Notable Philhellenes
Hundreds of Greek volunteers took part in the struggle of the Greeks and stood by their side in all the critical moments of the Revolution. Many of them have made history internationally.
The first steamship in history to take part in military operations, was the Karteria of the Greek fleet, commanded by the great British Philhellene Frank Abney Hastings (1794 – 1828), who had even financed its weapons. The most important success of Hastings and Karteria was in the Battle of Agali (Itea Bay) on September 17, 1827, where Karteria sank alone the Turkish flagship and destroyed 9 enemy ships.
Portrait of the great British Philhellene Frank Abney Hastings (1794 – 1828), created by the German Philhellene Karl Krazeisen (1794-1878)
Philhellenes helped rescue and release a large number of slaves after the end of the Revolution. They reflected the slaves’ drama trough Western art in many ways.
Painting by German painter and philhellene Paul Emil Jacobs (1802 – 1866), a scene from the trade of Greek slaves.
The Philhellenic movement made its presence felt throughout the 19th and even 20th centuries, and its contribution was critical and decisive for the liberation of Greece.
Many Philhellenes of the period 1821 returned to Greece when their assistance was needed it again.
Charles Nicolas Fabvier (1783-1855) was a French philhellene general and commander of the regular army of Greece during the Greek Revolution of 1821. He is considered the most capable and most beloved of all philhellene officers.
The great American Philhellene doctor and philanthropist Dr Samuel Howe, was one of them. He came to Greece for the second time in 1866-67 bringing aid for refugees from Crete during the Cretan Revolution.
Cretan knife 19th century, gift of the Cretans to the American philhellene Dr. Samuel Howe
Philhellenism continued to manifest itself throughout the 19th century, but also into the 20th. For example, in the unsuccessful Greek-Turkish War of 1897, the Italian Philhellene Ricciotti Garibaldi, the leader of a Corps of Garibaldi red-tunics, fought bravely.
This Corps returned to Greece and fought again on the side of the Greeks also during the victorious war of 1912-1913, which liberated Greece.
Sword donated by the French to the Italian Ricciotti Garibaldi, when he fought on the French side in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871
In 1897, the British composer and Philhellene Clement Harris came to Greece, he fought heroically and died for the independence of Greece in the Greek-Turkish war of 1897 in the Five Wells in Arta. He was buried in the Anglican Church of St. Paul in Athens.
A handwritten letter from a relative of Clement Harris to his friends in England, informing them that he was “killed in the Five Wells on April 23, 1897, fighting for the rights of Greece”
The oath of Lord Byron next to the tomb of Markos Botsaris in Messolonghi, painting by a follower of the Italian painter Lodovico Lipparini (1802 – 1856), oil on wood, 19th century
Philellenism remains to this day an important cultural, political, social, philosophical and literary movement. It inspires educational and academic programs in all modern societies, and the values on which it is based are the cornerstones of the civilized world.
The trip to Greece and the pilgrimage to the Acropolis of Athens and the other emblematic archeological sites throughout Greece, cause to every free man of today the same feelings as those they caused to Lord Byron 200 years ago.
Info by the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism
