These days mark 200 years since the start of the Greek Revolution of 1821, which largely defined what kind of State we are even today. The inherent characteristics of the Revolution carry within them clear markers of our homeland's identity, but also material for meaningful history lessons about where we want to go as a country.
200 years later, historical scholarship can now examine the events and their significance soberly and with a more thorough look at their socio-political ramifications and meanings.
In addition to the existing historical teachings of the educational system, the literature is enriched with works that deserve attention. So at this juncture, two new books of Dioptra publications come out that shed light on well-known, or less well-known, aspects of the national past.
The "1821 – Against Fortresses and Walls – A Short Introduction to the Greek Revolution" by George Margaritis and " 1821 - Women and Revolution - From the Ottoman world to the free Greek state" of Vasiliki Lazou, they seem to be conversing or complementing each other.
Giorgos Margaritis' book focuses on the background, and highlights unknown heroes and protagonists who played their own, catalytic role. At the same time, it deals with those elements that defined the Struggle and were the "yeast" of what it means to be the first, independent Greek State.
From the awkward start of the Revolution, to the ambitious strikes in the very "heart" of the enemy, G. Margaritis analyzes all the complicated steps that closed the circle of Philiki Etairia and formed the vision of those who followed, with the real elevation of the People against the dynast.
On the other hand, Vasili Lazou investigates the realities of everyday women in Ioannina, Athens, the Cyclades, Chios and Hydra, but also the actions of the women of the emerging middle class of the time.
In addition to the famous personalities we all remember, such as Laskarina Bouboulina and Manto Mavrogenos, V. Lazou talks about the Christian and Muslim women in Naoussa, Chios, Psara, Kasos and Athens, those who were treated as spoils of war to be exploited and a commodity for profit accrual.
For the first time, a comprehensive and documented picture of the lives of women during the Revolution and the Struggle for Independence is presented here. Multiple aspects of the presence and participation of not only named, but also anonymous women, who until now were considered more or less invisible, are examined.
Below, the two authors respond to News 24/7 in an informal "dialogue" on the questions concerning the core of the Struggle. The role of the Friends, the "x" factor that determined the outcome of the Revolution, the "halfway" passage of the Enlightenment from the pre-revolutionary preparations, and of course, the essential lesson of 1821, through their own words.
The first question has to do with how "Greek" is the state where we live today. Or in other words, how "Greek" are we ourselves today, 200 years after the revolution.
For Giorgos Margaritis, the revolution was purely Greek.
"In the area of Hellenism (let's call them Romans then) the Revolution was prepared and organized. Greeks carried it out. It created a Greek state. The one in which we live today", says the historian, in order to remarked, leaving a "tip":"As a historian I worry about those who ask similar questions. Do they know something that I don't? Well yes, of course, the borders of the state today are "borders of Europe", not of Greece! You say something happened like that in 1821? A European Revolution and it made Greece? Why didn't it make Europe directly to save us two hundred years of doubts? However, I suspect that in the well-known Commission of Mrs. Angelopoulos they know the matter better...".
For Vasiliki Lazou on the other hand, it is not easy to give an absolute definition of what is considered "Greek". As he tells us:
"Due to the complex and highly diverse nature of the national phenomenon it is not easy to give a general and absolute definition of what is considered 'Greek'. I do not embrace some kind of ethno-racial concept of common blood and religion. The state , which has a given degree of independence, and within which we have acquired and exercise specific political rights, is Greek. And we must defend it. In the sense that we share a common geographical territory, a common history but also common myths, a mass, public culture , common economy, single market constantly internationalizing and common political/legal rights and obligations for all members, yes we are Greeks".
- Was the role of Philiki Etairia really catalytic or has it been overestimated? What was the contribution of women within it?
Giorgos Margaritis: "I will use the words of Sakellarios Sakellarios. Philiki 'gave material substance to the immaterial national idea.' the possibilities to intervene catalytically in the events. Apart from the Authority, however, Filiki also had another "invisible":the women in its ranks. The exceptions counted on the fingers of the hand only confirm the rule".
