Secret Agreements: Preparation for Revolution (1810-20)

The Napoleonic wars (1796-1814): this was a period of upheaval and conflict that extended into southeastern Europe and northern Africa.

Twenty years before the outbreak of the Greek Revolution, there was frequent contact between people working for the separation of the Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire. New circumstances, such as the triumph of the rebels in France, the Napoleonic wars and the revolt of the Serbs in 1804 kept the revolutionary spirit alive in Greece and the Danube basin. After the end of the Russian-Turkish wars and the ceasefire in Serbia, secret meetings among the separatist societies became commonplace; the early 19th century saw the growth of societies such as the Ellinoglosson Ksenodochion, Filomousos Etaireia (Athens) and Philiki Hetaireia.

The Founders of Philiki Hetaireia Swearing an Oath

Philiki Hetaireia was the most important society in southern Balkans, the Aegean and Asia Minor to fight against Ottoman oppression. It was founded in Odessa in 1814 by three members of the Greek diaspora, Skoufas,Tsakalof and Ksanthos. The society survived seven years and brought together Christians from different origins and financial backgrounds by adopting masonic methods and ceremonies. Its revolutionary declarations were still vague, and there was no manifesto. Nevertheless, the society incorporated various groups within it. Merchants, professionals, bankers, clergymen, armed groups and administrators worked together for a common purpose. The Hetaireia extended its activities to an area stretching from Constantinople and the major European cities to the Pelopponese, the Ionian Sea, Macedonia and the south coast of Asia Minor. It was a movement with innate organizational problems but represented nonetheless an important development. For the first time different groups worked together for the separation of ethnic groups from the body of the Ottoman Empire. Communication within the Sultan's state had been difficult and Philiki Hetaireia managed to unite those whose cooperation would be crucial in the near future.

Archigoi tis Eterias ton Philikon by Em. Ksanthos.

Panagiotis Sekeris, member of the Philiki Hetaireia