Mr. Alain Berset, Secretary General of the 46-member Council of Europe, during his first official visit to Greece was awarded the international Lord Byron Prize 2025 for Philhellenism, opening his speech in the Greek language, wishing to underline its importance to the civilisation worldwide.

Mr. Berset delivered an inspiring speech in Greek, honouring the coincidence that his first official visit to Greece and the day he received the Philhellenism Lord Byron Prize coincided with the day that the Greek language was recognised as the foundation of universal culture by UNESCO and was celebrated the first anniversary of the “International Greek Language Day”.

The donation of the Lord Byron Prize grant to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society

 

 

Dear Friends,

The Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism (SHP) and the Philhellenism Museum wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026!

In 2026 we will organize a multitude of actions and anniversary events, including special thematic tributes regarding the 200th anniversary of the Exodus of Messolonghi. As every year, the Lord Byron Prize and Medal award ceremonies constitute the central axis of highlighting enduring Philhellenism, for which you will soon receive information and invitations.

In 2025, we delivered the Philhellenes’ Monument in the center of Athens, which commemorates 2.000 names of Philhellene volunteers and activists who contributed to the struggle for the independence of Greece. In early December, the SHP and the Philhellenism Museum announced the erection of an equivalent monument in Messolonghi, at a special ceremony that took place in the presence of the Mayor of Messolonghi, Mr. Spyridon Diamantopoulos.

Philhellenism, emerging within the context of Romanticism, captivated the European liberal intelligentsia of the 19th century. Since 1824, committees to support the rebellious Greeks have been established throughout Europe with the aim of raising public awareness of the necessity of increasing funds through charity sales and exhibitions that would contribute to the struggle. Politicians, artists and intellectuals were moved by the Greek cause, each projecting, in a unique way, the ideal of freedom in the struggle of the Greeks. As an expression of nostalgia for an unattainable Antiquity, Greece became within the eyes of the Philhellenes a symbol of the West, Christian civilisation and democracy, in contrast to an East that was identified with barbarism and despotism.

The Exodus of Messolonghi is the pinnacle moment of the Greek War of Independence, as with their heroic action, the Greeks declared to the international public opinion that they are notable descendants of the epic Greece of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis.

The French-Dutch painter Ary Scheffer captivated the public and critics with the modernity of his subject, where he captured the current events of the time and the historical representation of Greece on the ruins of Messolonghi through the allegory of a resigned female figure.

 

Depicted:

Ary Scheffer (1795-1858), Greece on the Ruins of Messolonghi, 1827. Oil painting on canvas.

 

 

 

Event at the French School of Athens

Friday 31/10/2025 at 12.00 noon

Conference Hall, 6 Didotou str., 10680 Athens

 

François de Callataÿ

Royal Library of Belgium / Free University of Brussels

 

THE REPUBLIC OF MEDALS (16th-18th centuries)

Or how the science of medals developed, in the light of the Fontes Inediti Numismaticae Antiquae website.

The Republic of Medals has long formed a vibrant community occupying a large place within the Republic of Letters.

To account for this, we have until now relied almost exclusively on printed works, which are numerous (nearly 2,000 dealing solely with numismatics for the 16th-18th centuries).

The FINA project (for Fontes Inediti Numismaticae Antiquae) aims to provide information for the tip of the iceberg, namely everything that has never been published. In its current state, the FINA website contains nearly 6,000 letters, 2,500 bibliographic entries, 2,350 individuals, and 450 handwritten works that have never been printed.

 

A Wiki-like structure, the website allows this information to be analyzed by submitting it to a wide variety of search options.

 

Information:

French School of Athens, Τ. +30 2103679900

 

 

 

The SHP and the Philhellenism Museum participated in the celebrations for the 198^th anniversary of the naval battle of Itea (Angali), which took place on 27 and 28/9/2025.

This historic naval battle played a decisive role in the success of the Greek Revolution and paved the way for the liberation of Western Central Greece. The great Philhellene Frank Abney Hastings, commander of Karteria, founder of the Hellenic Navy and national benefactor of Greece, played a leading role in it.

The anniversary is dedicated to all the Philhellenes who, through continuous fundraising, financed the equipment of the Greek army and navy during the Revolution. It is also dedicated to all the Greeks and Philhellenes volunteers, who manned the Karteria, the first steam-powered warship in the history of Europe, and fought with it for the freedom of Greece.

After 200 years, the SHP implemented the decision of the Fourth National Assembly and handed over the Philhellenes monument, that has been placed on Vasilissis Sophias avenue in front of the War Museum, listing 2000 names of Philhellenes.

At the same time, the SHP recently agreed with the Prefecture of Central Greece and the Municipality of Delphi – Itea, to finance and deliver to Itea, in September 2026, a monument with a bust of Hastings, on the trunk of which will be engraved all the names of the Greeks and Philhellenes of the crews of the Karteria and the fleet that participated in the naval battle of Angali. Among them are the British Georges Thomas, the French Baron Denzel, the Danish officer Fabriciοus, the African-American James Williams and many others.

For information: info@eefshp.org