Hymn to Liberty

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox anthem The "Hymn to Liberty",Template:Efn 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

File:Solomos portrait 4.jpg

Dionysios Solomos, author of the 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 transcriptionTemplate:Efn
Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν κόψι Τοῦ σπαθιοῦ τὴν τρομερή, Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν ὄψι, Ποὺ μὲ βία μετράει τὴν γῆ. Ἀπ' τὰ κόκκαλα βγαλμένη Τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ ἱερά, Καὶ σὰν πρῶτα ἀνδρειωμένη, Χαῖρε, ὢ χαῖρε, Ἐλευθεριά! Ἐκεῖ μέσα ἐκαρτεροῦσες, Πικραμένη, ἐντροπαλή, Κ' ἕνα στόμα ἀκαρτεροῦσες, Ἔλα πάλι, νὰ σοῦ ‘πῇ. Ἄργιε νἄλθῃ ἐκείνη ἡ 'μέρα, Καὶ ἦταν ὅλα σιωπηλά, Γιατὶ τἄσκιαζε ἡ φοβέρα, Καὶ τὰ πλάκονε ἡ σκλαβιά. Δυστυχής! παρηγορία Μόνη σοῦ ἔμενε νὰ λὲς Περασμένα μεγαλεῖα, Καὶ διηγῶντάς τα νὰ κλαῖς. Καὶ ἀκαρτέρει, καὶ ἀκαρτέρει Φιλελεύθερην λαλιά, Ἕνα ἐκτύπαε τἄλλο χέρι Ἀπὸ τὴν ἀπελπησιά. Κ’ ἔλεες· πότε ἄ! πότε βγάνω Τὸ κεφάλι ἀπὸ τσ’ ἐρμιαῖς; Καὶ ἀποκρίνοντο ἀπὸ πάνω Κλάψαις, ἅλυσσες, φωναῖς. Τότε ἐσήκονες τὸ βλέμμα Μὲς τὰ κλαΰματα θολό, Καὶ εἰς τὸ ῥοῦχό σου ἔσταζ’ αἷμα, Πλῆθος αἷμα Ἑλληνικό.	Se gnorízo apó tin kópsi Tou spathioú tin tromerí, Se gnorízo apó tin ópsi, Pou me viá metráei tin gi. Ap' ta kókkala vgalméni Ton Hellínon ta hierá, Kai san próta andreioméni, Khaíre, o khaíre, Eleftheriá! Ekeí mésa ekatoikoúses Pikraméni entropalí, K' héna stóma akarteroúses, Éla páli, na sou pei. Árgie ná 'lthei ekeíni hi 'méra, Kai ítan hóla siopilá, Giatí tá 'skiaze hi phovéra Kai ta plákone hi sklaviá. Dystykhís! parigoría Móni soú émene na les Perasména megaleía, Kai diigóntas ta na klais. Kai akartérei, kai akartérei Phileléftherin laliá, Héna ektýpae t' állo khéri Apó tín apelpisiá. K' élees; póte á! póte vgáno To kepháli apó ts’ ermiaís; Kai apokrínonto apó páno klápsais, hályssais, phonaís. Tóte esíkones to vlémma Mes sta klaýmata tholó, Kai eis to rhoúkho sou éstaz’ haíma, Plíthos haíma Hellinikó.

Poetic English translation (Rudyard Kipling, 1918)

Literal English translationTemplate:Better source needed

We knew thee of old, O, divinely restored, By the lights of thine eyes, And the light of thy Sword. From the graves of our slain, Shall thy valor prevail, 𝄆 as we greet thee again, Hail, Liberty! Hail! 𝄇 Long time didst thou dwell Mid the peoples that mourn, Awaiting some voice That should bid thee return. Ah, slow broke that day And no man dared call, 𝄆 For the shadow of tyranny Lay over all: 𝄇 Yet, behold now thy sons With impetuous breath 𝄆 Go forth to the fight Seeking Freedom or Death. 𝄇 And we saw thee sad-eyed, The tears on thy cheeks 𝄆 While thy raiment was dyed In the blood of the Greeks. 𝄇

I know you from the cutting edge The terrible one, of your sword, I know you from your countenance Which swiftly sizes up the (liberated) land. Brought forth from the bones Of Greeks, the sacred bones, 𝄆 And manful as before, Hail, oh hail Liberty! 𝄇 Therein you were dwelling Embittered, bashful And waiting for a mouth To tell you: "come back again". That day took ages to come And everything was silent, 𝄆 Because they were overshadowed by menace And crushed by slavery. 𝄇 Woe is you! The only solace Remaining to you is talking about Past glories And recounting them to weep. And waiting and waiting A liberal voice 𝄆 One hand clapping the other Out of desperation 𝄇 And you were saying: "When, ah when will I raise My head out of the wastelands?" And from above were answering Wails, chains, screams Then you'd raise your stare Full of tears, blurry 𝄆 And blood was dripping on your dress Loads of greek blood 𝄇

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.

External links

• Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Short 30 min Version Full version Versions of the Hymn at YouTube
• The Greek Presidency – The website for the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic has a page about the National Anthem, including an instrumental file.
• Michał Bzinkowski, Eleuthería ē Thánatos!: The idea of freedom in modern Greek poetry during the war of independence in 19th century. Dionysios Solomos’ “Hymn to Liberty”
• Neugriechische Volksgesänge, Johann Matthias Firmenich
• The Hymn with all 158 stanzas (in Greek & English)
• From the Official Website of the Greek Presidential Guard
• The Greek national Anthem (in mp3)