Page 438 - Beholding Liberty!

ΙΙΙ.10.6
C. Minoïde Mynas
To the Germans and the other nations of Europe invitation to help the Greeks Appel à la nation allemande et aux autres peuples de l’Europe, en faveur des Grecs translated from Greek, by M. Le Vte A. de Ludre, member of the Philhellenic Society of Paris.
Paris. Bossange Père, libraire, Rue de Richelieu, no 60; Treuttel et Wurtz, libraires, Rue de Bourbon,
no 17; Strasbourg, Rue des Serruriers. – London, 30 Soho-Square. 1826.
Library of the Hellenic Parliament
A BILINGUAL EDITION of Minoides’ Ap- peal in Greek and a French translation by a member of the Paris philhellenic committee (vicomte A. de Ludre), printed by Rignoux.
Constantine Mina or Minou (1788-1859), also known as Minas Minoide, was a representative of the Greek Enlightenment in Paris, an opponent of Adamantios Korais and a supporter of Ioannis Kapodistrias. His books include Kanaris, A Pindaric Ode (1830) in praise of the heroism of the Greek revolutionaries.
During the War, he campaigned for the Greek cause, publishing a number of bilingual (Greek and French) epistolary pamphlets, including To the Most Power- ful Kings in Europe (1821) and On Austria’s Policy On Greece (1826). This edition, of 1826, is characteris- tic: It is an appeal, written in archaic language, to European nations to support the Greek Struggle; as emphasised on the cover (twice: en faveur des Grecs and se vend au profit des Grecs), the sale proceeds went for the benefit of the Greeks.
ΙΙΙ.10.7
[Evanthia Kairi]
438 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
Nikiratos, drama in three acts, by a certain Greek woman
Nafplio: By the Printing House of the Administration, 1826 Library of the Hellenic Parliament
AN ANONYMOUS PUBLICATION, which, however, can safely be attributed to the scholar and literary author Evanthia Kairi from Andros (1799-?), the younger sister of prominent scholar, Theofilos. Here literary works were of average quality; she also wrote an open letter addressed to European wom- en, asking them to support the Greek cause [cat. no II.8.C.11].
Nikiratos, a general in besieged Missolonghi, con- templates sending his daughter and son away, with the help of the Ionian islander Lysimachos, a repre- sentative of the Great Powers. Eventually, his daugh-
ter chooses to stay in Missolonghi and die a heroic death along with everyone else.
The historical subject is infused with classicistic and ar- chaic elements in a strongly lyrical work. Also evident is the author’s accusatory tone against foreign powers for allowing, or even indirectly aiding, Ottoman barbarism.
Kairi wrote this work in Ermoupolis, three months after the fall of Missolonghi; it premiered in 1827, also in Ermoupolis, before an audience of war refu- gees. Dedicated to the Greek women who sacrificed themselves, it is preceded by a letter of dedication “To Greek Women”, written in Andros on July 11, 1826.