In Honour of the Philhellenes
On 25 March 2021, the Greeks celebrated the 200 anniversary of the Greek War of Independence, or, as we say it, our “national rebirth”. We received warm messages from all around the world on the occasion, for which we are grateful. Many formal events took place and were transmitted through our national media (thanks, COVID) and many high-profile figures of the international scene honoured us with their presence, such as Prince Charles of Wales, the defence minister of France Florence Parly, the prime minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin and the president of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiadis. We also received televised messages from the heads of a number of countries, such as the president of France Emmanuel Macron, the president of Malta George Vella, the prime minister of The Netherlands Mark Rutte and the prime minister of Norway Erna Solberg.
The speeches of all those people made me reflect; what would have happened if the philhellenes had not been in the picture? In my opinion, not much. Although Philhellenism has existed since the Classical times, it was the Greek War of Independence when the love of the philhellenes for the principles that Greece represents was put to the test. They had kept the Greek principles alive during our days as slaves of the Ottoman Empire and it was time that they showed how much these values mattered.
Public figures or anonymous grassroots, the philhellenes used their skills and networks to support the Greeks in their quest for a free independent state. Others helped raise funds, others helped raise awareness through their artwork, others helped with the organisation of the revolution and the newly independent state, others sacrificed their lives on the battlefield next to people who were fighting for their homeland.
Karl August Krazeisen. The philhellene general and artist. He sketched major heroes of the Greek War of Independence and asked them to sign them. Upon his return, he turn those sketches into lithographs. Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons. 
Jeff Kennett. Credits: Bbobkins, via Wikimedia Commons. 
Gough Whitlam. Credits: Australian Conservation Foundation, via Wikimedia Commons. 
Boris Johnson. Credits: Ben Shread / United Kingdom Cabinet Office, Wikimedia Commons. 
Marcus Aurelius. Credits: Pierre-Selim, Wikimedia Commons. 
Cato the Elder. 
Cato the Younger. Credits: Prioryman, Wikimedia Commons. 
Quintus Horatius Flaccus. By Anton von Werner. 
Nero, the Roman emperor. Credits: cjh1452000, Wikimedia Commons. 
Hadrian, the Roman emperor. Credits: Livioandronico2013, Wikimedia Commons. 
Julian the Roman Emperor (Flavius Claudius Julianus) 
Titus Quinctius Flamininus. A Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. 
Victor Hugo 
“An Assembly of European Officials on the Revolution of Greece in 1822”, by René Puaux 
Annibale Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo, Count of Santarosa. 
Johann Jacob Meyer. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
John Cam Hobhouse. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Charles Nicolas Fabvier. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Walter Savage. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Alexander Pushkin. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Jeremy Bentham. Portrait by Henry William Pickersgill. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Henry Morgenthau, Sr. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Giuseppe Rosaroll. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Karl von Normann-Ehrenfels. Via Wikimedia Commons. 
Leigh Hunt. Portrait by Benjamin Robert Haydon. Via Wikimedia Commons.
It was not easy, of course; the philhellenes had to cope with personal agendas, corruption and quarrels. They had every reason to call it quits. Regardless, they kept supporting the Greek people and in fact steadily increased their support as the revolution progressed. I always wondered why, but the messages that were addressed this week answered my inquiry. They can be summarised in Prince Charles’ words “Greece is in our blood”.
So, thank you, philhellenes. Thanks for believing in what Greece has offered to Europe and the world. And we hope that you celebrate with us many anniversaries in the future.
