Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
From the depths of history
the decision came,
when Metaxas received
the ultimatum.
He was told: “Surrender,”
so the reply came, harsh and sharp,
and history wrote it:
“OXI” (No) is the answer and the appointed time!
A “No” that shook
the earth and the mountains,
a refusal like an earthquake that shattered
the throne of tyranny.
So the people rushed forth, soldiers
and women,
like an unyielding rock in
the face of affliction.
***
Oh, the dawn of the Twenty-Eighth,
your lights have shone,
over beloved Greece,
your secrets are revealed.
Today, O Athens,
the flags are fluttering,
flowers are laid on the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier,
a salute to souls that never
knew weakness.
To those who irrigated the land of
Epirus and its peaks with their blood,
so that freedom remains
at its highest values.
***
“OXI”
is not a word of pessimism,
but the dignity of a nation
immortal forever.
It is the promise that the soul
will not submit,
and that freedom dwells
in the veins.
