Manto Mavrogenous
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Manto Mavrogenous
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 Lithography of Manto Mavrogenous by Adam Friedel, 1827 |
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Born
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1796
Trieste, Austrian Empire |
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Died
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Nationality
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Manto Mavrogenous (Greek: Μαντώ Μαυρογένους) (1796 - July 1840)
was a Greek heroine of the Greek War of
Independence. A rich woman, she spent all her fortune for the
Hellenic cause. Under her encouragement, her European friends contributed money
and guns to the revolution.
Early life
Manto Mavrogenous was
born in Trieste, then in the Austrian Empire, now part of Italy.
She was daughter of the merchant and member of the Filiki Eteria, Nikolaos Mavrogenes, and
Zacharati Chatzi Bati. One of her ancestors, the great-uncle of her father, Nicholas Mavrogenes,
was dragoman of the Ottoman Empire's fleet andPrince of Wallachia.
A beautiful woman of
aristocratic lineage, she grew up in an educated family, influenced by the Age of Enlightenment.
She studied ancient Greek philosophy and history at a college in Trieste, and
spoke French,Italian and Turkish fluently.
War of Independence
Bust of Manto
Mavrogenous in Athens.
In 1809, she moved to Paros with
her family, where she learned from her father that the Filiki Eteria was
preparing what would become known as the Greek Revolution and
later, in 1818, after her father's death, she left for Tinos.
When the struggle began, she went to Mykonos, the island of her origin, and invited
the leaders of Mykonos to join the revolution.
She equipped, manned
and "privateered" at her own expense, two
ships with which she pursued the pirates who attacked Mykonos and other islands
of Cyclades. On 22 October 1822, the Mykonians
repulsed the Ottoman Turks, who
had debarked on the island, under her leadership. She also equipped 150 men to
campaign in the Peloponneseand sent
forces and financial support to Samos, when the island was threatened by the
Turks. Later, Mavrogenous sent another corps of fifty men to Peloponnese, who
took part in the Siege of Tripolitsa and
the fall of the town to the Greek rebels. Together, she spent money for the
relief of the soldiers and their families, the preparation of a campaign to
Northern Greece and the support of several philhellenes.
She later put
together a fleet of six ships and an infantry consisting of sixteen companies,
with fifty men each, and took part in the battle in Karystos in 1822, and funded a campaign
to Chios, but she did not prevent it from themassacre. Another group of fifty men was sent
to reinforce Nikitaras in the Battle of Dervenakia.
When the Ottoman fleet appeared in Cyclades, she returned to Tinos and sold her
jewelry to finance the equipment of 200 men who fought the enemy and cherish
two thousand people who had survived from the first siege of
Missolonghi. Her men participated in several other battles like
those of Pelion, Phthiotis and Livadeia.
Mavrogenous led
enlightenment expeditions in Europe and addressed an appeal to the women of Paris,
to side up with the Greeks. She moved to Nafplio in 1823, in order to be in the
core of the struggle, leaving her family as she was despised even by her mother
because of her choices. It is the time that Mavrogenous met Demetrius Ypsilanti,
with whom she was engaged. Soon, she become famous around Europe for her beauty
and bravery. But in May of the same year, her home was totally burnt and her
fortune was stolen, and as a result she went to Tripoli to live with Ypsilanti, while Papaflessas provided her with food.
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"The Greeks, born to be liberal, will owe their independence only to
themselves. So I don't ask your intervention to force your compatriots to
help us. But only to change the idea of sending help to our enemies. The war spreads the horrible
death..."
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When Ypsilanti broke
up with Mavrogenous, she went back to Nafplio, where she almost lived, deeply
depressed, as a hobo and was not paid the debts of the money she had given for
various battles. After Ypsilanti's death and her political conflicts with Ioannis Kolettis, she was exiled from Nafplio
and returned to Mykonos, where she occupied with the writing of her memoirs.
While spending her fortune for the sake of the Greek war, she used to live in
great poverty.
When the war ended Ioannis Kapodistrias awarded
her the rank of the Lieutenant General and
granted her a dwelling in Nafplio, where she moved. She owned a treasurable
sword, with the inscription "Δίκασον Κύριε τους αδικούντας με, τους
πολεμούντας με, βασίλευε των Βασιλευόντων", which is translated to 'Lord,
judge those who wrong me, who battle me, rule over the Kings'. That sword is
said to come from the times ofConstantine the Great and Mavrogenous
gave it to Kapodistrias.
Later years
Portrait of Manto
Mavrogenous.
Mavrogenous moved to
Paros in 1840, where some of her relatives resided, and lived on the island
where her home still stands as a historical monument, located close to the
Panagia Ekatontapyliani (the Church of the Virgin Mary) which, tradition says,
was founded by Saint Helena,
mother of Constantine the Great. She died on Paros in July 1848, in oblivion
and poverty, having spent all her fortune for the War of Independence.