Lazou Basilica:" Philiki Etairia was the catalyst of the revolution. The talk of an invisible principle and the assignment of leadership to Alexander Ypsilantis, a member of the Russian aristocratic court, contributed to the transformation of the original vague intention into a political plan and ultimately into the revolution itself. The strictly defined role of women in the first decades of the 19th century did not advocate their involvement in politics, especially with the underground, romantic, subversive dimension of the latter. However, as the organizational spread of Filiki Etairia on the eve of the Revolution became massive and increasingly concerned the area of the middle classes with commercial and shipping activities as well as that of the local elites in the main territory of Greece, women who were directly or indirectly related to the these activities".
- What was the catalyst moment for the outcome of the Revolution in your opinion and based on the research you have done? Timely and in terms of the significance of the event or associations.
Giorgos Margaritis: "The capture of Tripolitsa in September 1821. The capture of this city created a revolutionary, free territory. After that, the Revolution had a free people and space, territory. The basic materials to create a state".
Vasiliki Lazou: "I consider two events as catalysts for the outcome of the revolution, one at its outbreak and one at its end. The fall of Tripolitsa on September 23, 1821 meant the overthrow of Ottoman power and society in Moria. Greece, as an independent political entity, now had space , territory and people, the foundations on which the new Greek state could be built. Six years later, on October 20, 1827, the naval battle at Navarino saved the Greek revolution from collapse as the allied British, French and Russian naval power destroyed the combined Turkish-Egyptian armada. The Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829) and the operations of the French expeditionary force in the Peloponnese that followed led to the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from central and southern Greece and Greek independence."
- Do you think the absence of the deepening of the Enlightenment and the influence of the Church on the Struggle played a catalytic role in the formation of the first independent Greek state? And if so, how?
Giorgos Margaritis: "The Revolution, the war of the Greeks for their freedom, had no religious characteristics. It was national, it was not a "holy war", it was not a Christian jihad. The aphorisms, admonitions and encyclicals of the patriarch Gregory V against the revolutionary movement were impressively ignored, regardless of whether his subsequent killing made him a banner of struggle. Bishop Elous with his extreme "crusading" speech moved few and recruited very few. Enlightenment has many versions and is always subject to the reality of the moment. The diversity of leaders of social groups that led the revolution gave the constitutional characteristics of the new state. Not the ideas in general and vague".
Vasiliki Lazou: "Although the Constitutions of the Struggle, with their democratic and liberal spirit, have their starting point in the ideas of the Enlightenment, the Greek Revolution broke out in an era of "restoration" and the death of Napoleon, when the kings and the aristocracy had returned to the throne them and the radical ideas of the French Revolution had receded. The regime of absolute monarchy of Otto and the Regency in the first steps of the independent Greek state was what determined the difficult task of organizing the state apparatus from scratch. Under the pretext of their "immaturity " the Greeks were "taught" European institutions on the spot and were institutionally "educated" according to Bavarian standards. In this context, the "enlightened nations" influenced by the social philosophy of the Enlightenment were contrasted with the "atrocious Bavarianism". The proclamation of the Autocephalus of of the Greek Church in 1833 and the decree to close the monasteries constituted a secularism and aimed at subordinating religious authority to politics".
- Two hundred years later, what is the real historical lesson of '21 where should we keep?
Giorgos Margaritis: "This country, the Greek state in which we live today and through which we - the many - have access to politics, "political rights", was built with struggle, very difficult. Today we see it faltering, torturing our people, to disintegrate. Much of the elites, at the top, are indifferent to the sad course. They feel European or whatever and with that alibi they proceed destructively. The many, who need this country to live in freedom and dignity, must see the birth revolution as a model, as an inspiration for a new starting point".
Vasiliki Lazou: "Always the important anniversaries, such as the 200 years since the explosion of the Greek Revolution, are sufficient reason to reflect on History, to illuminate invisible aspects and to highlight the interdependence of events, behaviors and actions as well as to organize the present and the future of of our country. I think that the revolution of 1821 shows us in relief the shocking powers of the people who with their struggle can become the creator of history. On the other hand there is the awareness of the unfinished national struggle as the national liberation did not prevent the establishment of a authoritarian monarchical regime".
The books "Against fortresses and walls - A short introduction to the Greek revolution" by Giorgos Margaritis and "1821 - Women and Revolution" by Vasiliki Lazou, are published by Dioptra publications in all the bookstores.