Manto Mavrogenous
Manto Magdalena Mavrogenous ( Greek Μαντώ Μαυρογένους , first name as Mando or Mado transcribed surname also Mavrogeni Μαυρογένη, * 1796 in Trieste , † July 1848 on Paros ) was a prominent supporter and commander of the Greek War of Independence and is now regarded in Greece as a heroine of the struggle about independence.
Life
Manto Mavrogenous came from an ancient Greek family of Byzantine or - under the name of Morosini - Venetian origin, whose branches were scattered throughout the Ottoman Empire . She herself came from a Phanariotic branch that was also settled on Paros. After the deposition and killing of his uncle Nikolaos , who was Prince of Wallachia , her father had to flee from Bucharest in 1790 and settled in Trieste , where he made considerable fortunes as a trader. In Trieste she enjoyed a comprehensive private education in the sense of the Enlightenment , among other things she spoke fluent English and French .
After the father's death, the family moved to Tinos and eventually settled on Mykonos . Not yet twenty years old, Mavrogenous joined the Filiki Eteria on Tinos - probably through the mediation of her uncle Ioannis Mavrogeni, who was a colleague of Rigas Velestinlis . After the outbreak of the Greek Revolution , she played a role in the defense of the island against a pirate attack and was able to convince the leaders of the island to take part in the revolution. She equipped two ships and around 800 fighters from her own resources, which she commanded herself and with whom she participated in several sea battles, where, according to legend, she narrowly escaped death several times.
At the same time, she advertised with open letters that were published by Western European Philhellenes in various Western European newspapers for financial support for the Greeks fighting against the “Islamic barbarians”, in a letter to the “Parisian women” with the following words, among other things: “I wish a day of battle as you long for a dance. "
After Greece gained independence, Mavrogenous settled in the new Greek capital of Nafplio , where she had a love affair with General Dimitrios Ypsilantis (1793-1832). Probably out of fear that Ypsilantis and Mavrogenou might gain power over Greece as a popular married couple, members of the Mavrogenou government kidnapped Mavrogenou to Mykonos and forced her to stay there until Ypsilantis' death. Mavrogenou died penniless and forgotten on Paros of typhus .
Aftermath
As the only female commander of the War of Independence alongside Laskarina Bouboulina , Mavrogenou is revered today as a heroine of the revolution. Until the introduction of the euro, it was depicted on the reverse of the two- drachma coin of Greece.
Her life was filmed in 1971 with the film Manto Mavrogenous , directed by Kostas Karagiannis , the script was by Nikos Kabanis and Kostas Karagiannis. The title role was played by Jenny Karezi .
literature
- Eleni Varikas: Women's Participation in the Greek Revolution, 1800–1827, in: Christine Fauré: Political and historical encyclopedia of women, New York City (Routledge) 2003 ISBN 978-1579582371 , French original 1997, pp. 153–164
- Martina Kempff: "The rebel of Mykonos", the life story of Mando Mavrojenous, Piper Verlag GmbH, Munich, 2007, ISBN 978-3-492-24956-0 ; First edition: Weitbrecht Verlag, Stuttgart, 1999 under the title: "Die Rebellin".
Web links
- Page about the Mavrogeni family (Greek / English)
- Acknowledgment of Mavrogenous' on www.mykonosinfo.gr (Greek)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Varikas (see lit.) p. 161
- ↑ Illustration at www.fleur-de-coin.com
- ↑ Manto Mavrogenous in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mavrogenous, manto |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Μαυρογένους, Μαντώ (Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek independence fighter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1796 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Trieste |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1848 |
| Place of death | on Paros |