The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 25, April 29, 1897 - A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls by Various
page 42 of 43 (97%)
page 42 of 43 (97%)
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It reached a climax of power in 1500 A.D., and then swiftly and
surely declined. But, although perishing, its fingers never relaxed their hold upon the Greek colonies, now no longer pagan, but Christian. The old Greek love of freedom still burned in the breasts of this unhappy race. They still cherished the sacred memories of Hellas, still spoke her language, and gloried in her name. In 1826 the spell of long captivity was broken, when the Greeks on the Peninsula--the very heart and shrine of the classic memories--freed themselves from Turkey and joined the kingdoms of Europe. Seventy-three years have passed since then, and little has been accomplished toward the liberating of the race. You are reading the last thrilling chapter in the history of Greece every day in the newspapers, while modern Greece, like a brave knight of old, is risking her very existence in defence of her kinsmen. Even the names in the despatches seem like a voice from antiquity; Macedonia, where the Turkish forces are gathering; and Larissa, where Prince Constantine is intrenched. Larissa is a name older than Rome, older than the Olympic games, or even than Homer. It is the Pelasgian name for a fortified city! Now I hope you will remember that the sufferings of the Armenians and of the Cretans should deeply move us, not alone because they are Christians, but because they are Greeks. The world owes a debt to Greece which nothing can ever repay. She has given us our civilization. |
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