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Hymn to Liberty

National anthem of Greece and Cyprus

Field	Value
title	Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν
Ὕμνος πρὸς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν
transcription	el
el
english_title	Hymn to Liberty
image	Ymnos Eis Tin Eleftherian.Book cover.1825.jpg
caption	1825 book cover
prefix	National
country	Cyprus and Greece
author	Dionysios Solomos
lyrics_date	1823
composer	Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros
music_date	1865
adopted	1864 (by Greece)
1966 (by Cyprus)
sound	Greece national anthem.ogg
sound_title	U.S. Navy Band instrumental version in F major

Ὕμνος πρὸς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν el 1966 (by Cyprus) The "Hymn to Liberty", also known as the "Hymn to Freedom", is a Greek poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 and set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros in 1828. Consisting of 158 stanzas in total, its two first stanzas officially became the national anthem of Greece in 1864 and Cyprus in 1966.

History

Dionysios Solomos wrote "Hymn to Liberty" in 1823 in Zakynthos, and one year later it was printed in Messolonghi. In October 1824 it was published in London by the Philhellenic Committee, and an Italian translation was published in the Messolonghi newspaper Ellinika Chronika at about the same time.

It was set to music in 1828 by the Corfiot operatic composer Nikolaos Mantzaros, who composed a choral versions, in 24 parts, and dedicated it to the first King of Greece, Otto. Otto awarded Mantzaros with the Silver Cross of the Order of the Redeemer as a token of appreciation, but during Otto's reign (1832–1862), an anthem based on God Save the King was used, with a text glorifying Otto.

After Otto's ouster in 1862, the "Hymn to Liberty" was adopted as the national and royal anthem of Greece in 1864. The "Hymn to Liberty" was also adopted as the national anthem of Cyprus by order of the Council of Ministers in 1966.

Lyrics

Inspired by the Greek War of Independence, Solomos wrote the hymn to honour the struggle of Greeks for independence after centuries of Ottoman rule.

"Hymn to Liberty" recounts the misery of the Greeks under the Ottomans and their hope for freedom. He describes different events of the War, such as the execution of Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople, the reaction of the Great Powers, extensively the Siege of Tripolitsa and the Christian character of the struggle.

The following are the first eight verses of the "Hymn to Liberty," from the first edition of 1825.

Greek original	Transliteration	IPA transcription
Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν κόψι	Se gnorízo apó tin kópsi	{{IPA	wrap=none	[s̠e ɣnoˈɾi.z̠o‿aˈpo tiŋ‿ˈɡo.ps̠i ]

title=The National Anthem	url=https://www.presidency.gr/en/presidency/the-national-anthem/	access-date=10 December 2023	website=Presidency.gr}}
(Rudyard Kipling, 1918)	Literal English translation
We knew thee of old,	I know you by the direful,

Uses

An adapted version was used during the short-lived Cretan State as the Cretan Anthem. The "Hymn to Liberty" had been the Greek royal anthem since 1864.

"Hymn to Liberty" has been the national anthem of Cyprus since 1966.

"Hymn to Liberty" has been performed at every closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, to pay tribute to Greece as the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Most renditions performed during the closing ceremonies are instrumental. Until the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, the Greek anthem was sung for three times during the Sydney, Athens (as Greece was the host country), and Vancouver.

The version commonly played by military bands is an arrangement composed by Lieutenant Colonel Margaritis Kastellis (1907–1979), former director of the Greek Music Corps.

Notes

References

"Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus – The National Anthem".
Sklavos, G.. (1934). "Ἐθνικός ὔμνος". Pyrsos Co. Ltd..
"National Anthem".
"Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν".
"Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν".
Papaloizos, Theodore. (2009). "Greek language, Modern".
(1825). "Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν". D. Mestheneas.
"The National Anthem".
(30 July 2016). "Poem of the Day: Hymn to Liberty by Rudyard Kipling".
"National Anthem". Hellenic Army Academy.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

music-of-cyprus music-of-greece greek-patriotic-songs national-symbols-of-greece national-symbols-of-cyprus heptanese-school-(literature) european-anthems works-about-the-greek-war-of-independence national-anthems songs-about-freedom dionysios-solomos 1823-in-greece compositions-in-f-major

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