GREEK LYRICS

Segnoriso apo tin Kopsi tou spathiou tin tromeri;
Segnoriso apo tin opsi pou me via metra tin yi.
Ap ta Kokkala vyalmeni ton ellinon ta iera
Ke san prot' anthriomeni haire o hair'eleftheria.
Ke san prot' anthriomeni haire o hair'eleftheria,
Ke san prot' anthriomeni haire o hair'eleftheria.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

I shall always recognise you
By the dreadful sword you hold,
As the earth, with searching vision,
You survey, with spirit bold.
'Twas the Greeks of old whose dying
Brought to birth our spirit free.
Now, with ancient valour rising,
Let us hail you, oh Liberty!

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Greece
"Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Ode to Freedom)

Words by:Dionysios Solomós
Music by:Nikolaos Mantzaros
Adopted:1864

The Greek Anthem is based on the "Hymn to the Freedom", a large 158 verse poem
written by Dionysios Solomos, a distinguished poet from Zakynthos Island. It
was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. During
1828, the eminent musician from Kerkyra Island Nikolaos Mantzaros composed the
music for Solomos' hymn. Although King Othon (Otto) decorated both of them for
their work (1845 and 1849), he did not replace the Royal Anthem of that time
with the Solomos/Mantzaros hymn. The anthem was a musical derivative from the
German one, with a text glorifying Othon and his dynasty. After the overthrow
of the dynasty, the new King George I and the Greek establishment decided to
look for a clearly Greek work, both with respect to the poetry and the music.
The "Hymn to the Freedom" was readily there - extremely popular since the
Revolution times, often recited or sung during patriotic meetings and
celebrations.

The Greek anthem is also used in Cyprus, which has a substantial Greek
community.

Special thanks to:Theo Stylianides for providing me with the sheet music.

