Welcome to the section entitled ‘The Ionian Islands and the 1821 Greek Revolution’, which was designed on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution which led to the formation of the modern Greek state.
The lives of 15 Ionian Islanders—their studies, correspondence, friendships, and careers— highlight a network of acquaintances and co-operation. These people narrate their own stories: how they read, wrote about, dreamt, worked and fought for a new homeland that seemed to be taking shape through the Revolution.
The founding of the Panhellenic Assembly
Fresco, L.M. Schwanthaler, Trophy Room, Frieze, Greek Parliament.
SEE THE FIVE INTERACTIVE APPLICATIONS
THE PEOPLE
The Ionian Islanders were no strangers to revolutionary ideas. The short-lived but decisive presence of the Republican French (1797-1799) who came to the islands as liberators, armed with the ideals of the French Revolution had left a lasting imprint in their area, …
A NETWORK OF CONTACTS
This application traces the contacts that developed between residents of the Ionian Islands, due to their personal relationships, or to their common intellectual pursuits, or, finally, because they worked together at some point in their lives.
A NEW VOCABULARY OF IDEAS
This period, from the end of the Venetian occupation in 1799 until the arrival of Ioannis Capodistrias in Aegina as the first Governor of Greece, was decisive for the inhabitants of the Ionian Islands.
WITH EYES TOWARDS THE REVOLUTION
The three videos in this section explore, each from a different point of a view, the theme of homeland. Some some it was a dream conjured up on the eve of the Greek Revolution; for others it took shape through their involvement in the battles against the Ottomans. Many saw their hopes translate into a new state, others saw their world shatter.
