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E Triti Hellatha: A Hellas AAR

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First Lieutenant
Jan 29, 2004
299
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Hello, all! I'm _Arcadian_ and I've decided to take a stab at writing my second AAR. I've reduced my interest for my first AAR, Kings of England: My First AAR, and have decided to slow down the pace at which I write it. This is because I feel that in my English game, there is not much time left before the Ottomans convert all of the Greeks to Sunni. Anyways, what I am planning here is a Hellas AAR, where my goal is win the War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire! The Turks still have their capital at Anatolia, and Thrace is still Greek Orthodox (a nice goal, eh). So here I go:

E Triti Hellatha​
A Hellas AAR​


Hellas1556.JPG

The Third Greece​
 
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Sounds interesting. You're taking over Hellas from the computer in your England game? Or is it the Duchy of Athens? What year is it? So many questions!

Hey, you're from Toronto. I'm from Brampton, currently residing in Hamilton. Canada is a great place to live, even in February.
 
I can't answer many questions for the time, or I'll ruin my surprize! ;) Don't worry, though, I'll have the introduction done within a few days! :D Here's what I can say: It's Hellas, not Duchy of Athens. I noticed a lot of Athens AARs, but not many Hellas ones, so I picked Hellas.

PS. Yeah, Canada rocks! I'm actually from somewhere in York region, but anyone from out of Ontario wouldn't know what I was talking about! For some strange reason, I wouldn't have the weather any other way. If it were colder I'd freeze to death, and if it was too warm in the summers I'd get so many bug bites, tan like crazy (Greeks tan very easily), and my igloo would melt! :D
 
_Arcadian_ said:
I can't answer many questions for the time, or I'll ruin my surprize! ;) Don't worry, though, I'll have the introduction done within a few days! :D Here's what I can say: It's Hellas, not Duchy of Athens. I noticed a lot of Athens AARs, but not many Hellas ones, so I picked Hellas.

PS. Yeah, Canada rocks! I'm actually from somewhere in York region, but anyone from out of Ontario wouldn't know what I was talking about! For some strange reason, I wouldn't have the weather any other way. If it were colder I'd freeze to death, and if it was too warm in the summers I'd get so many bug bites, tan like crazy (Greeks tan very easily), and my igloo would melt! :D
Click to expand...

Perimeno na do tous tritous ellhnes.

Although you should cosider calling it triti ellada or something, english can't emulate the delta sound well. Someone could mistake it for a theta or a "8"

So it is ellatha as in "the"
ok, again, spell ellatha (especially the "th") using the sound you would produce when spelling "the"

Makes sense? It's all greek!
 
I'm excited. The only time I've seen a country named hellas was once in a GC, athens rebelled against itself, and it was the only province, and declared itself free from the Duchy of Athens.

Lookin' forward to the AAR.
 
Although you should cosider calling it triti ellada or something, english can't emulate the delta sound well. Someone could mistake it for a theta or a "8"

So it is ellatha as in "the"
ok, again, spell ellatha (especially the "th") using the sound you would produce when spelling "the"

Makes sense? It's all greek!
Click to expand...

I considered using "d", but it doesn't sound as good as using "th".

As for using "the" to replace "tha", I used "tha" because Hellathe might be interpretted as Hellayth. Anyways, its a very minor difference between the two, simply because "a" is more pronouncing, but "e" would sound better. I may change it to "e" latter on.

Perimeno na do tous tritous ellhnes.
Click to expand...

And don't worry, you won't have to wait that long! :D
 
_Arcadian_ said:
If it were colder I'd freeze to death, and if it was too warm in the summers I'd get so many bug bites, tan like crazy (Greeks tan very easily), and my igloo would melt! :D
Click to expand...

You're telling me. My polar bear refuses to pull my sled when it gets too warm out :D

With the Canadian connection and interesting premise, I'll just have to read this AAR now.
 
Prelude to the Third Greece

Prelude to the Third Greece​

The First Greece

parthenon.gif


The First Greece was not dominated by a unified kingdom or empire. Filled with the many competeting city-states, the First Greece was marked with internal conflict. Greece was divided into two sorts of people. The first were the people of Athens and the Agean Greeks, who fled from the mainland and the Peleponese from the Dorain invaders. They cultivated a very intellectual, artistic culture, and thier colonies in Russia, France, and Italy flourished. The second peoples, the Dorian Greeks, were mixed descent of Dorian invaders from the North and the original peoples. Very warlike, they founded cities like Sparta, who were unmatched in quality of troops.

