Destruction of Psara

By the beginning of the 19th century, Psara had the third largest trade fleet in Greece after Hydra and Spetses, numbering some 45 ships.Xiradaki, Koula (1995). Γυναίκες του 21 [Women of 21] (in Greek). p. 244.

In March 1821, the Greek population revolted against the Ottoman Empire.Clogg, Richard (2002). A Concise History of Greece. p. 36. The inhabitants of Psara joined the struggle on 10 April 1821. Future Prime Minister Konstantinos Kanaris, Dimitrios Papanikolis, Pipinos and Nikolis Apostolis distinguished themselves as naval leaders, using fire ships to combat the more powerful Ottoman Navy.

In April 1822, Turkish forces under the command of Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman fleet massacred the inhabitants of Chios. {{formatnum:30000}} Greeks were killed and {{formatnum:50000}} were sold as slaves in Smyrna and Constantinople.Sfyroeras, Vasileios (1975). Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Τόμος ΙΒ΄: Η Ελληνική Επανάσταση (1821 - 1832) [History of the Greek Nation, Volume XII: The Greek Revolution (1821 - 1832)] (in Greek). pp. 245–246. Psara's native population of 7,500 people was augmented by {{formatnum:23000}} Greek refugees from Chios, but also from Thessaly, Macedonia, Moschonisia and Kydonies.Xiradaki, Koula (1995). Γυναίκες του 21 [Women of 21] (in Greek). pp. 244–245.

On the night of 6–7 June 1822, the Greeks responded by destroying the flagship of Nasuhzade Ali Pasha in revenge for the Chios massacre, killing {{formatnum:2300}} Turks, as well as the Kapudan Pasha himself.{{Cite web |url=https://argolikivivliothiki.gr/2012/03/16/kanaris |title=Αργολικη Αρχειακη Βιβλιοθηκη Ιστοριασ και Πολιτισμου |date=16 March 2012 |access-date=2021-01-31}} (Argolis' File-Library of History and Civilisation).

File:Massacre Psara 06-1824.png

On 20 June 1824, the island was invaded by the Ottomans under the command of Kapudan Pasha Koca Hüsrev Mehmed.

Gordon, Thomas (1832). History of the Greek Revolution. Vol. 2, p. 14. The resistance of the Psariots ended the next day with a last stand at the town's old fort of Palaiokastro (alternative name Mavri Rachi, literally "Black Ridge"). Hundreds of soldiers and also women and children had taken refuge there when an Ottoman force of {{formatnum:2000}} stormed the fort. The refugees first threw a white flag{{Cite web |url=http://www.typos.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=17777 |title=Typos, Cyprus newspaper |access-date=2009-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003181703/http://www.typos.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=17777 |archive-date=2018-10-03 |url-status=dead }} with the words "Freedom or Death" (Greek: "Ἐλευθερία ἤ Θάνατος"). Then, the moment the Turks entered the fort, the local Antonios Vratsanos lit a fuse to the gunpowder stock, in an explosion that killed the town's inhabitants along with their enemies — thus remaining faithful to their flag up to their death. A French officer who heard and saw the explosion compared it to a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

As a result of the invasion, {{formatnum:17000}} Greeks were killed or sold as slaves.Brunet de Presle, Wladimir; Blanchet, Alexandre (1860). Grèce depuis la conquête romaine jusqu’à nos jours [Greece from the Roman conquest to the present day] (in French). p. 527. Part of the population managed to flee the island, scattered through what is now Southern Greece. Theophilos Kairis, a priest and scholar, took on many of the orphaned children and developed the famous school the Orphanotropheio of Theophilos Kairis. Psara was deserted and remained in the hands of the Ottomans until it was recaptured by the Greek navy on 21 October 1912 during the First Balkan War. The population of Psara before the massacre was about {{formatnum:7000}}.Finlay, George (1971). History of the Greek Revolution and the Reign of King Otho (edited by H. F. Tozer). p. 152. Since the massacre, the population of the island never rose over {{formatnum:1000}} inhabitants.

The destruction of Psara by the Ottomans was conducted in retaliation for the destruction of Turkish ships by revolutionaries Konstantinos Kanaris and Dimitrios Papanikolis. It inspired poet Andreas Kalvos to write the ode "To Psara" (Greek: "Εἰς Ψαρά").

The event also inspired poet Dionysios Solomos, author of "Hymn to Liberty", to write a poem (or epigram) titled "The Destruction of Psara" (Greek: "Ἡ καταστροφὴ τῶν Ψαρῶν") in 1825:Solomos, Dionysios (1824). Η καταστροφή των Ψαρών [The Destruction of Psara] (in Greek).Rothenberg, Jerome; Robinson, Jeffrey (2009). Poems for the Millennium. p. 358.

