless bosom gored, And snatched thy shrinking gods to northern climes abhorred!

Lord Byron on the Parthenon Marbles from his epic 'Childe Harold'

With this particularly appropriate quote from his epic poem 'Childe Harold', wherein one of the greatest Philhellenes ever, Lord Byron, reproaches his countrymen, the British, for their pillaging of the Parthenon Marbles while they were supposed to be protecting them, Alexis Mantheakis introduces us to his pilgrimage for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles. 

Judging that it is now time for action since all Greece's efforts using diplomacy and tact appear to have been largely ignored by the British, and with his finger on the pulse of technology, Alexis has moved dynamically and with vision. He has created a movement for action, a cause, on the social networking site, Facebook, with the intention of intensifying the pressure on the British Museum and the British Government, for the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles, in view of the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in London in 2012.

This cause has gained tremendous momentum since it started on Facebook a short time ago, already numbering more than 50 000 members and growing daily!

For those not on Facebook, the site you can visit to read more is

Stop Britain's Illegal Possession of the Parthenon Marbles!

Political analyst and former press spokesman for Athena Onassis-Roussel and her family, Alexis Mantheakis is one of our Global Greek writers, a Greek-Something born in East Africa of Greek parents, and now lives in Greece. To find out more about Alexis and his work, visit his blog - Greek Political Issues.