This Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 13:00 Athens time, “Historical Walks” with Marilena Katsimi hosts historian Dimitris Baharas on the occasion of his new book, How and Why the Greek Revolution Came to Be (“Πώς και γιατί φτάσαμε στην ελληνική επανάσταση”). Together, they will take us on a journey through the Peloponnese to explore the lives of the prokritoi—the local rulers of Morea.
The goal is to understand how and why they chose to revolt.
What drove men, mostly in their sixties, to abandon the security of their social and economic status and take up arms in 1821?
What common traits defined this group, and what were their shared aspirations?
What role did the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) play in approaching and influencing them?
The program sheds light on the relationships between the kotzampashis (wealthy landowners) and the Ottoman officials, their political and economic activities, and the challenges they faced in the years leading up to the Revolution. The intensity of their internal rivalries, their alliances with the Ottomans, and their strategic maneuvers largely shaped the political landscape of the time. Their eventual participation in the Revolution was the result of an ongoing dynamic of conflict and cooperation.
Dimitris Baharas has also selected the music featured in the program. He transports us to the time and setting of that era with pieces from Ottoman classical music, enjoyed by the empire’s elite, as well as refined musical traditions from Constantinople that resonated with the Greek-speaking population, alongside folk songs from the Peloponnese.
Broadcast: Saturday, March 29, 2025, 13:00-14:00 (Athens time)
Produced and hosted by Marilena Katsimi, Journalist
