28th October. Greece’s second National Day, the first being the 25th of March, the start of the revolution against the Turks in 1821. Today marks No Day (Όχι Μέρα), 28th October 1940 when Greece’s dictator, Ioannis Metaxas, said ‘No’ to another dictator, Mussolini. The Italian ultimatum was not exactly a demand to surrender – the Italians are too nice for that – but rather a demand for free passage or access (ελεύθερη διέλευση) to Greece’s ports, airfields and strategic islands.
We have a human need to create myths. The Easter Rising in Ireland was a mess of orders, countermanded orders, and general confusion. Still, the people who took part in the rebellion are, rightly, national heroes. Similarly, in 1940 Metaxas did not utter the word Όχι, nor did he speak Greek during his meeting with the Italian ambassador. After listening to the ultimatum, Metaxas replied, “Alors, c’est la guerre.”
The Italians invaded Greece but were defeated in the mountains of Epirus. The heroic Greek resistance was so effective that the Germans had to intervene. The result was that while the Italians (with German help) occupied most of Greece’s territory, the Germans took control of all areas of strategic value (i.e., the original Italian plan). The Greeks also claim, perhaps with some justification, that Germany’s intervention delayed Hitler’s plans to invade the Soviet Union. This delay resulted in the Germans’ getting bogged down in the freezing Russian winter.
We have had wonderful summer weather today. The tavernas are full all along our seafront, and business is good.
29th October: another wonderful, summery day. In Greek, late summer weather is called αλκυονίδες μέρες – literally halcyon days – but I suppose ‘Indian Summer’ might be a more accurate translation in this context.
I have been a bit late getting this posted, but an unexpected illness delayed me for days. It is fitting that I close the post on November 17th, Greece’s third quasi-national day, when students at Athens Polytechnic were attacked by the junta’s police and military on this day 50 years ago. Mythology celebrates it as the downfall of the Colonels’ regime, but the truth is it was the invasion of Cyprus nine months later that brought about the restoration of democracy. Today is a school holiday, but not a public one. All three dates are significant in the making of modern Greece. Within a 100-metre radius of my flat there is a 25th March St, a 28th October St, and a Polytechnic St. I suppose a 17th November St is an impossibility because of the terror group of the same name.