A Swedish Philhellenic Pamphlet from 1821: Will you let that sacred voice that echoes in the tender Swedish heart cry out in vain?

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Authors

Petra Pakkanen
George Kalpadakis
Academy of Athens
Vassilios Sabatakakis
Lund University

Keywords:

philhellenism, 19th century history, history of Greece, history of Sweden, pamflet

Synopsis

The first volume of Grifos is a publication of a rare, anonymously published philhellenic pamphlet from the year 1821. It was printed in Stockholm, yet it has hitherto remained uncol­lected by the scholarly community. The pamphlet is published here for the first time with an En­glish translation and a commentary by George Kalpadakis and Vassilios Sabatakakis. In their introduction the authors place the pamphlet in its historical context and discuss its core themes. The original 1821 text, whose images are repro­duced in the final section, has been transcribed and translated by both authors. This rather provocative philhellenic text echoes a few central themes of philhellenism that by the time of its publica­tion had already become part of later frequent­ly repeated rhetoric in philhellenic discourses. Probably in the challenging political climate in Sweden vis-à-vis the Greek war of independence, complex attitudes and ideologies, both for and against the struggle during its early phase, are re­flected in the text.

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Published

2022-12-16