Greek Independence

The war for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire was a conflict that encapsulated the coming together of different spheres in European life and how, despite wars and conflicts, there were a few traits that Europeans still shared. While they feared each other's territorial advances, they feared an "outside" force even more, and the Ottomans represented such a force to them. They banded together in sympathy for the Greeks, whom they viewed as of Europe, against a common enemy, the Turks. The war was seen as a defense of Western civilization, so it is no surprise that poets and painters such as Byron and Delacroix participated in the conflict or immortalized it in art. The Romantic culture of the time fostered sympathy for the Greeks because of the shared artistic and cultural history, a history that Europeans in general embraced as generally European, and not separated into countries or territories. The Greeks were heavily supported by volunteers because their cause was just European enough to warran it: they had the same religion, a shared culture, and a common enemy who was a threat to European territory.