Philhellenism was an international intellectual movement at the turn of the 19th century advocating for for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. It provided much needed assistance to the Greek fight for independence, supporting the Greeks both materially and morally, using the available advocacy media of the time, artworks and publishing, to influence public opinion.
The philhellenic movement manifested in almost all European countries, with most active committees in France, Germany, and Switzerland. Significant contributions also came from England and Italy. The philhellenic fever quickly spread beyond Europe and reached America.
Enchanted by the "cult of the antique" that Greek culture inspired at the time, intellectuals were drawn to the ideological construction of Greekness as an essence, a Classicizing essence, impervious to historic changes such as the Ottoman rule of 400 years. Homeric Scholarship was flourishing and Classics as a key element in education was established during these years. The romantic obsession with Ancient Greece institutionalized an elite philhellenic ethos in many countries, while paintings, crafts and sculpture and other Philhellenic paraphernalia spread the message and roused sympathy for the cause.
Under these conditions, the Greek uprising constituted a source of inspiration, rising admiration and hope.
In France societies were quickly established, including notable figures of French society, such as the Duke de Broglie, General Horace Sebastiani, Sorbonne professor Abel Francois Villemain, and publisher Ambroise Firmin Didot, in whose printing houses philhellenic pamphlets were printed. Simultaneously, events like the Chios Massacre and the heroic defense of Messolonghi, which became widely known abroad, created a broad wave of sympathy for the Greek people. Immediately, the philhellenic committees in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon organized fundraisers to support the revolutionary Greeks, led by prominent figures like the famous writer Francois Rene Chateaubriand.
The young Victor Hugo published his renowned collection of "Oriental" poems, which included the famous "Greek" poems "Canaris," the well-known "Greek Boy" of Chios, "Lazara," and "The Heads of the Seraglio." In this poem, Hugo uses three severed heads of famous revolutionaries (Canaris, Botsaris, and Bishop Joseph of Rogon) as narrators of the final moments of Messolonghi.
Key representatives of French romanticism, such as Jean Louis Theodore Gericault, Genod Michel-Philibert, and Eugene Delacroix, found inspiration in the struggle for Greek independence and produced evocative works such as "The Massacre of Chios," "Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi," and "Episode of the Greek War of Independence."
Philhellenism found fertile ground in Switzerland as well, because the Greek achievements reminded its inhabitants of their own struggle for independence in the 18th century. From the early years of the revolution, many philhellenic committees were established in Switzerland, guided by banker Jean Gabriel Eynard. Eynard himself allocated large amounts of his personal fortune and time and effort to support the Greek struggle.
The London committee in England, which included prominent personalities such as Lord Nugent, Colonel Leicester Stabhope, and poet Thomas Moore, also expressed support for the Greek struggle. The philhellenes in London provided significant services to the struggling nation through their support of Greek representatives in securing loans in London and especially with the sacrifice of one of their distinguished members, Lord Byron.
Germany's contribution to the Greek struggle was also significant. Among the first German philhellenes were notable figures such as philosopher Wilhelm Traugott Krug, professor of ancient philology Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch, King Ludwig I of Bavaria from 1825, and many others.
The same philhellenic fervor was carried across the Atlantic Ocean. In the new great republic of the United States, which had gained its independence only a few decades earlier, the sacrifices of the Greeks made a strong impression on all social strata. The American people supported the Greek nation from the early years of the revolution. Philhellenic committees were established towards the end of 1823 in three major American cities: New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, and similar committees were formed in other smaller cities the following year. During the same period, the first American volunteers, such as the renowned doctor Samuel Gridley Howe and military officer Jonathan Miller, began arriving in Greece.
Throughout the Western world, both the intellectual elite and the lower classes supported the Greek struggle for independence. This was a rare historical event, as the global intellectual class united and fought to support the Greek liberation effort. For this reason, the intervention of the Great Powers and the destruction of the Turko-Egyptian fleet at Navarino by the Allies in October 1827 was seen by many as a victory achieved due to the "philhellenic sentiment" of the revolution of 1821.
In the exhibition, you will find a list of Philhellenes and associated items that shed light on them and their work, as well as their contribution to the Greek Fight for Independence.
