Dendias attends event marking bicentenary of Byron’s death

Defence Minister Nikos Dendias has attended the opening of a two-day festival at Trinity College Cambridge in England to mark with the bicentenary of Lord Byron's death on 19 April 1824, in Messolongi, Greece.

Byron was a student at Cambridge's Trinity College and is one of its most celebrated alumni. Aside from his status as a world-renowned poet at the time, he was also perhaps the most famous philhellene to travel to Greece and ultimately give his life for Greek independence in 1824, 200 years ago.

In his address, Dendias spoke about Lord Byron's special relationship with Greece and his contribution to the struggle for its independence.

"For us Greeks, however, Lord Byron means so much. He was the most famous philhellene and a professor of history," he said.

The minister concluded his greeting by reading verses from Byron's poem "The Isles of Greece,"...