|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 17
Now, do you know the name of this people? They were the _Ancient Greeks_.
And the brave little Kingdom which has just upset all the calculations of
the Great Powers is _Modern Greece_.
Since the days of her ancient splendor, poor Greece, shorn of all her
glory, has been terribly humiliated.
First, the Romans broke her power; then the Venetians tore her from the
Romans; and then, worse than all, she became a slave to the Turk. For a
Christian nation, that means all possible suffering. And for five hundred
years she was scourged and insulted by her Mohammedan master.
In the year 1820 the Greeks on the little peninsula resolved to be free,
or to perish.
Like Cuba, they struggled. For nine long years Europe looked calmly on.
Then people began to wonder at the invincible spirit of these new Greeks,
and finally the world rang with praises of their valor, and there was an
outburst of popular sympathy. Men from England and other lands volunteered
to help them in their splendid fight for liberty. And Lord Byron, the
great English poet, laid down his life in their cause.
At last the Great Powers began to think it would not be a bad thing to
have a Christian race ruling the classic peninsula. And England, France,
and Russia decided to help to put the little kingdom on its feet, and
appointed its ruler.
They first selected Prince Alfred, Victoria's second son. But this did not
give satisfaction. Finally, Otho, son of the King of Bavaria, was chosen,
and then elected by the people, first king of Greece.
That was in 1835. In 1863, Otho was deposed, and a new king had to be
found. The selection has proved to be a very wise one. King George was the
son of Christian IX. of Denmark, and is therefore the brother of the
Princess of Wales. During his reign of thirty-four years, Greece has
steadily improved.
But all of the Greek Christians were not freed by this heroic struggle.
There still remained several millions of their race in Macedonia and other
parts of the Ottoman Empire. These people have looked on enviously at the
prosperity and freedom of their kinsmen in Greece, and are always planning
and hoping for the time when they, too, may break the Turkish yoke.
Twenty thousand of these Greeks live on the island of _Crete_, where they
suffer unspeakably; not alone from the cruel oppression of Ottoman rule,
but from the persecutions and daily conflicts with the Mohammedans who
live with them on the island.
If you will examine a map of Europe, you will see the Greek peninsula,
looking as if it had been broken into fragments and half devoured by the
sea. Just south of its ragged edge lies this little island of _Crete_, of
which all the world is talking to-day.
It looks as if one of the fragments of Greece had broken off and floated
away a short distance, and was waiting for the tide to come some day and
carry it back to its old home.
And that is just what happened long, long ago; and it seems now as if the
tide had set in, which is going to float it back to its old moorings by
its motherland.
The island of Crete originally belonged to Greece. It is one of the most
classic spots in the world. For there, on and about Mount Ida, Jupiter,
the great god of Greek mythology, is supposed to have spent his boy-hood.
And Homer sung about this island, too. And he has described its _ninety
cities_--which surprises us very much when we reflect that the island is a
narrow strip of land only one hundred and fifty miles long; so that the
ninety cities must have been set close together, like a string of beads!
However this may be, it has just three towns now, which are making history
for Europe in a very remarkable fashion; and are more talked about to-day
than London, Paris, and St. Petersburg.
Ever since the Greeks struggled into freedom, seventy-five years ago, and
became an independent kingdom, it has been the dream of the Cretans to get
back to their mother country. Recently their sufferings have been past
endurance, and at last, in their helpless wretchedness, they cried out to
Greece to come and take them under her protection. They said: "We are one
with you in race and in religion. We speak your language; you are our
natural rulers. Let us be a part of your Christian kingdom."
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|