THE BLOODY HISTORY OF GREEKS

THE BLOODY HISTORY OF GREEKS

Greek nationalism took shape in the early 19th century through the struggle for independence against the Ottoman Empire. However, this struggle was not merely a political resistance movement; it was also a project of identity-building nourished by systematic violence and ethnic cleansing policies directed against Turks. This article examines the massacres committed against Turks throughout the historical development of Greece, the ideological roots of this hostility, and the voices of Greek intellectuals who objected to these realities.

1. The Morea Revolt (1821–1829): The First Steps of Ethnic Cleansing

The Tripolitsa Massacre: The Bloody Symbol of the Revolt

During the first months of the Morea Revolt, Greek insurgents captured the city of Tripolitsa and organized the massacre of nearly 30,000 Turkish and Jewish civilians. British historian William St. Clair describes the event in That Greece Might Still Be Free (1972):

“Women and children were locked inside churches and burned alive. Corpses were left to rot in the streets for days. This massacre became a founding myth of Greek nationalism.” (p. 123)

The Chios and Navarino Massacres

In 1822, 20,000 Turkish civilians were allegedly killed on the island of Chios. French diplomat François Pouqueville, in his book Histoire de la Régénération de la Grèce (1824), explains how these massacres shocked international public opinion:

“Europeans believed that the Greeks were the heirs of ancient Hellenic civilization. However, what happened in Chios shattered this romantic image.”

2. The Ottoman–Greek War of 1897: The Transformation of Hatred into Politics

The 1897 war was the first major test of Greece’s “Megali Idea” (Great Ideal). The Greek army burned Turkish villages in the Thessaly region and attacked civilians. American journalist Stephen Crane wrote the following in Active Service (1899):

“Greek soldiers killed Turkish villagers by calling them ‘infidels.’ This was the transformation of religious hatred into a political weapon.”

3. The Balkan Wars (1912–1913): The Mass Expansion of Ethnic Cleansing

During the Balkan Wars, the Greek army carried out massacres against Turkish and Muslim populations in Western Thrace and Macedonia. Swedish human rights activist Alma Johansson documented in her report Ethnic Cleansing and the Balkans (1913) that Greek soldiers massacred 5,000 Turks in Drama:

“The corpses were thrown into the river. The waters ran crimson for weeks.”

The Occupation of Thessaloniki and the Destruction of Turkish Neighborhoods

After Thessaloniki was annexed to Greece in 1912, Turkish neighborhoods in the city were systematically destroyed. Greek historian Kostas Kostis describes this policy as “demographic homogenization” in his work State, Nationalism and Violence in Greece (2018).

4. The Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922): Greek Atrocities in Anatolia

The Smyrna Fire and Massacres

The process that began with the Greek occupation of Smyrna (Izmir) on May 15, 1919, ended with the great fire of 1922. American missionary nun Harriet Silliman wrote in her diary Letters from Smyrna (1923):

“Greek soldiers poured gasoline on Turkish houses and set them on fire. Civilians trying to escape were pierced with bayonets.”

Justin McCarthy’s Figures: 640,000 Deaths

Historian Justin McCarthy documents in Death and Exile (1995) that during the Greek occupation, 640,000 Turkish civilians were killed and 1.2 million were forced to migrate. McCarthy describes this policy as “the prototype of modern ethnic cleansing.”

5. Greek Cypriot Terror in Cyprus (1963–1974): From Bloody Christmas to the Peace Operation

Bloody Christmas of 1963: A Systematic Hunt Against Turks

On December 21, 1963, Greek Cypriot militias raided Turkish villages in Cyprus and massacred more than 500 civilians. British military historian Robert Holland describes the events as “the threshold of genocide” in Britain and the Revolt in Cyprus (1998).

The Muratağa Massacre of 1974: The Silence of the West

During the Cyprus Peace Operation, Greek Cypriot EOKA-B militants buried 126 Turks in a mass grave in the village of Muratağa. United Nations reports confirmed traces of torture on the bodies (UN Doc. S/11568, 1979).

6. Voices in Greece Opposing Anti-Turkish Hostility

Greek Historian Nikos Svoronos: “We Must Confront Our History”

Prominent Greek historian Nikos Svoronos admitted in Histoire de la Grèce Moderne (1953) that Greek nationalism was built upon hostility toward Turks:

“The struggle for independence has been stained by the massacre of innocent civilians. Without acknowledging this, no genuine history can be written.”

He also stated:

“While exterminating Muslims in 1912, the Greek army used the same methods as the Serbian militias.”

7. The Greek National Anthem: The Official Manifesto of Anti-Turkish Hostility

In the 4th stanza of the Greek national anthem Hymn to Liberty (Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν), the following lines allegedly appear:

Της δουλείας τα σίδερα ας κραυγάξουν δυνατά,
Που περπατεί ο Τούρκος μες στα αίματα και στα δάκρυα.

Translation:

“Let the chains of slavery now be broken loudly,
Let the Turks walk in blood and tears.”

These lines are claimed to still be taught in the Greek educational curriculum and are argued to reinforce racist discourse.