Commemorative Events Honoring the Historic Battle of Diros
Delivery of the commemorative address marking the national anniversary of the Battle of Diros (1826). The event was organized by the Prefectural Administration of Laconia and the Municipality of Oitylo, Mani, which also presented the speaker with an honorary plaque in recognition of her research and writing on Mani.
Magazine LAKONIKA THEMATA, No. 133, 24–30 June 2000:
Commemorative Events Honoring the Historic Battle of Diros.
For the First Time, the Speaker Was a Woman and a Daughter of Mani
By journalist Maria Chioupi,
The 174th anniversary of the historic Battle of Diros was celebrated with particular splendor and enthusiasm on Sunday, 25 June, in the presence of His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani; the three Members of Parliament for the prefecture, Messrs. Grigorakos, Skandalakis and Davakis; the military commander, Mr. Kolokotsas; the prefect, Mr. Apostolakos; mayors, other officials and a considerable number of people from Mani.
The anniversary service was held at the town’s parish church, Agios Dimitrios, after which the events culminated in the central square, at the monument to the scythe-bearing woman of Mani, with the delivery of the commemorative address by the distinguished Maniot sociologist and anthropologist, Ms Nadia Seremetakis. With a gifted and composed manner of delivery, she spoke vividly about the position of women in Maniot society, the role of men and the balance between the two sexes, drawing on well-known excerpts from Maniot laments, such as:
“...I am the rod of Diros, and whatever befalls me, I can endure...” a verse that epitomizes the Maniot spirit.
The most important feature of the event was Ms SEREMETAKIS’s distinction as the first woman to join the long line of speakers, who for many years had all been men, at the commemorative events marking the Battle of Diros against Ibrahim’s Turco-Arab forces.
Following the speech, wreaths were laid at the war memorial, traditional Greek dances were performed and an official luncheon was then hosted by the Municipality of Oitylo and the Mayor of Oitylo, Mr. Petros Andreakos.
Our photographs show scenes from the anniversary service held at the parish church of Agios Dimitrios in Pyrgos Diros.
Visible from left to right are municipal councillor and former Mayor of Diros Mr. Nikolaos Lamprinakos; Prefect Mr. Apostolakos; Mayor of Oitylo Mr. Andreakos; Mr. Vlachakos; former New Democracy Member of Parliament Mr. Vougiouklakis; Deputy Police Director Mr. Foutsis; Brigadier General Mr. Kolokotsas; and author, sociologist and anthropologist Ms Seremetakis, the event’s speaker, as featured on the elegant poster issued by the renowned Livanis publishing house together with the books she had written and published up to that time.
Newspaper I MACHΙ, 3 July 2000:
Honorary Plaque Presented to Nadia Seremetakis by the Municipality of Oitylo
The Municipality of Oitylo, Mani, presented author C. Nadia Seremetakis with an honorary plaque following her commemorative address in Diros Square, delivered on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Diros, where the women of Mani defeated Ibrahim’s enemy forces in 1826.
Ms Seremetakis, whose research and writing have played a foundational role in the field of Greek anthropology and in cultural studies more broadly, has focused on issues of public history and the cultural history of women in Greece, particularly women in the southern Peloponnese, in Laconia and Messenia. Her work has been published and distinguished abroad for its enduring relevance, as well as for its innovative style, which brings together scholarship and literature.
The event, organized by the Municipality of Oitylo, Mani, and the Prefectural Administration of Laconia, was attended by all the local authorities, numerous guests from other parts of Greece and a large audience. Ms Seremetakis had also recently delivered a lecture in Gythio, at the invitation of the Laconia branch of the Greek National Tourism Organisation and the Prefectural Administration of Laconia, entitled “The Poetry of Dialogue.”
See the discussion and analysis in the book Recognizing the Everyday, Pedio Publications, 2018.
