BackGreece
Previous | Page 1 of 3 | Next
Membership card of the Philiki Etaireia (Friendly Society), the secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa
Benaki Museum – Historical Archives, Athens, Greece
Portrait of Rhigas Pheraios, the foremost figure of the Greek Enlightenment, endeavoured to underpin the revolt of the Greeks by bringing about its intellectual and spiritual awakening
Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Flag with Greece Represented as the Goddess Athena and the inscription Ή ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ Ή ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ (Either Freedom or Death)
19th century
Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Preparing for the revolution
In 1814 – an important date for the Greek nation – in Odessa (Russia) three Greeks, Emmanouil Xanthos, Nikolaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalof found a secret organisation under the name of Filiki Etaireia (Friendly Society). The purpose of this organisation is to prepare the Greek population for the War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Initially acceptance of this effort is limited to Greeks living abroad. Alexandros Ypsilantis, a prince of the Danubian Principalities and a senior officer of the Imperial Russian cavalry, takes leadership of the organisation and begins the struggle from the Danubian Hegemonies in order to provoke a general rebellion.