Greece has commemorated the 200th anniversary of the Exodus of Missolonghi with a series of religious, civic and cultural events, honoring one of the most significant moments of the Greek War of Independence.
The anniversary observances unfolded with solemnity and scale in Missolonghi, where thousands gathered to remember the fighters and civilians who perished during the final phase of the city’s siege in 1826.
Rich in religious symbolism and national significance, the central ceremonies culminated on Palm Sunday, the day historically associated with the Exodus.
Weekend Ceremonies Draw Thousands
The main commemorative program began on Lazarus Saturday, when an Archieratic Vespers service for Palm Sunday took place at the Metropolitan Church of Saint Spyridon, formally opening the peak anniversary events.
The focus then shifted to the streets of the city, where a major commemorative procession brought together 12,000 participants from across Greece. Children and adults in traditional costume joined marching bands, cultural associations and representatives of foreign states, giving the tribute both ceremonial weight and visual grandeur.
On Palm Sunday, after the liturgy at Saint Spyridon, officials held a memorial service and laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Heroes. The program then continued with awards for the winners of the “Road of Sacrifice” race, while soprano Vivian Douglas performed the lament “Long Live Missolonghi,” accompanied by the Choir of the Municipality of Missolonghi.
Delacroix Exhibition Opens at Archaeological Museum
The anniversary has also been marked by a major exhibition centered on Eugène Delacroix’s celebrated painting Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi. The exhibition opened on Friday evening at the Xenokrateion Archaeological Museum of the Holy City of Missolonghi.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni led the opening ceremony. The exhibition, which runs through November 2026, was organized specifically to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Exodus.
Painted in 1826, shortly after the third siege of Missolonghi, the monumental work measures 208 by 147 centimeters, or roughly 81 by 58 inches. Delacroix portrays Greece as a grieving woman in traditional dress, with her chest exposed and arms extended in anguish. She stands above the ruins of Missolonghi and the bodies of fallen Greek defenders, while behind her a figure representing the oppressor plants a flag in blood-soaked ground.
The work remains one of the defining images of Philhellenic art and helped establish Missolonghi as a lasting international symbol of resistance and sacrifice. The city also holds a distinct place in Greek cultural history as the location where Dionysios Solomos’ Hymn to Liberty, which later became the Greek national anthem, was first printed in Greek.
Leaders Frame the 200th Anniversary of the Exodus of Missolonghi as a National Lesson
President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas, speaking from the Garden of Heroes in Missolonghi, said the anniversary underscores the enduring significance of the sacrifice made by the “Free Besieged” two centuries ago. He said the heroic Exodus reflects, to the highest degree, the glory, influence and lessons of the Greek Revolution of 1821 as a whole.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also used the occasion to draw a parallel between that historic sacrifice and present-day national challenges. He said that, despite difficulties, Greece is making its own passage from an era of low expectations to one of stronger ambition and higher demands, away from political toxicity and inward-looking stagnation, while stressing that such an effort still requires unity, confidence and political maturity.
He added that, 200 years later, the Exodus still calls Greeks toward deeper national self-knowledge, especially at a time when threats are many and peace in the wider neighborhood cannot be taken for granted.
The Siege of Missolonghi
Missolonghi’s final ordeal began on April 15, 1825, when Ottoman forces returned to besiege the city three years after an earlier failed attempt to capture it. By then, Missolonghi had become the seat of the Senate of Western Continental Greece, giving it both strategic and symbolic importance during the Greek War of Independence.
The Ottoman army under Reşid Mehmed Pasha, known to Greeks as Kioutachis, arrived with 20,000 men and was later reinforced by another 10,000 troops under Ibrahim Pasha from the Peloponnese campaign. Historians divide the siege into two phases: the first from April 15 to December 12, 1825, and the second from December 25, 1825, to April 10, 1826.
During the first phase, Missolonghi resisted repeated assaults by Kioutachis’ forces, while the fleet of Andreas Miaoulis repeatedly broke through the naval blockade to deliver food and ammunition. On July 24, forces under Georgios Karaiskakis pushed the Ottomans back to the foothills of Mount Zygos, temporarily easing the pressure on the city.
The second phase began in late December 1825, after Ibrahim Pasha joined the siege. Although the two Ottoman commanders initially disagreed, they eventually coordinated their assault after Ibrahim failed to take the city on his own. Their combined forces intensified the bombardment and captured the key islets of Vasiladi on February 25 and Kleisova on March 25, cutting off Missolonghi from resupply.
The Exodus of Missolonghi and Its enduring legacy in Greece
As famine spread and residents were reduced to eating seaweed, mice and cats, the city could no longer hold out. On April 6, the Greek chieftains decided to attempt a mass breakout on the night of April 9 to April 10, 1826. The defenders split into three groups under Dimitrios Makris, Notis Botsaris and Kitsos Tzavelas in the hope of breaking through enemy lines.
The plan, however, failed, either because it was badly executed or because someone betrayed it. Ottoman-Egyptian forces crushed the breakout, while troops who entered the city killed many of those left behind, including the wounded and elderly.
About 3,000 Greek men died, while some 6,000 women and children were taken captive and sold in the slave markets of Constantinople and Alexandria.
Although the city fell, the sacrifice of Missolonghi had a profound impact across Europe. The brutality of the siege and the heroism of the defenders sparked a renewed wave of Philhellenism.
Missolonghi was liberated in May 1829, and in 1937 Greece officially declared it a “Sacred City,” with Palm Sunday established as the annual anniversary of the Exodus.