Subjects

Greece

Tales about the cradle of Western civilisation, from Socrates and the first democracies to the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman yoke, and Britain’s part in the fight for independence.

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31

The Lion of Piraeus

A marble statue in Venice bears witness to Europe’s long history of brave defeats and fruitless victories.

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Picture: © Didier Descouens, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.

32

The United States of the Ionian Islands

The British liberated the Ionian islands from Napoleon, then gave them fifty happy years and the game of cricket.

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Picture: © Jean Housen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.

33

St Ahmed

A Turkish official was itching to know the secret behind a Russian slave girl’s personal charm.

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Picture: Photo by Свято-Троицкий собор, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.

34

Demetrius the Diver

A survivor of the infamous massacre of Chios in 1821 goes to Marseilles, but discovers he has not entirely left the Turks behind.

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Picture: © Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.

35

The Spy

In 1910, Constantine Zervakos, a young monk from the Greek island of Paros, found himself charged with espionage.

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Picture: © Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

36

The Greeks, the Governor and the Potatoes

John Kapodistrias had an instinct for how a long-oppressed people might think.

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Picture: Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.