‘Greece upon the Ruins of Missolonghi’, by Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863). The goddess spreads her hands as if to ask, who will help? Lord Byron and Gioachino Rossini were two who did their best, and Irishman Richard Church went even further. See To Make Greece a Nation.
Introduction
In 1823, early in the Greeks’ desperate fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire, English poet Lord Byron brought welcome public attention to the town of Missolonghi near Corinth just after it had endured two draining sieges. Two years later, however, the Turks came a third time.
FROM 15th April, 1825, to 10th April the following year, the city of Missolonghi near Corinth in Greece was subjected to a pitiless siege by the ruling Ottoman Empire. It was the third siege suffered by the town, and the most devastating.*
Sir Frederick Adam, the British governor of the nearby Ionian islands following the fall of Napoleon,* tried unsuccessfully to broker a deal, and the Turks gradually starved the Greeks trapped inside the town.
An attempted sortie was betrayed. The seven thousand who attempted it were mostly slaughtered, or taken into slavery; three thousand heads were displayed on the city walls as trophies.
The disaster was of such heart-rending scale, that it turned international opinion in favour of Greek independence, agreed by the London Protocol of 1830, and finally declared in 1832.* Italian composer Gioachino Rossini dedicated himself to raising awareness of the Greeks’ plight, staging his opera ‘The Siege of Corinth’ in Paris the following autumn.
See Byron and Hercules for the story of how the Second Siege of Missolonghi had helped raise international awareness of the Greek War of Independence (11), with the help of English poet Lord Byron.
See The United States of the Ionian Islands.
The London Protocol was signed on February 3, 1830. Frenzied negotiations followed, and Greek independence was sealed on May 7, 1832, with the Treaty of Constantinople.
Précis
Having already endured two sieges at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, in 1825 the citizens of Missolonghi began a third, lasting nearly a year. An attempted break-out ended in the slaughter or enslavement of thousands of Greeks; but these events so shocked Europe that by 1832, Britain and other European powers had helped Greece to gain her independence. (59 / 60 words)
Having already endured two sieges at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, in 1825 the citizens of Missolonghi began a third, lasting nearly a year. An attempted break-out ended in the slaughter or enslavement of thousands of Greeks; but these events so shocked Europe that by 1832, Britain and other European powers had helped Greece to gain her independence.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, if, must, otherwise, unless, until, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Follow. Inside. Protocol.
2 Governor. Scale. Suffer.
3 Opera. Plight. Sir.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
frst (6)
fairest. fieriest. first. forest. freest. frost.
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Related Posts
The British liberated the Ionian islands from Napoleon, then gave them fifty happy years and the game of cricket.
Picture: © Jean Housen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted March 3 2017
