Serbia and Greece through history and suffering
Serbs and Greeks have been recognized as related nations for centuries. We share the Orthodox faith, a similar historical destiny and common struggles for freedom. That is why the expression that the Greeks are our "Orthodox brothers" has become popular among the people. Our closeness can also be seen in symbols: the city of Novi Sad is often called "Serbian Athens", while in Greece there are monuments and streets dedicated to Serbian heroes. Serbia and Greece are connected by faith, songs, but unfortunately also suffering. Every year
Serbia and Greece: First political contacts
One of the first figures to connect Serbs and Greeks was Riga of Fera, a poet and revolutionary from the end of the 18th century. He dreamed of the liberation of the Balkans and peoples who would live together, free from the Ottoman Empire. Caught by the Turks, he was executed in Belgrade in 1798, but he left an indelible mark with his verses and ideas. A street in Belgrade bears his name today, as a reminder that the ideas about freedom and brotherhood of Serbs and Greeks had their originators back in that time.
The First World War and the Thessaloniki Front
A major turning point in our common history occurred during the First World War. In the First World War, the Serbian army won great victories at Cer and Kolubara, the first allied triumphs over the Austro-Hungarians. However, when the Central Powers attacked Serbia from three sides in 1915, the exhausted and outnumbered army was forced to retreat through Albania.
She found salvation on the Greek shores of the island of Corfu. After the crossing of Albania in 1915, survival seemed impossible. In Corfu, the Serbian army found refuge and a new beginning. The Greek people received them as their brothers, shared bread, homes and medicine with them, while the allies helped the army to recover. In Corfu, the training and reorganization of the Serbian army continued, which would later return to the front and play a key role in the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front in 1918.
Blue Tomb in Corfu
However, many soldiers did not withstand exhaustion and illness. Their eternal home became the Ionian Sea, at the place we now call the Blue Tomb. There, in the silence of the sea, more than 5,000 Serbian soldiers were buried. The poet Milutin Bojić gave an eternal image of that place in his verses:
"There at the bottom, where the tired sleep catches the shells
And on the dead algae the peat falls,
Lies the cemetery of the brave, lies brother to brother,
Prometheans of hope, apostles of misery."
Serbian and Greek soldiers, together with French, British and other allies, fought side by side on the line of the Thessaloniki front. For the Serbian army, it was a moment of hope and the beginning of recovery. The breakthrough of the Thessaloniki Front in 1918 was one of the key events that brought about the liberation of Serbia.
Greece and Serbia in recent history
Through the stormy decades of the 20th century, Serbia and Greece continued their friendship. During the nineties, when Serbia faced new crises and wars, Greece once again showed solidarity. At that time, one voice in particular resonated in Athens, in addition to numerous other supports sent to FR Yugoslavia.
"Their main goal is to turn Yugoslavia into a burnt country. They want to turn Serbia into a wasteland, a desert of ashes and blood, so that they can show it to the next victims as an example and say: Look what will happen to you if you do not submit."
With these words, spoken on Syntagma Square in Athens during the NATO bombing in 1999, the famous Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis supported Serbia. His speech was not only a political message, but an artistic and moral act. Theodorakis sided with the suffering people and united the masses protesting the war with his words.
English 
Serbian 
