Page 16 - Beholding Liberty!
P. 16
1016Α ΝBΤEΙHΚOΡ ΙLΖDΟIΝNΤGΑLΣI BΤEΗRΝT YΕ!Λ Ε ΥΘ Ε Ρ Ι Α !
The 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution is a major historical landmark and provides a rare opportunity to reflect on this rich course and the lessons it offers us. Moreover, our histo- ry is the best guide to the present and future alike. It is the material, broader cultural underpinning on which we are called upon to shape modern Greece. The road followed, from the first stirrings of the struggle in March 1821 to the present day, was not strewn with rose petals. Our country experienced disasters but also triumphs. Great moments of unity and grandeur brought it into the foreground of European history, but there were also dissentions that immobilized it.
For us to proceed to tomorrow, we must overcome our weaknesses and preserve the values and ideas that have made us special. They have given us a particular position in global matters, and constitute the hallmark of the Greek spirit: freedom, democracy, the constant search for innovation, together with the insight and daring that this requires. These were the components that made the Greeks pioneers and made Greece a participant and co-shaper of modern European history.
We were, moreover, the first country to acquire independence from the Ottoman yoke, the first country to successfully combat the Axis powers, and become the 10th member-state of the Euro- pean Economic Community under very special conditions, while playing a leading role in both the expansion of the EEC and the establishment of the EMU a little later. Two hundred years after the Greek Revolution, Greece continues to play a leading role in international affairs and to radiate in the field of letters and sciences.
What we have achieved and what we will achieve in the future are closely associated with the sac- rifice and struggle of those who envisioned freedom and founded the modern Greek state, in spite of the times. This exhibition in the Hellenic Parliament is dedicated to them; its aim is to make their work and progress known. I would like to believe that those who visit the exhibition and read this text will experience the starting point of deeper self-knowledge, as well as a constructive historical review.
I would like to thank those who contributed to the exhibition for its flawless organization and to refer briefly to some works of particular value that were carried out during its preparation.