200 years ago, on March 25th, 1821, the Greek Revolutionary Forces raised the standard of the cross and declared that Greece would be free from Ottoman rule. 400 years of agony, suffering, and enslavement under the yoke of a brutal conqueror was about to end.
Inspired by the classical Hellenic standards of Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis, the gallant patriots of 1821 proceeded to show the world that courage was indeed the word of Greek invention and lived their motto of “VICTORY or DEATH” to the fullest.
Greece is the mother country of freedom and knowledge of western culture and democracy, and each of us in the Western World is her child, no matter what our national origin might be.
The Greek War of Independence restored freedom and eventual democracy to the place that gave birth to these concepts.
Many Americans contributed their actions and voices to the Greek cause. The Greek-Americans will never forget the names like President James Monroe, President John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Edward Everett, among others, who so gallantly championed the cause of Greek Freedom in the halls of Congress.
