The Ethniki Etaireia ( el, Εθνική Εταιρεία, "National Society") was a secret Greek nationalistic organization created in November 1894, by a number of young nationalist officers, advocates of the ''

Megali Idea The Megali Idea ( el, Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa, Great Idea) is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek popul ...

''. Its aim was to revive the morale of the country and prepare the liberation of Greek people still under 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) ...

. In September 1895 they recruited civilians, all linked to the organization of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, including

Demetrius Vikelas Demetrios Vikelas (also Demetrius Bikelas; el, Δημήτριος Βικέλας; 15 February 1835 – 20 July 1908) was a Greek businessman and writer; he was the first President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), from 1894 to 189 ...

, although he claimed only to have given in to friendly pressure, playing a solely financial role and then quickly resigning from it.Llewellyn Smith, Olympics in Athens, 149-150 The populism of the Ethniki Etaireia is considered to be responsible for the outbreak of the

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...

. Following Greece's defeat, it was dissolved under the pressure of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Georgios Theotokis Georgios Theotokis ( el, Γεώργιος Θεοτόκης, 1844 in Corfu – 12 January 1916 in Athens) was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece, serving the post four times. He represented the Modernist Party or ''Neoteristikon Ko ...

Notes

References

* Llewellyn Smith, Michael (2004). ''Olympics in Athens 1896: The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games.' Profile Books Limited. {{Greek nationalism 1890s in Greece History of Greece (1863–1909) Greek nationalism Politics of Greece Secret societies in Greece Nationalist organizations Greek revolutionary organizations Revolutionary organizations against the Ottoman Empire Megali Idea 1894 establishments in Greece