Hymn to Liberty

The "Hymn to Liberty" or "Hymn to Freedom"[1] (Greek: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν, romanized: Hýmnos is tin Eleftherían, pronounced [ˈimnos is tin elefθeˈri.an], also Greek: Ύμνος προς την Ελευθερίαν[3][4][5] Hýmnos pros tin Eleftherían pronounced [ˈimnos pros tin elefθeˈri.an]) is a poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 that consists of 158 stanzas, which is used as the national anthem of Greece and Cyprus. It was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, and is the longest national anthem in the world by length of text.[6] In 1865, the first three stanzas (and later the first two) officially became the national anthem of Greece and, from 1966, also that of Cyprus.

Hýmnos is tin Eleftherían
Hýmnos pros tin Eleftherían
English: 'Hymn to Liberty' or 'Hymn to Freedom'
Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν
Ύμνος προς την Ελευθερίαν
National anthem of
 Greece
 Cyprus

Former national anthem of the Cretan State

Former royal anthem of  Greece
LyricsDionysios Solomos, 1823
MusicNikolaos Mantzaros, 1865
Adopted1865 (by Greece)[1]
1966 (by Cyprus)[2]
1908 (by the Cretan State)
Relinquished1913 (by the Cretan State)
Audio sample
"Hýmnos is tin Eleftherían" (instrumental)
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History
Dionysios Solomos, author of the lyrics

Dionysios Solomos wrote "Hymn to Liberty" in 1823 in Zakynthos and one year later was printed in Messolonghi. It was set to music in 1865 by the Corfiot operatic composer Nikolaos Mantzaros, who composed two choral versions, a long one for the whole poem and a short one for the first two stanzas; the latter is the one adopted as the national anthem of Greece. "Hymn to Liberty" was adopted as the national anthem of Cyprus by order of the Council of Ministers in 1966.[7]

Lyrics
Execution of Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople by Nikiforos Lytras
Siege of Tripolitsa by Peter von Hess

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

"Hymn to Liberty" recounts the misery of the Greeks under the Ottomans and their hope for freedom. He describes different events of the War, such as the execution of Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople, the reaction of the Great Powers, extensively the Siege of Tripolitsa and the Christian character of the struggle.

Greek original
Greek alphabet
Roman alphabet
IPA transcription

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! 𝄇[8][9][lower-alpha 1][10]

Se gnorízo apó tin kópsi
Tou spathioú tin tromerí,
Se gnorízo apó tin ópsi,
Pou me viá metráei ti gi.

Ap’ ta kókkala vgalméni
Ton Ellínon ta ierá,
𝄆 Kai san próta andreioméni,
Chaíre, o chaíre, eleftheriá! 𝄇

[s̠e̞ ɣno̞ˈɾiz̠o̞̯ɐpo̞ tiŋ ˈko̞ps̠i]

[tu s̠pɐˈθçu tin ˌtro̞me̞ˈɾi |]
[s̠e̞ ɣno̞ˈɾiz̠o̞̯ɐpo̞ tin ˈo̞ps̠i |]

[pu me̞ ˈvʝä me̞ˌträi̯ ti ˈʝi ‖]

[ɐp tɐ ˈko̞kɐˌlä vɣɐlˈme̞ni]

[to̞n e̞ˈlino̞n tɐ i̯e̞ˈɾä |]
𝄆 [ˌce̞ s̠ɐm ˈpro̞tɐ ɐn̪ðri̯o̞ˈme̞ni |]
[ˌçe̞ɾe̞̯o̞ ˈçe̞ɾe̞ | e̞le̞fθe̞ɾˈʝä ‖] 𝄇[lower-alpha 2]

English translations
LiteralPoeticRudyard Kipling (1918)
First verse

I recognize you by the fearsome sharpness,
of your sword,
I recognize you by your face
that hastefully defines the land (i.e. the land's borders).

I shall always recognize you
by the dreadful sword you hold,
as the Earth with searching vision
you survey with spirit bold.

We knew thee of old,
O, divinely restored,
By the lights of thine eyes,
And the light of thy Sword.

Second verse

From the sacred bones,
of the Hellenes arisen,
𝄆 and valiant again as you once were,
Hail, o hail, Liberty! 𝄇

From the Greeks of old whose dying
brought to life and spirit free,
𝄆 now with ancient valor rising
Let us hail you, oh Liberty! 𝄇

𝄆 From the graves of our slain,
Shall thy valor prevail,
𝄆 as we greet thee again,
Hail, Liberty! Hail! 𝄇

Uses

An adapted version was used during the short-lived Cretan State as the Cretan Anthem. The "Hymn to Liberty" had been the Greek royal anthem after 1864.

"Hymn to Liberty" has been the national anthem of Cyprus since 1966.[2]

"Hymn to Liberty" has been performed at every closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, to pay tribute to Greece as the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The version commonly played by military bands is an arrangement composed by Lieutenant Colonel Margaritis Kastellis (1907–1979), former director of the Greek Music Corps.[11]

Notelist
  1. Sources contain every stanza.
  2. Transcriptions were put together after basing on sources from Greek language, Modern Greek phonology and Help:IPA/Greek. Therefore, it is not considered original research.

References
  1. Εθνικός Ύμνος [National Anthem] (in Greek). www.presidency.gr. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  2. "Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus - The National Anthem". Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  3. Ηλίας Κανέλλης (25 September 2010). "Το μνημείο διατίθεται για διαδηλώσεις Η "χρήση" του Άγνωστου Στρατιώτη και... άλλες βέβηλες ιστορίες". Ta Nea. Ο «Ύμνος προς την Ελευθερίαν» του Διονυσίου Σολωμού είναι, πρωτίστως, ένα ποίημα μέσω του οποίου υμνήθηκε το έθνος-κράτος, σε περίοδο που οι εθνικές οντότητες ήταν ταυτόσημες της νεωτερικότητας.
  4. Κωστούλα Τομαδάκη (22 November 2010). "Ο εθνικός ύμνος "ελεύθερος" στο Διαδίκτυο". To Pontiki. Το 1865, μετά την ένωση της Επτανήσου με την Ελλάδα, ο «Ύμνος προς την Ελευθερίαν» καθιερώθηκε ως εθνικός ύμνος της Ελλάδας.
  5. Argolikos Archival Library of History and Culture (14 September 2012). "Εφημερίδα της Κυβερνήσεως – Το Ναύπλιον γενέθλιος πόλις της εφημερίδος της Κυβερνήσεως". Αργολική Αρχειακή Βιβλιοθήκη Ιστορίας & Πολιτισμού (Argolikos Archival Library of History and Culture. Ας σημειωθή χαρακτηριστικώς, ότι η περί ης ο λόγος εφημερίς προέτεινεν εις το φύλλον της 21ης Οκτωβρίου 1825 την καθιέρωσιν ως εθνικού ύμνου του ποιήματος του Δ. Σολωμού «Ύμνος προς την Ελευθερίαν», του οποίου εδημοσίευσεν ανάλυσιν υπό του Σπ. Τρικούπη.
  6. "Greece: Hymn to Liberty". NationalAnthems.me. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  7. "National Anthem". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  8. "Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν". stixoi. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  9. "Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν". sansimera. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  10. Papaloizos, Theodore. Greek language, Modern. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  11. "National Anthem". Hellenic Army Academy. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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