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Στῶν Ψαρῶν τὴν ὁλόμαυρη ράχη

Περπατῶντας ἡ Δόξα μονάχη.

Μελετᾷ τὰ λαμπρὰ παλληκάρια,

Καὶ 'ς τὴν κόμη στεφάνι φορεῖ

Γινομένο ἀπὸ λίγα χορτάρια

Ποῦ εἰχαν μείνῃ 'ς τὴν ἔρημη γῆ.

Διονύσιος Σολωμός

Ἡ καταστροφὴ τῶν Ψαρῶν

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On the all-black ridge of Psara

Glory walks by herself taking in

the bright young men on the war field

the crown of her hair wound

from the last few grasses left

on the desolate earth.

Dionysios Solomos

The Destruction of Psara

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The destruction of Psara inspired Greek painter Nikolaos Gyzis to produce "The Glory of Psara" (Greek: "Η Δόξα των Ψαρών", pastel on paper), "After the destruction of Psara" (Greek: "Μετά την καταστροφή των Ψαρών", oil on canvas) and "The Glory of Psara" ("Η Δόξα των Ψαρών", oil on canvas):

{{Gallery

|title=

|width=220

|height=220

|align=center

|footer=

|File:Γύζης, Νικόλαος - Η Δόξα των Ψαρών, 1898.jpg

|The Glory of Psara, pastel on paper, 1896

|File:Gysis Nikolaos After the destruction of Psara.jpg

|After the destruction of Psara, oil on canvas, 1896-1898

|File:DOXA-PSARON.jpg

|The Glory of Psara, oil on canvas, 1898

}}

• Massacres during the Greek Revolution
• Greek War of Independence
• Chios massacre
• List of massacres in Greece
• Siege of Masada (a similar heroic mass suicide in Jewish history)

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Comstock |first=John L. |date=1828 |chapter=Chapter XX: Campaign of 1824 – Loss of Ipsara and barbarities committed there [...] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQIMAAAAYAAJ&dq=psara&pg=PA296 |title=History of the Greek Revolution compiled from official documents of the greek government |url= |language=en |volume= |location=New York |publisher=William W. Reed & Co.}}
• {{Cite book |last=Gordon |first=Thomas |date=1832 |title=History of the Greek Revolution |url= |language=en |volume=2 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Brunet de Presle |first1=Wladimir |last2=Blanchet |first2=Alexandre |date=1860 |title=Grèce depuis la conquête romaine jusqu'à nos jours |trans-title=Greece from the Roman conquest to the present day |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Firmin Didot}}
• {{Cite book |last=Solomos |first=Dionysios |author1-link=Dionysios Solomos |others= Kostis Palamas (prologue) |date=1901 |title=Ἄπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα |trans-title= |url=https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/php/pdf_pager.php?rec=/metadata/4/f/8/metadata-467-0000013.tkl&do=334991.pdf&lang=en&pageno=1&pagestart=1&width=449&height=658&maxpage=428 |language=el |location=Athens |publisher=P. D. Sakellarios |isbn=}} At the Anemi digital library.
• {{Cite book |last=Finlay |first=George |editor-last=Tozer |editor-first=H. F. |date=1971 |title=History of the Greek Revolution and the Reign of King Otho |url= |language=en |volume= |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=0-900834-12-9}}
• {{Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους |last=Sfyroeras |first=Vasileios |chapter=Σταθεροποίηση της Επαναστάσεως 1822–1823 |trans-chapter=Stabilization of the Revolution 1822–1823 |language=el |volume=12}}
• {{Cite book |last=Xiradaki |first=Koula |date=1995 |title=Γυναίκες του 21 |trans-title=Women of 21 |language=el |location=Athens |publisher=Dodoni |isbn=960-248-781-X}}
• {{Cite book |last=Clogg |first=Richard |date=2002 |title=A Concise History of Greece |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00clog_0|url-access=registration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-00479-4}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Rothenberg |first1=Jerome |last2=Robinson |first2=Jeffrey |date=2009 |title=Poems for the Millennium |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG4CLAgGzucC&q=dionysios+solomos+psara&pg=PA358 |language=en |volume=3 |location= |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25598-2}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Greek Independence, War of|last=Phillips |first=Walter Alison |authorlink=Walter Alison Phillips |short=x}}

{{Greek War of Independence|state=collapsed}}

Category:1824 in Greece

Category:Massacres during the Greek War of Independence

Category:Amphibious operations

Psara

Psara

Category:Massacres committed by the Ottoman Empire

Category:Massacres of Greeks

Category:Massacres of Christians in the Ottoman Empire

Category:Psara

Category:Persecution of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire

Psara

Psara