The Sieges of Missolonghi

With memories of  the death of Lord Byron, and of Solomos hearing the sound of the Missolonghi cannonfire, and writing The Hymn to Liberty on the Hill of Strani and being inspired to write the first draft of The Free Besieged in the garden of a mansion on the Akrotiri, Zakynthos, it is fascinating to study the painting of various sieges of Missolonghi, as interpreted by General Makriyannis' artist.

Solomos could apparently hear the noise of the battle and feel the trembling of the earth caused by the Turkish cannonades. He mentions it at the beginning of the third section of The Woman of Zakynthos. He never forgot the experience, and recollected it often when living in Corfu, and  as he worked on different drafts of The Free Besieged.

The painting brings it all to life, as does Yannis Markopoulos' popular liturgy, a dramatic setting and arrangement of parts of the poem.