Oxi Day/Επέτειος του 'Οχι

[Matt Wynn]

Oxi Day/Επέτειος του 'Οχι

Greek National Holiday today!

(taken from Wiki, but is correct)
Ohi Day (also spelled Ochi Day, Greek: Επέτειος του «'Οχι» Epeteios tou "'Ohi", Anniversary of the "No") is celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on October 28 each year, to commemorate Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas' (in power from August 4, 1936, until January 29, 1941) rejection of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940.
This ultimatum, which was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador in Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October 28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 am), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified "strategic locations" or otherwise face war. It was allegedly answered with a single laconic word: όχι (No!) However, his actual reply was, Alors, c'est la guerre (Then it is war).
In response to Metaxas's refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border at 05:30 am—the beginning of Greece's participation in World War II (seeGreco-Italian War and the Battle of Greece).
On the morning of October 28 the Greek population took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting 'ohi'. From 1942, it was celebrated as Ohi Day.

so to every Greek here, and even to you non Greeks, have a fantastic Oxi Day! :salute:

 

[nigel richards]

Greek National Holiday today!

(taken from Wiki, but is correct)
Ohi Day (also spelled Ochi Day, Greek: Επέτειος του «'Οχι» Epeteios tou "'Ohi", Anniversary of the "No") is celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on October 28 each year, to commemorate Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas' (in power from August 4, 1936, until January 29, 1941) rejection of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940.
This ultimatum, which was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador in Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, on October 28, 1940, at dawn (04:00 am), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified "strategic locations" or otherwise face war. It was allegedly answered with a single laconic word: όχι (No!) However, his actual reply was, Alors, c'est la guerre (Then it is war).
In response to Metaxas's refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border at 05:30 am—the beginning of Greece's participation in World War II (seeGreco-Italian War and the Battle of Greece).
On the morning of October 28 the Greek population took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting 'ohi'. From 1942, it was celebrated as Ohi Day.

so to every Greek here, and even to you non Greeks, have a fantastic Oxi Day! :salute:

That's m'boy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfKS0pXAW3M&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYigRhaHKw&feature=related

 

[n4gix]

I'm so glad that subtitles were provided for the first clip, as I'd never have understood the "Oooos" and "Ahaaas" otherwise!

 

[TARPSBird]

I can assume anybody's nationality when there's a holiday celebration involved!
Hats off to the Greek people and their armed forces for their brave defense against the Axis forces.

 

[Toastmaker]

Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

 

[Matt Wynn]

Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

the Epitaph at Thermopylae... my motto in life, and apparently my guardian 'spirit' is a Spartan, just like me... heck even my 'tuff sticker' is a Spartan helmet facing the spine to denote the warrior within

ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς is the ending to my personal mantra :salute:

 

[Eoraptor1]

the Epitaph at Thermopylae... my motto in life, and apparently my guardian 'spirit' is a Spartan, just like me... heck even my 'tuff sticker' is a Spartan helmet facing the spine to denote the warrior within



ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς is the ending to my personal mantra :salute:

Matt,

I have a love/hate relationship with the Spartans. I'd just been watching a documentary about them this morning, in fact, which is kind of freakish. This is a real love it or hate documentary judging from the on-line reviews I've seen. The people who like it, really like it, and the people who don't are whipped up into a froth. My personal favorites are those who say in their reviews "To get the real story on the Spartans, read MY book, on sale here..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZkki8tbuM&feature=related

What I'd meant to ask is whether you'd read Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire, and if so, what did you think of it?

JAMES

 

[Naismith]

Ooooh you have put me in the mood for some Souvlaki, I think I will treat the Mrs and myself to our local Greek Islands eatery tonite.

 

[Matt Wynn]

very clever play on words that book title 'Gates of fire', Thermopylae (where the famous battle took place in 480BC) literally means 'Hot Gates' . Haven't read that book myself, will take a look if i can find it in my local library... i rarely watch things about the spartans as over time things get so convoluted and confusing...

Sparta itself vanished for many years until a king of Greece in the 1800's more or less said that they must build a new Sparta, another fun fact is that only those soldiers that had died in battle were given marked headstones... very militaristic state, but when considered as a whole, and after unification look at what Greece brought us heres a few to get the mind going...

mathematics
geometry
science
medicine (Look up the Hippocratic Oath, some doctors still swear by it today... it starts: I Swear By almighty Apollo...)
democracy
philosophy
vocabulary
the alphabet (yes, it is a greek variation)
art
architecture
theatre
astronomy
athletism
literature
physics

as you can tell i'm proud to call Greece 'home' even if i don't live there currently (thats being worked on at the moment )........ Now who mentioned Souvlaki... i'm famished... make mine a Dolmathes to start, Lamb Kleftiko for main and Traditional Greek Sweet for desert (this would be a tomato ), all washed down with some Mythos

αντίο,

Matt

 

[Eoraptor1]

very clever play on words that book title 'Gates of fire', Thermopylae (where the famous battle took place in 480BC) literally means 'Hot Gates' . Haven't read that book myself, will take a look if i can find it in my local library... i rarely watch things about the spartans as over time things get so convoluted and confusing...

If I have you right, it's a book you'll enjoy. It would be properly classified as historical fiction, being the Battle of Thermopylae from the point of view of a helot. How he comes to be in Sparta and at the battle is quite a story in and of itself. Unlike, say, 300, which was never intended to be taken as strictly historical, after I read this book I was truly left with a feeling of having been there. (I know, it's an illusion.) The last books I felt this way about were Shelby Foote's narratives about the American Civil War, which I've heard Foote describe as "our" Pelopenesian War, which IMO partially connects as a metaphor.

I do see what you mean about things getting convoluted. Part of this is because the historians and archeologists themselves don't agree. Add into that mix strongly held views about a people's cultural narrative and you have a recipe for confusion. Anyway, do search your library for the book; I think you'll like it.

JAMES