The presentation of the book by Emmanuel Vyvilakis “New History of Crete” will take place on Saturday, November 19, at 12:00 p.m. in the Giannis Percelakis Amphitheater of the Historical Museum of Crete.
The event will be coordinated by Claire Mitsotakis, vice president of the Board of Directors. of the Society of Cretan Historical Studies, editor of the publishing series Testimonies of E.K.I.M., author.
Invited speakers at the presentation of the 14th volume are Eleftheria Zei, associate professor at the Department of History and Archeology of the University of Crete, Yannis Spyropoulos, researcher at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies of the Technology and Research Foundation, Panagiotis Stathis, historian, PhD candidate at the University of Crete and the historian – editor of the 14th volume Maria Sorou.
Excerpt from the New History of Crete by Emmanuel Vyvilakis:
[…] The Turks, engrossed in the beautiful vineyards of Askifus, do not consider it so harmless to pursue the Christians further, knowing how many men they had already crushed in the invincibles of that acroria and the gorges of the White Mountains, where neither they could use neither cavalry nor artillery, and where the Greeks, stationed and secured, were already resting with most of their families, they could not only defend themselves without danger, but also bring complete annihilation upon them, since they were far removed from the fortress including the food and munitions of [..]
Free entrance
As the Historical Museum of Crete points out, “Emmanuel Vyvilakis, an ardent patriot and staunch fighter throughout his life in the cause of the Union of Megalonis with Greece, Rethymno by origin, writer and journalist with his own organ, the militant newspaper Radamanthus in the mature his Athenian years, and first judge in Syra until 1863, with intense pro-educational work, he was in his teens when the Revolution of 21 broke out in Crete as well.
Already in the first months of the summer of 21, twelve years old according to his testimony, and an orphan, having lost his parents in the plague epidemic of the previous years, he is involved in the battles that begin with the arrival of summer on the island, having attached himself to various groups warriors in the major areas of the provinces of Rethymno Chania.
Three decades after the events, having studied the relevant European production and having gathered information from eyewitnesses, he writes the New History of Crete, part of which is the narration of the events of the Revolution of 21 in Crete. This complete text is missing. However, the drafts and notes of the later latent authorship were saved, since they were part of the Archive of Pavlos Vlastos for a while. From this material, which is preserved at ELIA, the recent anniversary volume of the “Testimonies” series of the Society of Cretan Historical Studies was compiled with the persistent and meticulous work of Maria Sorou, who signed the scientific editing, thorough introduction and note-taking of the publication. .
Between history and memoir, this book, written apparently to reconstruct the views of the Greek political world in the middle of the 19th century which tended to underestimate the participation of Crete in the Revolution of 21, is one of the very few writings we have about the events that took place in the decade 1821-1830 on the island, and this is the reason that the Society of Cretan Historical Studies decided that by making this publication it will contribute in a crucial way to the illumination of the major event of the Greek history of recent years.
A special concern of Emm. Vyvilakis and an important role in his writing is the case of Gramvousa, as he personally made repeated, albeit unsuccessful, attempts to keep the fortress under Greek occupation.
Publications: Testimonies Series, vol. 14, EKIM, Heraklion 2022, Series Editor: Alexis Kalokairinos, Kostis Mamalakis, Scientific Editor-Text Transcription: Maria Sorou, Editorial Editor: Claire Mitsotaki, Notes: Maria Sorou, Publishing Consultant: Kallia Kalliataki, Typographic editor: Maria Sorou, Pages: 572, Dimensions: 17 x 12 cm., ISBN: 978 – 960 – 9480 – 52 – 9
The volume is available at the Store of the Historical Museum of Crete and the IMK Shop.