The Persians attempted to bring Greece into their vast empire, which contained almost every civilized nation. The Greeks, in a sense of union, with their common language and religion united against the Persians, with victories at Marathon, Salamis, and Thermoplyae. This was the first sign of a united Greece. However, the Athens-Sparta rivalry erruped into war, with Sparta victorious in the conflict. The Greeks would have to be united by force.

alexander-m.jpg


Alexander of Macedon, a branch of the Greek peoples, set his armies against the defiant cities and forced them into his Empire of Greeks. In his short lifetime, he conquered from Persia the largest empire of the ancient world. However, the Greeks were soon divided again. His generals claimed kingdoms for themselves, and for centuries later every king in the Near East was Greek. However, their divisions meant Greece would be taken by the armies of Rome, and the First Greece fell.
__________

The Second Greece

gabriel.jpeg


The Second Greece was what the people of the West called the Greek Empire. Modern scholars call it Byzantium or the Eastern Empire, but the Greeks themselves still called it 'Rome'. Since Rome's fall, the language of the Eastern Empire was Greek, and its capital was at Greek Byzantium or Constantinople. Named after the Emperor and Saint Constantine, the city was the largest in Europe, with over a million people. For centuries it flourished as a key trade point, and its defensive walls were second to none. The arts flourished and it spread Christianity to the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Russia.

Its fall came in the Fourth Crusade, where fellow Christians, under the greedy Doge of Venice, took the city. This effectovely crippled the Empire, as Western Christians took Cyprus, mainland Greece, and many islands at this timeframe. When the Empire retook Constantinople, it fell to the Ottomans a few centuries later. The Second Greece had fallen.
 
H TRITH ELLADA (alternate naming, not to be used)

_Arcadian_ said:
I considered using "d", but it doesn't sound as good as using "th".

As for using "the" to replace "tha", I used "tha" because Hellathe might be interpretted as Hellayth. Anyways, its a very minor difference between the two, simply because "a" is more pronouncing, but "e" would sound better. I may change it to "e" latter on.



And don't worry, you won't have to wait that long! :D
Click to expand...

Nope, you misunderstood. BY ALL MEANS leave it as ELLATHA. Ellathe is wrong. I just wanted it to be called "Ellada" (phonetically) rather than "Ella8a" (replace 8 with theta).

Seems to me by your nick that you are Arcadian descended. I received my basic training over there, and also my advanced gunnery training. ( I served as a Sargeant in the Greek Air Force, specialised in anti-infiltration ops and certified in Rheinmetal Rh-20mm AA gun). (In other words ugly grunt work cleaning and maintaining the gun, and a lot of training in apprehending suspects with/without military dogs-not to mention approx. 1800+ hours of guarding duty-night foot patrols). Nice city, Tripolis, only that the streets were empty from girls when they let us out. (wonder why :) )

The only bad thing about my staying there, happened one afternoon when we were parading up and down in preparation of the march of the liberation of Tripolis, when all of a sudden all order was dissolved and our non-coms were urgently recalled for new instructions. No sooner than that, we were all running for the few TV screens in the camp to see with our own unbelieving eyes the twin towers collapse. The rest of my stay in Tripolis was a little ugly. Suddenly, everyone was that little rougher on us new recruits. Guard posts were tripled (and we manned them all), snipers in place, we were basically in a state of war. And that is not a good place for any soldier to be in...

(Ugliest thing I learnt is where to shoot a passenger liner - off the record). Makes me sick to my stomach still.

Well, back to the AAR in question. I have a little complaint. Why isn't albania/epiros a greek core? I mean I come from Ioannina, and There are greeks there, a lot of them too.

As for the Italians going out of Greece, well, let's just say that my grandfather was in the engineering corps during the war, my grandmother was carrying ammo and they met in the resistance, and got married after the war was over. That story still makes me proud to reminisce.

So, you understand, that you really need to add a Greek core in albania/epiros.

Oh, and another thing. We basically lost in Thermopylae, but kicked the hell out of the Persians a year later in Plateaie :)

Weird thing about this battle. Everyone west-descended after reading about Thermopylae (481-check sig), and what it meant (as it turns out most historians feel that our values freedom,democracy, started RIGHT THERE)... well feel that they too are part of Greece. Well, "ELLHNES KALOYMEN TOYS THN ELLHNIKH PAIDEIA METEXONTAS", as Isocrates put it or "We call Greeks those who partake in Greek culture, (aka those who learn how to be Greeks).

