Athens in Arms and Peace, (May 2024)

«The book presents the events that took place in Athens—amid the most famous and influential monumental wealth in history—when, on April 25, 1821, the Revolution broke out here, centered on the Acropolis, where the Ottomans were isolated and besieged until the day they surrendered. What followed (1822–1826) was a period during which the Athenians became masters of their city—until, after the fall of Messolonghi, Kioutachis returned and recaptured the city, all except for the Acropolis. Time and again, following clashes among the ancient ruins, Athens—aside from the Acropolis—would fall back into Ottoman hands. This was followed by the siege of the Acropolis; the formation by Karaiskakis of the largest Greek camp of the Revolution in Faliro; the crushing defeat at Analatos; and finally, after a horrific siege, the Acropolis was surrendered to Kioutachis. The Ottoman garrison withdrew permanently in April 1833. The violent and often bloody clashes with the Ottomans, the internal intrigues and their disastrous consequences, and the unimaginable acts of fortitude, self-denial, and bravery shown by the Revolutionaries are all described—based on official consular reports and the memoirs of certain Greeks, who wrote not merely as eyewitnesses, but as participants in the war.»