Destruction of Psara
Part ofMassacres during the Greek War of Independence
After the destruction of Psara byNikolaos Gyzis
Interactive map of Destruction of Psara
Location	38°33′N25°34′E / 38.550°N 25.567°E /38.550; 25.567 Psara,Ottoman Empire
Date	20–21 June (2–3 JulyN.S.) 1824
Deaths	17,000 killed or sold as slaves
Perpetrators	Ottoman military

TheDestruction of Psara (inGreek:Καταστροφή των Ψαρών,Katastrofí ton Psarón) was the killing of thousands ofGreeks on the island ofPsara byOttoman troops during theGreek War of Independence in 1824.

By the beginning of the 19th century,Psara had the third largest trade fleet in Greece afterHydra andSpetses, numbering some 45 ships.^[1]

In March 1821, the Greek population revolted against theOttoman Empire.^[2] The inhabitants of Psara joined the struggle on 10 April 1821. FuturePrime MinisterKonstantinos Kanaris,Dimitrios Papanikolis, Pipinos andNikolis Apostolis distinguished themselves as naval leaders, usingfire ships to combat the more powerfulOttoman Navy.

In April 1822, Turkish forces under the command ofNasuhzade Ali Pasha,Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman fleetmassacred the inhabitants of Chios. 30,000 Greeks were killed and 50,000 were sold as slaves inSmyrna andConstantinople.^[3] Psara's native population of 7,500 people was augmented by 23,000 Greek refugees from Chios, but also fromThessaly,Macedonia,Moschonisia andKydonies.^[4]

On the night of 6–7 June 1822, the Greeks responded bydestroying the flagship of Nasuhzade Ali Pasha in revenge for the Chios massacre, killing 2,300 Turks, as well as the Kapudan Pasha himself.^[5]

On 20 June 1824, the island was invaded by the Ottomans under the command of Kapudan PashaKoca Hüsrev Mehmed.^[6] The resistance of the Psariots ended the next day with a last stand at the town's old fort of Palaiokastro (alternative nameMavri Rachi, literally "Black Ridge"). Hundreds of soldiers and also women and children had taken refuge there when an Ottoman force of 2,000 stormed the fort. The refugees first threw a white flag^[7] with the words "Freedom or Death" (Greek: "Ἐλευθερία ἤ Θάνατος"). Then, the moment the Turks entered the fort, the localAntonios Vratsanos lit a fuse to the gunpowder stock, in an explosion that killed the town's inhabitants along with their enemies — thus remaining faithful to their flag up to their death. A French officer who heard and saw the explosion compared it to a volcanic eruption ofMount Vesuvius.

As a result of the invasion, 17,000 Greeks were killed or sold as slaves.^[8] Part of the population managed to flee the island, scattered through what is now Southern Greece.Theophilos Kairis, a priest and scholar, took on many of the orphaned children and developed the famous school theOrphanotropheio of Theophilos Kairis. Psara was deserted and remained in the hands of theOttomans until it was recaptured by theGreek navy on 21 October 1912 during theFirst Balkan War. The population of Psara before the massacre was about 7,000.^[9] Since the massacre, the population of the island never rose over 1,000 inhabitants.

The destruction of Psara by the Ottomans was conducted in retaliation for the destruction of Turkish ships by revolutionariesKonstantinos Kanaris andDimitrios Papanikolis. It inspired poetAndreas Kalvos to write theode "To Psara" (Greek: "Εἰς Ψαρά").

The event also inspired poetDionysios Solomos, author of "Hymn to Liberty", to write apoem (orepigram) titled "The Destruction of Psara" (Greek: "Ἡ καταστροφὴ τῶν Ψαρῶν") in 1825:^[10][11]

The destruction of Psara inspired Greek painterNikolaos Gyzis to produce "The Glory of Psara" (Greek: "Η Δόξα των Ψαρών", pastel on paper), "After the destruction of Psara" (Greek: "Μετά την καταστροφή των Ψαρών", oil on canvas) and "The Glory of Psara" ("Η Δόξα των Ψαρών", oil on canvas):

• Massacres during the Greek Revolution
• Greek War of Independence
• Chios massacre
• List of massacres in Greece
• Siege of Masada (a similar heroic mass suicide in Jewish history)

• Comstock, John L. (1828)."Chapter XX: Campaign of 1824 – Loss of Ipsara and barbarities committed there [...]".History of the Greek Revolution compiled from official documents of the greek government. New York: William W. Reed & Co.
• Gordon, Thomas (1832).History of the Greek Revolution. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Brunet de Presle, Wladimir; Blanchet, Alexandre (1860).Grèce depuis la conquête romaine jusqu'à nos jours [Greece from the Roman conquest to the present day] (in French). Paris: Firmin Didot.
• Solomos, Dionysios (1901).Ἄπαντα τὰ εὑρισκόμενα (in Greek).Kostis Palamas (prologue). Athens: P. D. Sakellarios. At theAnemi digital library.
• Finlay, George (1971). Tozer, H. F. (ed.).History of the Greek Revolution and the Reign of King Otho. Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN 0-900834-12-9.
• Sfyroeras, Vasileios (1975). "Σταθεροποίηση της Επαναστάσεως 1822–1823" [Stabilization of the Revolution 1822–1823]. In Christopoulos, Georgios A. & Bastias, Ioannis K. (eds.).Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Τόμος ΙΒ΄: Η Ελληνική Επανάσταση (1821 - 1832) [History of the Greek Nation, Volume XII: The Greek Revolution (1821 - 1832)] (in Greek). Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon.ISBN 978-960-213-108-4.
• Xiradaki, Koula (1995).Γυναίκες του 21 [Women of 21] (in Greek). Athens: Dodoni.ISBN 960-248-781-X.
• Clogg, Richard (2002).A Concise History of Greece. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-00479-4.
• Rothenberg, Jerome; Robinson, Jeffrey (2009).Poems for the Millennium. Vol. 3. University of California Press.ISBN 978-0-520-25598-2.

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• Phillips, Walter Alison (1911)."Greek Independence, War of" .Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).

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