Culture
To pay homage to
Mavrogenous, the people of Mykonos have named after her Chora's
central square where her bust has been raised. Greece has honored this heroine
by naming several streets after her. The Greek government has released several
commemorative coins in her honor.[1] A film was also made about her
life, titled Manto Mavrogenous (1971), in which she was
portrayed by Tzeni Karezi.
Theodoros Kolokotronis
(Redirected from Kolokotronis)
Theodoros Kolokotronis
Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης |
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Nickname
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O Geros tou Moria (The old man of Morea)
Ο Γέρος του Μοριά |
Born
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Died
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Buried at
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Allegiance
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GreeceUnited States of the Ionian Islands
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Rank
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Theodoros
Kolokotronis (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης) (3 April 1770 – 4
February 1843) was aGreek general and the pre-eminent leader
of the Greek War of
Independence against the Ottoman Empire.
Kolokotronis'
greatest success was the defeat of the Ottoman army under Mahmud Dramali Pasha at
the Battle of Dervenakia in
1822. In 1825, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Greek forces in the Peloponnese. Today, Kolokotronis ranks among
the most revered of the protagonists of the War of Independence.
Kolokotronis was born
at Ramavouni in Messenia, and grew up in
Libovitsi in Arcadia. The Kolokotroneoi (original clan
name: "Tzeryinis"—çirgin) were a powerful and respected clan in
Arcadia in the 18th century. Their legendary pride and insubordination is
commemorated in a well-known folk song of that time:
Ahorse they go to
church,
Ahorse they kiss the icons,
Ahorse they receive communion
From the priest's hand.
Ahorse they kiss the icons,
Ahorse they receive communion
From the priest's hand.
His father,
Constantine Kolokotronis, took part in an armed rebellion, the Orlov Revolt, instigated by the administration
of Catherine the Great of
Russia. He was killed in 1780 in an engagement with Turkish troops, along with
two of his brothers George and Apostolis.[1]
Theodoros joined the
ranks of a Peloponnesian guerrilla band, and by age fifteen was the leader (kapetanios:
captain, warlord) of his own band. He had a brief stint at sea as a corsair, then in 1805 he took service on a
series of ships in the Russian fleet
in the Russo-Turkish
War. After 1810 he served in a corps of Greek infantry in British
service on Zakynthos, then a
British possession, and was awarded the brevet rank of brigadier for his service against the French. From his service in the regular Russian and British
forces, Kolokotronis gained valuable insights that he would later use in his
career. But in the Heptanese he came
also into contact with the revolutionary ideas of the era and was influenced by
them:
“
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According to my judgement, the French Revolution and the doings of Napoleon opened the eyes of the world. The nations knew nothing before and the people thought that kings were gods upon the earth and that they were bound to say that whatever they did as well done. |
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War of Independence
Outbreak
Plan of the Siege of Tripolitsa.
The detachments of Kolokotronis' division, which have surrounded the town are
symbolized by the letter "O".
Kolokotronis returned
to the mainland just prior to the outbreak of the war (officially, 25 March
1821) and formed a confederation of irregular Moreot klepht bands. These he tried to train and organize
into something resembling a modern army. In May, he was named archistrategos or Commander-in-Chief.
He was already 50 years old by this time, a fact which contributed to his
sobriquet O Geros tou Morea or "The Elder of Morea,"
whereby Morea was another name describing the Peloponnese. Kolokotronis' first action was
the defense of Valtetsi, the village
near Tripoliwhere his
army was mustering. Later, he was also the Commander of the Greek forces during
the Siege of Tripolitsa.
Nafplion
He next commanded
Greek troops in the siege of the coastal town of Nafplion. He took the port, and the Ottoman
garrison in the town's twin citadels was running low on supplies, but the
disorganized Greek provisional government atArgos,
just to the north, could not complete negotiations for its surrender before a
large Ottoman force began marching southward to crush the revolutionaries.
Panicked, government officials abandoned Argos and began evacuations by sea at
Nafplion. Only an under-strength battalion under Demetrios Ypsilantis remained
to hold Larissa castle, the fortress of Argos.
As liberator
.jpg){kind=small}
The Palamidi Castle
at Nafplion.
Kolokotronis gathered
the klephts together to march to the relief of Ypsilantis. This was quite a
feat in itself, considering the near-collapse of the government and the
notoriously quarrelsome nature of the klephtic bands. Even the troublesome Souliotes lent a hand. The Ottoman army
from the north commanded by Mahmud Dramali Pasha,
after taking Corinth, had marched to the plain of Argos.
The castle of Larissa was an excellent position, commanding the whole plain. To
leave such a stronghold straddling Ottoman supply lines was far too dangerous.
Dramali would have to reduce the fortress before moving on. Scaling the cliffs,
breaching the castle's stout walls and overcoming its resolute defenders would
be no easy task.
Statue of
Kolokotronis atDervenakia.
