Monument of Ion Dragoumis
Monument at the place where Ion Dragoumis was assassinated.
Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )
1921 The monument was placed.
Ottoman era (1453- 1821)
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
The marble monument is reminiscent of an ancient tombstone. It has an upwardly tapering cubic shape and is crowned with a capital decorated with reliefs. It is located on a stepped pedestal and through a honoring short poem by Kostis Palamas, a marble inset plate states that Ion Dragoumis was murdered here on 31/7/1920. The sculpture was designed by the architect Aristotelis Zachos.
What I can't see
Ion Dragoumis was a diplomat, writer, pro-royalist and anti-Venizelian politician. He exerted a great ideological influence in Greece at the beginning of the 20th century, organized the Greek communities of the Ottoman Empire in the region of Macedonia and recommended the prevalence of the vernacular Greek language over its archaic version. As a co-founder of the secret Organization of Constantinople, he favoured the cooperation of Greeks and Turks in the regions of Asia Minor and Macedonia for the creation of a multinational eastern state. Moreover, he believed that such a development would significantly limit the Bulgarian influence into Macedonia. Such a proposal, however, was in contrast with the then prevailing Greek Great Idea, which aimed at the recapture of the territories of the Byzantine Empire and the elimination of the Ottoman Empire. His opposition to the expansion of Greece to the east was expressed in strongly racist language about the Greeks of the eastern Aegean islands, Crete and Cyprus, and he indirectly supported the brutal violence against Greek refugees from Asia Minor, who supported Venizelos. After the assassination attempt on Venizelos in Paris, he was arrested by a pro-Venizelian military force and later murdered at the site of the monument.
Info
- Address: V. Sofias Av. and Monis Petraki St.
Bibliography
Paraskevopoulos F., (2005), Η πολιτική δραστηριότητα του Ίωνα Δραγούμη (1915- 1920), [The political activity of Ion Dragoumis (1915-1920)], Ph.D., UOA
Fragkaki- Surett E., (2003), Το κίνημα των Νεότουρκων, οι συνέπειες για τον ελληνισμό, 1908- 1918, [The Young Turks movement, the consequences for Hellenism, 1908-1918], in Ιστορία του νέου ελληνισμού, 1770-2000, [History of modern Hellenism], Ellinika Grammata, v.6, p.p. 41- 50
