April 16th will mark the first annual day in honour of the 19th century British romantic poet Lord Byron. The Greek government declared that in future this day would be called ‘The Day of Greekophilia’ celebrating Byron and other significant foreigners. The date is the anniversary of Byron’s death in 1824 at the age of thirty-six. Lord Byron holds heroic status in Greece for his active and financial involvement in the Greek War of Independence plus, his open condemnation of Elgin bolstered his fan base. Arriving in the Ionian in 1823, he donated a sizable sum of money, £4000 to kit out the Greek fleet for war. Setting sail from Kefalonia for Messolonghi, he made plans to lead a fighting party into battle despite having no military training. Unfortunately, those plans never came to fruition; Byron caught a chill and fever developed aggravated by use of non-sterile instruments during the course of ‘constant blood letting’ (the misguided medical practices of the time). His body was embalmed and returned to England though his heart was removed to be kept in Messolonghi; unfortunately, it was lost when the city was attacked!

Ironically, the British establishment shunned him, his sexual preferences and purported incestuous affairs led to the refusal of his remains being buried in Poets Corner at Westminster Abbey on the grounds of “questionable morality”.

Had Lord Byron lived to see the Greeks win over Turkish rule some wager he may have been offered the Greek throne?. The famous son of Zakynthos and national poet Dionysis Solomos, wrote a poem to mourn Byron and a memorial already exists on neighbouring Kefalonia; it is a chair-shaped rock where Byron used to watch the sunset.

Byron’s bibliography makes for colourful reading, though tamer readings, dramatics and group outings to places associated with the poet will mark Byron Day.