Hymn to Liberty

Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν

English: Hymn to Liberty or Hymn to Freedom
Ýmnos is tin Eleftherían
National anthem of  Cyprus  Greece
Lyrics	Dionýsios Solomós, 1823
Music	Nikolaos Mantzaros
Adopted	1865 by Greece[1] 1966 by Cyprus [2]
Music sample
Hymn to Liberty (Instrumental)

Music of Greece
General topics
Ancient Byzantine Néo kýma Polyphonic song
Genres
Entehno Dimotika* Hip hop Laïko Punk Rock
Specific forms
Classical Nisiotika Rebetiko Skiladiko
Media and performance
Music awards	Arion Awards MAD Video Music Awards Pop Corn Music Awards
Music charts	Greek Albums Chart Foreign Albums Chart Singles Chart
Music festivals	Thessaloniki Song Festival
Music media	Difono MAD TV (MAD World, Blue) MTV Greece
National anthem	"Hymn to Liberty"
Regional music
Related areas	Cyprus
Regional styles	Aegean Islands Arcadia Argos Crete Cyclades Dodecanese Islands Epirus Ionian Islands Lesbos Macedonia Peloponnese Thessaly Thrace

The Hymn to Liberty or Hymn to Freedom^[1] (Greek: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν, Ýmnos is tin Eleftherían) is a poem written by Dionýsios Solomós in 1823 that consists of 158 stanzas, which is used as the national anthem of Greece. It was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, and is the longest national anthem in the world by length of text.^[3] In 1865, the first three stanzas and later the first two officially became the national anthem of Greece and later also that of the Republic of Cyprus.

The hymn was set to music in 1865 by the Corfiot operatic composer Nikolaos Mantzaros, who composed two choral versions, a long one for the whole poem and a short one for the first two stanzas; the latter is the one adopted as the National Anthem of Greece.

Uses

The Constitution of Cyprus of 1960 does not mention anything about an anthem. After an agreement made between the two communities, in official circumstances, a piece of classical music should be played as the anthem. However, after rejecting the amendments of the Constitution proposed by Makarios, in 1963, the Turkish representation broke away from the Government. This resulted to the decision by the Council of Ministers to adopt as the official anthem of Cyprus, the Hymn to Liberty, on 16 November, 1966.^[2] Hymn to Liberty was also the Greek Royal Anthem (since 1864).

This anthem has been performed at every closing ceremony of an Olympics, to pay tribute to Greece as the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games.

Lyrics

Greek originals

Polytonic orthography (1823-1982) Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν κόψι Τοῦ σπαθιοῦ τὴν τρομερή, Σὲ γνωρίζω ἀπὸ τὴν ὄψι, Ποὺ μὲ βιὰ μετράει τὴν γῆ. Ἀπ’ τὰ κόκκαλα βγαλμένη Τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ ἱερά, Καὶ σὰν πρῶτα ἀνδρειωμένη, Χαῖρε, ὢ χαῖρε, Ἐλευθεριά![4]

Monotonic orthography (1982-present) Σε γνωρίζω από την κόψη του σπαθιού την τρομερή, σε γνωρίζω από την όψη που με βία μετράει την γη. Απ’ τα κόκκαλα βγαλμένη των Ελλήνων τα ιερά, και σαν πρώτα ανδρειωμένη, χαίρε, ω χαίρε, Ελευθεριά![4]

Transliteration (1823-present) Se gnorízo apó tin kópsi tou spathioú tin tromerí, se gnorízo apó tin ópsi, pou me via metrái ti gi. Ap' ta kókkala vgalméni ton Ellínon ta ierá, ke san próta andrioméni, hére, o hére, eleftheriá![4]

English Translations

Literal I recognize you by the sharpness, of your fearsome sword, I recognize you by the gleam (in your eyes) with which you rapidly survey the earth. From the sacred bones, of the Hellenes arisen, and strengthened by your antique bravery, hail, o hail, Liberty![4]

Poetic I shall always recognize you by the dreadful sword you hold as the Earth with searching vision you survey with spirit bold From the Greeks of old whose dying brought to life and spirit free now with ancient valour rising let us hail you, oh Liberty![4]

By Rudyard Kipling (1918) We knew thee of old, O, divinely restored, By the lights of thine eyes, And the light of thy Sword. From the graves of our slain, Shall thy valour prevail, As we greet thee again, Hail, Liberty! Hail![4]

References and notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "The National Anthem". www.presidency.gr. http://www.presidency.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1311&Itemid=59&lang=en. Retrieved 30 May 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus - The National Anthem". http://www.presidency.gov.cy/presidency/presidency.nsf/prc34_en/prc34_en?OpenDocument. Retrieved 14 February 2011. 
3. ^ "Greece - Hymn to Liberty". NationalAnthems.me. http://nationalanthems.me/greece-hymn-to-liberty/. Retrieved 2011-11-02. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Last two verses are repeated twice when singing the national anthem.

External links

• Full version of the Hymn at YouTube
• The Greek Presidency - The website for the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic has a page about the National Anthem, including an instrumental file.
• Michał Bzinkowski, Eleuthería ē Thánatos!: The idea of freedom in modern Greek poetry during the war of independence in 19th century. Dionysios Solomos’ “Hymn to Liberty”
• Neugriechische Volksgesänge, Johann Matthias Firmenich
• The Hymn with all 158 stanzas (in Greek)