Greece is so very old. And yet, it is shockingly new. Nowhere can this be seen quite like Athens. Here, ruins of temples dating back 2500 years or more stand within a city and country that itself spans barely two centuries. How is this possible?

If you’ve been following our Athens content here on The Royal Tour, our timeline has taken us from classical and Hellenistic Athens (click here to read about that) and through the city’s second golden age under the Roman Empire (click here to read more about this period). During these periods, Athens had a population estimated as high as 250,000.

Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Athens remained under the control of the eastern half, also known as the Byzantine Empire. As that world power gradually became smaller, much of Greece (including Athens) would be occupied by different European powers on their way to fight in the various crusades. In 1456, just three years after officially ending the Byzantine Empire by conquering Constantinople, Athens and most of Greece was taken by the Ottoman Empire, who would rule it for most of the next 400 years.

During Byzantine times, Athens’ importance – and its population – would decline. By the time of the Ottomans, the city that was once the world’s most important was a backwater, a tiny village of less than 10,000 surrounding the Acropolis, which held an Ottoman garrison. It is this Athens that picks up our story in 1821.

Greece itself, one must remember, was never a fully functioning independent country. During classical times it was a collection of city-states who only banded together to fight off the Persians. United by Macedonia under Alexander the Great, Hellenistic Greece as an entity broke up soon after his death as various cities and rulers vied for control. And then it was part of the empires of Rome, Byzantium, and the Ottomans. So in 1821, what defined Greece besides geography and ancient history?

Two things stand out above all others. First, language. As it became the official language of the Byzantine Empire, Greek was still widely spoken here in Greece by the local population, despite centuries of Ottoman rule and Turkish being the dominant language of that empire. Second, religion. While not fully equal, religious minorities inside the Muslim Ottoman Empire were tolerated, and the Greek Orthodox Christian population was not only able to keep their religious traditions alive, but even to have their patriarch in Constantinople (now Istanbul) remain in office.

The period from 1821 to 1829 is known as the Greek War of Independence, and to learn more about it, I visit the National Historical Museum in Athens. Here, a series of well-curated exhibits gives me some basics, which I’ll share with you. (I don’t think the museum is necessarily meant for Americans with zero knowledge basis of the period, however, and I found myself once again wishing that I had a deeper foundation of nineteenth century European history, much as I wished while learning about the wars for Italian unification last year in Rome.)

In 1821, much of the initiative behind Greek independence was actually from outside of Greece. The fairly large Greek diaspora found itself part of a new wave of European nationalism that would ultimately end most of the major multi-ethnic empires. Adding the religious component into this, and it was believed that Greek independence could be achieved through wholesale Christian rebellion in the European sectors of the Ottoman Empire.

Alexander Ypsilantis was chosen to lead the effort. He was a veteran of the Russian army, and believed that if the Orthodox Christian world rebelled, that Russia would ultimately intervene on their behalf. He was right, but not as far as timing. The rebellion kicked off in 1821 in what is now Bulgaria, soon spreading. Early results were decidedly mixed for the Greeks.

There were a few military victories, such as future commander in chief Theodoros Kolokotronis defeating the Ottomans at Dervenakia in 1822, but there were also stiff reprisals by the Ottomans. Those in turn emboldened resistance. The conflict would feature atrocities committed by both sides, like the 1822 Chios Massacre of 100,000 Greeks and the Tripolitsa Massacre of 15,000 Turks in 1821.

By 1824, the Ottomans called in their vassals in Egypt under Mehmet Ali Pasha to help put down the rebellion. Success was immediate, and this would have put an end to Greek independence if not for international opinion. The war received a good amount of coverage in Western European press, thanks in no small part to Lord Byron (yes, that one) who spent the last years of his life in Greece, passing in 1824. Arms were sent, funded by Hellenistic societies abroad. Money flowed. By 1827, England and France actually joined the fray, and an allied naval victory at Navarino, combined with the Russians finally invading the Ottomans from the north, sewed up victory. Greece was born the following year.

After a four year interim government, during which the official capital was established in Athens due to its historical importance, despite it being a tiny nothing of a place, the Hellenic Kingdom took shape, with the crown of the constitutional monarchy accepted by a Bavarian prince, Otto. Here, the museum does a spectacular job tracing the early monarchs. Otto ruled for 30 years, and was then deposed. George I was next, this time a Danish prince. With an interruption, the monarchy would last until 1973, when it was abolished by referendum in favor of the republic Greece is today.

So basically, with the exception of the ancient ruins, everything one finds today in Athens is new, from well within the past two hundred years. From 10,000 people in 1821, Athens is now home to nearly 3.5 million, about a third of the Greek population. But effort was put into tying the new to the old, for a sort of sense of continuity.

Governmental buildings in Athens nearly all fall into one style: neoclassical. The Parthenon is far from the only building in this city with columns. Take the aforementioned National Historical Museum, which is actually housed in what was the original home of the Greek parliament. The exterior is done to try to capture some of the heraldry of classical Greece, although the chamber inside is more modern in appearance.

For a stunning show to Greek independence, show up on Sunday mornings to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that fronts the Syntagma Square side of the new parliamentary building. (This was the royal palace before it was repurposed.) Here, at 11am, you’ll witness what might be one of the most theatrical changing of the guard ceremonies in existence. (Note: arrive early, as it gets very crowded.)

The guards wear traditional nineteenth century attire, complete with shoes topped with what appear to be large cotton balls, and do a half march and half hop – with impeccable balance – as the two stoic guards are changed out with the help of a full regiment and a band. It’s a lot of fun!

It is sort of crazy to think of how new Greece – and Athens especially – is. And yet also so old. This dichotomy is one that is pervasive throughout an exploration of the city. And learning about the Greek War of Independence and the subsequent establishment of the modern Greek state only makes that experience more meaningful.

Like it? Pin it!