During the rule of the Turks the Greeks endured many hardships,
including a curious tribute of children, who were educated by
Mohammedans and trained for service in the corps of Janissaries. It was,
however, to the interest of the Sultans for the sake of their revenues
to encourage Greek commerce, and so there were wealthy classes with
culture enough to make a fruitful soil for the teaching of the French
Revolution. The spirit thus implanted led to the War of Greek
Independence in 1821--memorable for the generous sympathy of Byron, for
the long siege of Missolonghi, and for the accident which led to the
defeat of the Turkish fleet at Navarino in 1827 by English, French, and
Russian vessels.
From this period down to the present the history of Greece belongs to
the modern kingdom.
[Illustration: =ALARIC, KING OF THE WEST GOTHS, IN ATHENS=
_From the Painting by LUDWIG THIERSCH_
Though Alaric was a fierce warrior and ruthless in his attacks in both
Greece and Rome, he held the women and the religious temples of the
places overrun with the strictest sanctity. This was in strong contrast
with the social and political corruption of the time in both Greece and
Rome and did much justify this powerful conqueror of a decadent state.]