The Philhellenes’ Monument in Athens

During the 4th National Assembly in Argos, according to the 8th resolution, it was decided to erect two monuments for the Philhellenes. One for those who died in Greece and one for those who participated in the Greek war for independence. The above decision unfortunately remained unfulfilled for 196 years.

Excerpt from the Minutes of the Fourth National Assembly in Argos
It refers to the resolution for the Philhellenes’ Monument

The Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism (SHP) fulfilled the duty of gratitude of the Greeks with the erection of the Philhellenes’ Monument.

For this purpose, the SHP made a donation and signed a cooperation agreement with the War Museum of Athens. According to this agreement, the Monument has been erected on the site of the War Museum on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue.

The Monument commemorates and honours approximately 2000 emblematic Philhellenes who offered their services and often even their lives for the liberation of Greece.

The SHP has studied and recorded the names of the Philhellenes who supported Greece, utilizing all available sources and bibliography. On the Philhellenes’ Monument approximately 1200 names of volunteers who fought in Greece and 800 names of Philhellenes activists who supported the Greek Revolution from their countries of origin, have been engraved. For each one of these names there is documentation, which will soon be accessible to the public through SHP’s website. Moreover, the biographies of these Philhellenes will be published by the SHP.

In addition, the SHP has also founded the Philhellenism Museum (www.phmus.org), which presents significant works of art and personal belongings of distinguished Philhellenes, which document the evolution of Philhellenism and its contribution to the liberation of Greece.

The site of the War Museum on Vasilissis Sofias street. 

Since the Renaissance, civilised humanity has progressively adopted Greek culture and ideals, on which it bases the development of arts, letters and sciences. Intellectuals, such as Johann Joackim Winckelmann, Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, Lord Byron, established Greece as the cradle of Western civilisation and advocated an educational system in their societies with a character centred on Hellenism. Liberalism and romanticism emerged from the processes that followed, and found a point of intersection in Philhellenism. An anthropocentric movement with noble intentions for the evolution of societies, which among others adopted the cause of the liberation of Greece.  

Since 1821, a large number of Philhellenic Committees have been founded in Europe, America and Asia, with the aim of financially supporting the Greek War of Independence and sending humanitarian aid, volunteers and military equipment to Greece. Historical research emphasizes the contribution of tens of thousands of women and men, who offered their time, their personal fortunes, and even their own lives for a sacred purpose that marked the evolution of our civilization. The struggle of Philhellenes volunteers on the battlefields and of Philhellenes activists in their countries of origin, contributed decisively to the liberation of Greece.

The Philhellenes’ Monument in Athens implements the unanimous decision number 8 of the Fourth National Assembly of the Greek State, which took place in 1829 in Argos, and constitutes an expression of honour and gratitude to the name known and anonymous Philhellenes heroes. The Monument was designed and erected in 2025 by the Society for Hellenism and Philhellenism and the Philhellenism Museum, in collaboration with the War Museum of Athens.

The relief figure of the Victory, from the breastplate of the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis, dominates the centre of the Philhellenes’ Monument. The well-known Nike untying her sandal has been embossed in the center of the monument. This is a sculpture of the 5th century BC, from the parapet of the temple of Nike (goddess Victory) on the Acropolis. It depicts Nike (Victory) slightly leaning her body to untie her sandal before she enters the sanctuary. The phrase ETERNAL GLORY by Homer (9th century BC) is engraved on the left side of the relief, and on the right the phrase “I bow down my knee before you Philhellenes” by the Greek poet Achilles Paraschos (1838-1895).