J. H. M‘Naughton, Byron’s Farewell
Although he did not manage to participate in military operations, Lord Byron was perceived as an emblematic Philhellene, a leading figure of the war of independence of Greece. His image as a military leader, wearing a Greek officer’s dress, was depicted in many paintings and art objects in Europe. He was often associated with Missolonghi and Marcos Botsaris, the hero of the Greek Revolution.
Lord Byron’s journey to Greece and death in Missolonghi inspired thousands of Philhellenes around the world to join and support the philhellenic committees in their countries. The Philhellenes raised funds in favor of the Greek Cause and rescued refuges and victims of the war. They were liberating Greek slaves from the slave markets of the Ottoman Empire, while they were sending military equipment and humanitarian aid to Greece. They even to travelled there to join the Greek armed forces as volunteers and fight for the liberation of Greece, the cradle of the western civilisation.
The Naval Battle of Navarino constitutes the culmination of the Greek Revolution and the philhellenic movement. It comes to justify the many years of struggle of the Greeks, of Lord Byron and thousands of other Philhellenes around the world, demanding the liberation of Greece, the cradle of Western civilization. This emblematic Naval Battle also marked the beginning of a series of alliances in Europe, based on the values of the Hellenic civilisation, and laid the foundations for European integration.
