Manto Mavrogenous | |
|---|---|
 1827 lithography | |
| Native name | Μαντώ Μαυρογένους |
| Born | 1796 or 1797 |
| Died | July 1848 (aged 51–52) Paros, Greece |
| Allegiance | Greece |
| Rank | Honorary lieutenant general |
| Signature |  |
Manto Mavrogenous (Greek:Μαντώ Μαυρογένους; 1796 – July 1848) was aGreek princess and heroine of theGreek War of Independence. An extremely wealthy aristocrat, she contributed her fortune to the Hellenic cause. Under her encouragement, her aristocratic European friends contributed money and guns to the revolution.
Manto Mavrogenous was born inTrieste, then in theHabsburg monarchy, now part of Italy. She was daughter of the merchant and member of theFiliki Eteria, NikolaosMavrogenis and his wife, Zacharati Chatzi Bati. One of her ancestors, thegreat-uncle of her father,Nicholas Mavrogenes, wasDragoman of the Fleet andPrince ofWallachia.
A beautiful woman of aristocratic lineage, she grew up in an educated family, influenced by theAge of Enlightenment. She studiedancient Greek philosophy andhistory at a college in Trieste, and spokeFrench,Italian andTurkish fluently.
In 1809, she moved toParos with her family, where she learned from her father that the Filiki Eteria was preparing what would become known as theGreek Revolution and later, in 1818, after her father's death, she left forTinos. When the struggle began, she went toMykonos, the island of her origin, and invited the leaders of Mykonos to join the revolution.
She equipped, manned and "privateered" at her own expense, two ships with which she pursued the pirates who attackedMykonos and other islands ofCyclades. On 22 October 1822, the Mykonians repulsed theOttoman Turks, who had debarked on the island, under her leadership. She also equipped 150 men to campaign in thePeloponnese and sent forces and financial support toSamos, when the island was threatened by the Turks. Later, Mavrogenous sent another corps of fifty men to Peloponnese, who took part in theSiege of Tripolitsa and the fall of the town to the Greek rebels. Together, she financed the relief of the soldiers and their families, the preparation of a campaign to Northern Greece and the support of severalphilhellenes.
She later put together a flotilla of six ships and an infantry consisting of sixteen companies, with fifty men each, and took part in the battle inKarystos in 1822, and funded a campaign toChios, but she was unable to prevent themassacre. Another group of fifty men was sent to reinforceNikitaras in theBattle of Dervenakia. When the Ottoman fleet appeared in Cyclades, she returned to Tinos and sold some of her jewelry to finance the equipment of 200 men who fought the enemy and to take care of two thousand people who had survived thefirst siege of Missolonghi. Her men participated in several other battles like those ofPelion,Phthiotis andLivadeia.
Mavrogenous led enlightenment expeditions in Europe and addressed an appeal to the women ofParis, to side up with theGreeks. She moved toNafplio in 1823, in order to be in the core of the struggle, leaving her family as she was despised even by her mother because of her choices. It is at this time that Mavrogenous metDemetrios Ypsilantis, with whom she was soon engaged. Soon, she became famous around Europe for her beauty and bravery. But in May of the same year, her home was burnt to the ground; thus, she went toTripoli to live with Ypsilanti.
| "The Greeks, born to be liberal, will owe their independence only to themselves. So I don't ask your intervention to force your compatriots to help us. But only to change the idea of sending help to our enemies. The war spreads the horrible death..." |
| The letter of Manto Mavrogenous to the women ofParis |
Mavrogenous' engagement toDemetrios Ypsilantis was opposed by several powerful politicians who saw the unification of two powerful families,Mavrogenis andYpsilantis, which held pro-Russian affiliations, as a threat. Chief among their opponents in Greece wasIoannis Kolettis who led the successful charge to break the engagement, whereupon she returned to Nafplio. After Ypsilanti's death and her intense political conflicts with Ioannis Kolettis, she was exiled from Nafplio and returned to Mykonos, where she occupied herself with the writing of her memoirs.
When the war endedIoannis Kapodistrias awarded her the rank ofLieutenant General and granted her a dwelling in Nafplio, to which she moved. She owned a valuable sword, with the inscription "Δίκασον Κύριε τους αδικούντας με, τους πολεμούντας με, βασίλευε των Βασιλευόντων", which is translated to 'Lord, judge those who wrong me, who battle me, rule over the Kings'. That sword is said to come from the times ofConstantine the Great and Mavrogenous gave it to Kapodistrias.
Mavrogenous moved toParos in 1840, where some of her relatives resided, and lived and died in a house that is still privately owned. The home is located near the Panagia Ekatontapyliani (the Church of the Virgin Mary) which, tradition says, was founded bySaint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. Mavrogenous died on Paros in July 1848.
The central plaza in the capital town ofMykonos bears her name and contains a larger-than-life bust of her. The main square in the port town of Paroikia inParos has also been given her name. Greece has honored this heroine by naming several streets across the country after her. The Greek government has released several commemorative coins in her honor.[1] A film was also made about her life, titledManto Mavrogenous (1971), in which she was portrayed byTzeni Karezi.
Mavrogenous was depicted on thereverse of the Greek 2drachmas coin of 1988–2001.[2]
Manto has relatives in the Mavrogenous/Delicari family.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