Yet, there was one
weakness Dramali was unaware of: Larissa, unlike the famousAcropolis in Athens, had no spring and
consequently fresh water had to be supplied from cisterns. Unfortunately for the Greeks, it was
July and no rains were falling to fill the cisterns. Ypsilantis bluffed the
Ottomans as long as he could, but towards the end of the month had to sneak his
men out in the middle of the night. Dramali's men plundered the castle the next
day, and he was now free to march them toward the coast to resupply (the Greeks
had pursued a scorched earth policy,
and the large Ottoman force was eating through its food supplies rather
quickly). Ypsilantis' defense had bought Kolokotronis and the klephts valuable
time.
To his dismay,
Dramali found himself cut off from his supply fleet, which had intended to land
at Nafplio but was successfully blockaded by the Greek fleet under
Admiral Andreas Miaoulis.[citation needed] Dramali
reluctantly decided upon a retreat toward Corinth through the Dervenaki Pass, through which he had just
come unmolested. This was exactly what Kolokotronis had been hoping for. In
August 1822 his quicker-moving guerrilla forces trapped the Ottomans in the
pass and annihilated them. A devastated Sultan Mahmud II in Constantinople was forced to turn to Muhammad Ali,
ruler of the nominally Ottoman pashaluk of Egypt,
for help.
..JPG){kind=small}
The weapons and armour of General Theodoros
Kolokotronis (1770-1843).
The Greeks resumed
the siege against the fortresses at Nafplio, which fell in December.
Kolokotronis is said to have ridden his horse up the steep slopes of Kastro Palamidi to celebrate his victory
there; a statue in the town square commemorates the event. He is attired in
something resembling the costume of a hussar topped with a plumed Corinthian helmet, which he was fond of
wearing, and which foreign Philhellenes were even fonder of seeing
him in. (While he seems to have enjoyed dressing like a western European
cavalryman cum ancient Greek hoplite, he is also frequently depicted
wearing the more traditional fustanella and other traditional
accoutrements).
Parliamentary crisis
From December 1823 to
February 1825, he took part in the civil wars among
the various Greek factions; when his party was finally defeated, he was jailed
in Hydra with some of his followers in March 1825, and was released only when
an Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha invaded
the Morea.
Ibrahim's campaign
Ibrahim was fresh
from fighting the Wahhabi rebels in Arabia, and so was used to fighting guerrillas. His troops
were armed with the most modern equipment and trained by European experts. The
sultan had promised his father the island of Creteas
an appanage for young Ibrahim if he could
crush the rebels. With his eye on the prize, he burned his way through the Peloponnese,
gaining much territory but arousing much hostility in western European public opinion, which in the long run proved
disastrous for the Ottomans.
Statue of Theodoros
Kolokotronis inAthens. A work of Lazaros Sochos.
Lithography of
Kolokotronis by Karl Krazeisen used for the 5,000 drachmabanknote.
The island of Sphacteria and Navarino had
already fallen into Ibrahim's hands, and to make matters worse for
Kolokotronis, he still had to be on guard against the machinations of Petros
Mavromichalis even as he was bracing himself against the new threat.
Kolokotronis used guerrilla tactics to wear Ibrahim's forces down; but given
his limited resources, was unable to prevent the widespread destruction that
Ibrahim left in his wake. Still, in 1825, in recognition of his military acumen
and many services to the Greek cause, he was appointed commander-in-chief of
Greek forces in the Peloponnese.
Postbellum activities
After the war,
Kolokotronis became a supporter of Count Ioannis Kapodistrias and
a proponent of alliance withRussia. When the count was
assassinated on 8 October 1831, Kolokotronis created his own administration in
support of Prince Otto of Bavaria as
a King of Greece. However, later he opposed the Bavarian-dominated regencyduring his rule. He was charged with treason and on 7 June 1834 sentenced to
death; but he was pardoned in 1835. Theodoros Kolokotronis died in 1843 in Athens one day after his son's Konstantinos (Kollinos)
wedding.
Epilogue
In the twilight of
his life, Kolokotronis had learned to write in order to complete his memoirs, which have been a perennial favorite in Greece,
and have been translated several times in English and other languages.
Kolokotronis' famed helmet, along with the rest of his arms and armor, may
today be seen in the National History Museum of Greece in Athens. In addition
to the Nafplio statue mentioned earlier, there is another to be seen in Athens,
in the forecourt of the Old Parliament
building on Stadiou Street, near Syntagma Square.
Legacy
Kolokotronis is also
the name of military barracks near Tripolis. Κοlokotronis was so famous in
popular culture that one can find references about him in strange places, like
a gravure sculpted by knife on a stony sterna inside a cave in one of the holes
in mount Ntaouli opposite the village Lyrkeia in the valley of river Inarhos. A
portrait of Kolokotronis by Karl Krazeisen depicted on the obverse of
the Greek 5000 drachmas banknote
of 1984-2001.[2]
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