What the hell, I TOLD YOU TO CHECK MY SIG didn't I ... :D
 
You know what it IS weird. Some time ago, I thought to myself that if Ancients were the First Greeks and Byzantines the second, then by Jove we must be the third Greeks.

You know what they say, Third time's the charm....

After that compeletely indiferent (to anyone else but myself) announcement, I leave you to enjoy the AAR.
 
Yeah, I know we lost Thermoplyae, but it was known as one of the most glorious events in classical Greek history. All 300 Spartans perished to death defending the pass from the Persians. Now that is what I call dying for your country. Very nice take on it, though. :)

Actually, I'm 1/2 Arcadian (my mom's side) and 1/2 Laconian (from my dad's side). For those of you who are confused, Arcadia is a mountainous region in the Peleponnese (for which the name Acadia, for the Canadian maritimes, is derived) and Laconia is a region containing Sparta. I think I'm 1/16 or 1/32 Chian, since my great-great-great...grandfather moved from Chios to fight the Turks in the War of Independence, and then settled in Arcadia. My parents moved to Canada at ages four and six, so I learned Greek as my second language, although I think my French is better than my Greek sometimes.

I should have the next post up soon, the Greek War of Independence is finally over, and I'll be sure to make this a good post. :D
 
Hel I belive, not certin. Hellas was a fun game. Best of luck arcadian, it was never a picknick.
 
Lots of fun already. I'm very much looking forward to it.
 
The Assembly of Nauplion

The Assembly of Nauplion​
November 1st, 1555
Saint Nicholas Church, Nauplion

byzantine_hosios_loukas_monastery_interior-phocis_greece.c1000.jpg


The room was filled with the loud voices of many men. Greek military leaders, church officials, and local landlords from across were all crammed into the church. Twenty or so guards in Greek revolutionary dress were littered across the room, with another four at the church doors. It was evening now, and hundreds of candles on every ledge and pedestal illuminated the room in a yellow glow.

The great church doors opened with a large SLAM! The guards quickly formed a wall in front of the open doorway with their pikes pointing outwards. The room fell silent.

"Eeneh daxi! Eeneh daxi!" yelled Father Kostas. "Move aside."

The men grudgingly moved to the side of the doorway.

"It's alright, move aside," reassured the old priest. He carried with him a candle upon a very old candleholder, presumably of Byzantine origin. As he moved closer, a figure could be distincly seen in the doorway. He wore a deep brown cloak, which was very plain and old.

"Father Kostas, nice to see you again," the man said. He stepped into the great church and into the candlelight.

"Ah, finally, you have arrived," smiled the old priest. "Leaders of Hellas, may I introduce you to Vasili Demakis!"

Vasili removed his cloak and Father Kostas handed it to one of the guards. He was dressed in a very old revolutionary dress, much like the soldiers in the room. However, his was much different and resembled one from the islands somewhere.

The voices began to chatter away once again. The landlords began to bicker about issues regarding Vasili, the military leaders about great stories they'd heard, and the priests smiled with contempt. Vasili, a Cretan by birth, had moved to Ionia, when the Greek revolts in the 1550's began. He had brought a vast knowledge of Italian tactics with him, and helped to liberate the islands, such as Lesvos from the Turks. He did not claim residence anywhere in Hellas, but was more of a resident of the enitre nation, going from village to village and organizing the Greek revolutionaries into effective armies.

"Marvelous, the Cretan has come to lead our people to their deaths," snickered a slim, dark-haird warlord.

"General, please!" scolded the priest. "Vasili comes to bring his consul and help us organize. The last member of our assembly has arrived. Now, let us begin-"

"Vasili, is it true that you landed alone and unarmed on Chios, with only a single dagger?" interrupted one young man. Judging by his fine dress, Vasili assumed he was the son of a wealthy rancher from Thessaly, most likely.

The humbled Vasili let out a chuckle. "Yes, that's right."

"And you led the village to slaughter all of the Turks on the island?" asked an old Peleponesian military leader.

"Yes," he reluctantly agreed. "But it was the people who helped defeat them. I merely helped them plan and organize their attack-"

"Vasili! Vasili!" the room began to shout.

