Greece of Melouna
Coordinates: 39°50′03″N 22°13′05″E / 39.83417°N 22.21806°E
Greece of Melouna (Greek: Ελλάδα της Μελούνας) was a nominal and proverbial expression in 19th-century Greece, which could not realize the national dream of Megali Idea.[1]
Background
Melouna was the northernmost point of the Kingdom of Greece after the annexation of Thessaly and Arta in 1881.[2] For the past 60 years, the northern border of Greece had been the Arta-Volos line, and despite the Megali Idea, the small kingdom had not succeeded in expanding its territory except through a gift from the British Empire, the Ionian Islands in 1864.[3]
The events
Ethniki Etaireia was a secret organization which proceeded to support Greek rebellions for union in Macedonia, Epirus, Crete and elsewhere.
Larissa and Trikala were abandoned without a fight, and after the Battle of Farsala, Greece requested intervention from the great powers. After the Battle of Domokos, the Ottoman army crossed the Thermopylae and only the ultimatum of the great powers saved the 19th-century Greek state. In the Cretan theatre, the Greek army had some limited success and Crete was granted autonomy after the end of the war.
Consequences
The defeat in the war later caused the outbreak of the Goudi coup, and Eleftherios Venizelos emerged in the Greek political scene.
According to some nationalists and right-wingers, in 2019 Greece returned to Melouna because of the Prespa Agreement.[4][5]
References
This article "Greece of Melouna" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Greece of Melouna. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
