The Cretan Anthem ( el, Κρητικός Ύμνος, ''Kritikos Ymnos'') was the national anthem of the

Cretan State The Cretan State ( el, Κρητική Πολιτεία, Kritiki Politeia; ota, كريد دولتى, Girid Devleti) was established in 1898, following the intervention by the Great Powers (United Kingdom, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Germany ...

. It was adopted in 1898 and it was sung to the tune of the

Greek national anthem The "Hymn to Liberty", or "Hymn to Freedom" ( el, Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν, also ), is a poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 that consists of 158 stanzas and is used as the national anthem of Greece and Cyprus. It ...

, originally composed by

Nikolaos Mantzaros Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros (, ; , 26 October 1795 – 12 April 1872) was a Greek- Italian composer born in Corfu, major representative and founder of the so-called Ionian School of music (Επτανησιακή Σχολή). Biography Man ...

and adopted by Dionysios Davrangas, with new words by the poet

Ioannis Polemis Ioannis Polemis ( el, Ιωάννης Πολέμης; 1862 – 28 May 1924''Skrip'' newspaper. 29-5-1924, p. 4) was a Greek poet. Life and career Born in Athens, Polemis came from a historical Byzantine family. When he was in his twenties, some wo ...

, celebrating Crete's bloody struggles for freedom from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The anthem never gained much popularity, since the Cretans viewed the Cretan State as a temporary measure; the Greek national anthem was the ''de facto'' unofficial anthem, and after Crete unilaterally declared its union with the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...

in 1908 (not formally recognized until 1913, after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

), the Greek national anthem was used officially as well.

Greek original

Μεσ' το αίμα βουτημένη, με πληγαίς νωπαίς ακόμα, απ΄ της Κρήτης τ' άγιο χώμα, επεταχθ' η Λευθεριά• κι' αγκαλιάζοντας τη Δόξα τη δαφνοστεφανωμένη παίρνει δρόμους κι ανασταίνει πολιτείαις και χωριά. Χαιρετούν τον ερχομό της βροντερόφωνα ντουφέκια, κι' αστραπαίς κι' αστροπελέκια χύνουν λάμψι περισσή• και φωνή παλληκαρίσια απ' την Ίδη κατεβαίνει Χαίρε, Κρήτη ανδρειωμένη, Χαιρ' ελεύθερο νησί. Transliteration Mes' to aíma voutiméni, me pligaís nopaís akóma, ap΄ tis Krítis t' ágio chóma, epetachth' i Leftheriá• ki' ankaliázontas ti Dóxa ti dafnostefanoméni paírnei drómous ki anastaínei politeíais kai choriá. Chairetoún ton erchomó tis vronterófona ntoufékia, ki' astrapaís ki' astropelékia chýnoun lámpsi perissí• kai foní pallikarísia ap' tin Ídi katevaínei Chaíre, Kríti andreioméni, Chair' eléfthero nisí.

External sources

Cretan State Historical national anthems European anthems National anthem compositions in F major {{Greece-stub