"Gentlemen, please!" interrupted Father Kostas. Their shouts and chatter began to die down once again. "Now, if I may have the decisions of the leaders, please. The representatives from Laconia, what is your decision?"

"The people of Sparti agree to support the assembly!" shouted a wealthy landlord.

"The people of Molai agree as well!" cheered another, who was dressed in very ornate clothes.

"The warlords in Molai agree!" shouted an old man with two pistols and four daggers at his belt.

"And the church?" asked Faster Kostas.

"Full support," slowly answered a black-robed priest. He was in a cluster of four priests, and there were other clusters organized in their appropriate regions across the church.

"Excellent, Laconia agrees with the assembly!" cheered Father Kostas. Slowly, he went through each region of free Hellas; Messinia, Arcadia, Argolis, Korinthia, Attica, Evvovia...

The room filled with individual shouts of 'Agree with the Assembly' and 'Support from the Church'. Finally, Father Kostas said, "And what of the eastern islands?"

The representatives turned in confusion, looking for these 'island representatives' that they had not seen yet.

"The people of Levsos, Chios, and Samos agree to the assembly."

The entire room turned on Vasili. "And what of the church's decision in the islands!" roared the representatives from Messinia.

A priest standing alone at the side of the church with the longest, whitest beard any of them had ever seen cleared his throat and let out "Full support."

"Father Thanasis, how good to see you have made it here from Samos. I hope your journey was safe," smiled Father Kostas. The old priest smiled back and nodded. Too many years had he seen the Sultan's oppressive rule over his fellow Greeks.

"So who does the leadership pass to?" asked Father Kostas. The room began to explode with yells of 'Dimitri of Tripoli' and 'General Romeos'. "Please, can we organize ourselves! Who is our first choice?"

"The people of Athens choose Kostapoulos!" roared an official from Attica. The Athenians around him began to cheer and shout the name Kostapoulos. Their swords were raised in triumph and their daggers unsheathed in support of him. He was dressed in attire fitting an Italian nobleman, and had a virtual monopoly on the ports of Attica. A gold-sheath was on his belt, with rich linens along the seams of his clothing. The Father raised his hand for silence. "The next choice?"

"The people of Tripoli support General Romeos of Arcadia!" cheered the warlords of Arcadia. They wore the most conservative dress, with much red, black, and gold in their clothing. Even the soldiers around the church let out cheers for the general.

"...and who does Vasili support?" asked the frail Father Thanasis. The room abrubtly hushed and listened as the crowds around Vasili Demakis dispered, and the eyes of everyone in the church were gazed upon him. It seemed like every candle in the church was shining on him, like they too awaited his choice.

"I support Zimisces as the new king!" he said loudly, so that his voice filled every rafter in the church. The room was still silent, until the representatives from Korinthia roared "We too support Zimisces as the new king!". Then the room grew louder with people talking about Vasili's decision. "The people of Evvovia also support Zimisces as the the new king!" yelled the landlords of Evvovia. Soon everyone in the church was roaring his name.

"So it is decided!" yelled Father Kostas. "Zimisces come here to the altar of the church!" The priests in clusters around the church made their way in back of the altar. Soon there was a sea of black robes with Father Kostas in front. A young man made his way to the altar. He was armed with a very old Roman sword at the left side of his silver belt, and was dressed in all white robes and clothing.

sn_navefront_lb.jpg


"Zimisces, the Assembly of Nauplion have chosen you as the leader and King of an independent Hellas! Do you accept the crown?" asked Father Kostas.

He paused and knelt at the Father's feet. "Yes Father I accept."

"Then you shall not kneel before me, King! You shall kneel to no-one!" he roared. He took out a very old and rusted gold crown from the days of Byzantium. "With this crown you are King Zimisces of Hellas, your throne shall be at Athens, and the people will call you the defender of Greeks and scourge against the Turks!"

The people cheered for their new king and for their new nation. Hellas was no longer under the oppresive fist of Ottoman rule. The War of Greek Independence had begun...
 
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A very interesting opening to the AAR. Starting in 1555 is also an interesting choice. I look forward to more, though the turks may be a dangerous challenge at this point in time.
 
Whatever else you do, fortify Hellas. As the Turks will come-a-knocking none too soon!

Other than that, the best of luck with it. Excellent start!

Zimisces the 1st..
 
Great start. And a very nice atmosphere in the meeting.
 
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