The National Historical Museum, housed in the building that originally built for the Greek Parliament before it moved to its present location in Syntagma Square, in what was King Otto of Bavaria’s palace
Well, this museum didn’t open until eleven, so I was able to sleep in. I was surprised to discover that there was no admission fee; the web site stated that it cost four euros to get in. I was pleasantly surprised although I had to check my bag.
Copy of an illustration of Byzantine Emperor Basil II from a manuscript; Basil was later known to history as “Basil the Bulgar-Slayer.” He completely defeated the Bulgarian Kingdom and annexed it, once again making the Empire’s boundary the Danube
The first room or hallway was dedicated to the Byzantine Empire. There wasn’t much there. I loved the reproductions from manuscripts of Byzantine emperors. I took many photos of them. At the end of the hall, looking dour and clerical was a statue of Constantine XI. This is the third statue I’ve seen of the last emperor, and I’m not sure which one I like least, this one or the one in Phaleron.
The statue of Constantine XI holding a huge cross. Is he supposed to be martyr, an emperor, or a priest? He looks like all of the above
From here, it all went downhill. The next several rooms were supposed to show Greece under the occupation of the Ottoman Turks and the Venetians. There were a lot of portraits of people who lived at the time, but there was a lot of weapons and armaments. Actually, the theme of weapons and armaments would dominate the rest of the collection.
Turkish armor which came from the foundry of Mehmet II, conqueror of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire
A cache of Venetian helmets, found in a crypt in the Venetian walls of their fort at Chalkis
Then starts the war of independence. More portraits and personal effects of the leaders, much of which were guns, swords or knives. Whose was whose? Don’t ask me. This was the main problem with the collection: labels were only in Greek. Newer labels for materials were in Greek and English, but for these items there was sometimes an all-encompassing sign in English, “Phanariot dignitaries,” “Fighters’ weapons,” etc. Not very helpful at all.
Weapons of Lambros Katsonis and Ali Pasha. Katsonis was a Greek admiral in the Russian navy. Ali Pasha was an Albanian bey who was known for his cruelty. He finally defied the sultan and was killed fighting the Sultan’s men
The desk (and bust) of the martyred Ecumenical Patriarch, Gregorios V
And of course we come once again to poor Patriarch Gregorios V. The museum has his desk and small effects, several documents signed by him and bearing his seal, a bust and a portrait. According to the description, the poor man was hung on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1821, from the main gateway of the Patriarchate.
Bronze miniature, Fighter of 1821
One of the genuine outfits worn by a revolutionary fighter
One thing I did find fascinating was the clothing; there were many outfits of revolutionary fighters that were hanging in the rooms. Unfortunately, the harsh lighting screwed up many of the photographs, with glare blocking parts of the uniforms.
A detail of a painting of a heroic independence fighter, the name of which was in Greek with no English translation. Can you smell the machismo?
One of the museum’s pride and joy is the figureheads from independence fighters’ ships. Some of them were interesting, and others I had no interest in even looking at. There were many of them, too.
This is from Admiral Andreas Miaoulis’ ship the Ares. A 1797 metal struck in Vienna to aid the Greeks had an image that closely resembles this, only he was identified as Alexander the Great. I don’t believe that Alexander ever wore facial hair
In this urn is the heart of the “fire” captain, Konstantinos Kanaris. He liked setting Turkish warships on fire, in particular the flagships
The first leader of a free Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias
The first leader of free Greece being murdered
I remember reading about Ioannis Kapodistrias. He was elected president of the new Republic of Greece and immediately set to work about organizing the state. He worked on establishing schools, preserving ruins, took care of war victims, etc. All the things one would expect a good leader to do. Unfortunately, he thought nationally while most people around him thought locally. He was assassinated by the brother and son of Petros Mavromichalis, the hereditary ruler of the Mani. Seems Kapodistrias arrested “Petrobey,” who refused to accept the idea of appointing heads of provinces instead of the old family rule. Without Kapodistrias, the Greek republic quickly descended into chaos, prompting the Great Powers to appoint Otto of Bavaria King of the Hellenes.
The mitre of the Metropolitan of Smyrna, Chrisostomos. Chrisostomos was an outspoken Hellene who strongly supported Greece’s annexation of Smyrna. When the Greek army withdrew, he refused to leave his people. He was captured by the Turks and tortured to death
The remaining rooms took Greece up to World War II. The disaster in Turkey in 1922 was also covered. The Treaty of Serves gave Greece the right to occupy all of eastern Thrace and the city of Smyrna and the surrounding area; Smyrna was a predominately Christian city. However, Mustafa Kemal, later taking the surname Attaturk (“Father Turk”), used the Greek advance to help stir up Turkish nationalism. With aid coming from Italy and France, the Turkish army confronted the Greek army, whose supply lines were very thin and, after cutting those supply lines, engaged them in battle. So the dream of “Greater Greece” died as the Greek army hurried to withdraw from Turkey, abandoning the people of Smyrna to the Turks.
Eleftherios Venizelos, the Cretan fighter who became prime minister and one of Greece’s great statesmen
The architect of a “Greater Greece” was Eleftherios Venizelos, the Cretan who fought for the union of Crete with Greece and then became Greek prime minister. He was always pro-Entente and made sure Greece fought on the side of the Entente powers, even going so far as to help depose the pro-German King Constantine I. After the Treaty of Serves was signed, King Alexander died and his father Constantine returned to power. This isolated the Entente from the Greeks. So Constantine and his cronies now led Greece into disaster. With the loss of Smyrna and the “Magalia Idea,” Constantine then abdicated and went into exile, a cockroach fleeing from the light. Venizelos was recalled by the new government and it was he who had to sit down and negotiate the Treaty of Lausanne, which replaced the Treaty of Serves. All Greek claims on eastern Thrace, Smyrna and other territories in Turkey were given up. Also, Greece had to accept the exchange of populations with Turkey: Greeks who were Muslims were exchanged for Turks who were Orthodox. Over 1 million people were forcibly thrown out of Turkey, and over 500,000 people were resettled in Turkey.
As someone has already said, this was an early form of “ethnic cleansing.”
A poster from the Greco-Italian War of 1940, where the Greek army not only defeated Mussolini’s fascist military, but counterattacked and invaded Albania, which had been conquered by the Italians years before
The museum ended with the Greco-Italian War of 1940, I assume because World War II and its immediate aftermath for Greece was extremely complicated, from occupation to arresting many of the leaders of the resistance because they were communists, and into the civil war that broke out.
Detail of a bust of King Otto. Notice the typical Teutonic features? Let his hair grow long and give him a spear and he could pass for one of the Germanic barbarians who overran the Western Roman Empire (Just sayin’)
The Researching Librarian: Greece 2013 