Dionysios Solomos (April 8, 1798 – February 9, 1857)

Dionysios Solomos (April 8, 1798 – February 9, 1857)

He was a Greek Poet from Zakynthos, known for writing the Hymn to Liberty, a 158-stanza poem, of which the first 2 stanzas became the National Anthem of both Greece and Cyprus.

Inspired by the Greek War of Independence, Dionysios Solomos wrote the hymn to honour the struggle of the Greeks for independence after centuries of Ottoman rule.

It was set to music in 1865 by composer Nikolaos Mantzaros, the year it officially became the Greek National Anthem.

Σε γνωρίζω από την κόψη
Του σπαθιού την τρομερή,
Σε γνωρίζω από την όψη,
Που με βιά μετράει τη γη.

Απ’ τα κόκκαλα βγαλμένη
Των Ελλήνων τα ιερά,
Και σαν πρώτα ανδρειωμένη,
Χαίρε, ω χαίρε, ελευθεριά!