During an uprising of Greeks in the Souli region of Epirus against their Ottoman Albanian rulers in 1803, village residents began evacuating en masse to avoid the onslaught of war.
A group of Souliot women and their children became trapped in the mountains by Ottoman troops in the mountains of Zalongo.
On the one side were hundreds of armed troops and certain enslavement. On the other— a steep cliff.
Numerous historical accounts share one of the most heroic mass suicides in modern history when on December 16, 1803, one by one, dozens of women tossed their children over the cliffs before jumping themselves.
Although the mass suicide itself has numerous documented sources from Greek and foreign writers and politicians of the era who were in the region, historical folklore has since been exaggerated to claim that the women sang folk songs and danced over the cliffs.
The brave incident on the part of the Souliot women became known throughout Europe prompting artists to interpret the remarkable act, including the French artist Ary Scheffer who created the romantic painting, entitled Les Femmes Souliotes (“The Souliot Women”), which is currently on display in the Louvre in Paris.
A drone video shows the contemporary monument that was built in the 1960s in honor of the women of Souli. The video shows steepness the cliff and the perspective of the women who jumped.
There is a popular Greek dance-song about the event, which is known and danced throughout Greece today, particularly during school celebrations commemorating the anniversary of Greek Independence on March 25. It was part of popular play that was written by Spyros Peresiades and first published in 1903.
The Greek folk song “Dance of Zalongo”
English lyrics
Farewell poor world,
Farewell sweet life,
and you, my wretched country,
Farewell for ever
Farewell springs,
Valleys, mountains and hills
Farewell springs
And you, women of Souli
The fish cannot live on the land
Nor the flower on the sand
And the women of Souli
Cannot live without freedom
Farewell springs,
Valleys, mountains and hills
Farewell springs
And you, women of Souli
The women of Souli
Have not only learnt how to survive
They also know how to die
Not to tolerate slavery
Farewell springs,
Valleys, mountains and hills
Farewell springs
And you, women of Souli
Greek lyrics
Έχε γεια καημένε κόσμε,
έχε γεια γλυκιά ζωή
Και ’συ δύστυχη πατρίδα
έχε γεια παντοτινή.
Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες
λόγγοι, βουνά, ραχούλες
Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες
και σεις Σουλιωτοπούλες
Στη στεριά δε ζει το ψάρι
ούτ’ ανθός στην αμμουδιά
Κι οι Σουλιώτισσες δεν ζούνε
δίχως την ελευθεριά.
Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες
λόγγοι, βουνά, ραχούλες
Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες
και σεις Σουλιωτοπούλες
Οι Σουλιώτισσες δε μάθαν
για να ζούνε μοναχά
Ξέρουνε και να πεθαίνουν
να μη στέργουν στη σκλαβιά.
Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες
Click here to listen to the song
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3 comments
Dear Mr. Pappas,
Explain please, what was the mother tongue of the Suli people (Souli). Where did their tribe come from originally? What land ecompasses the real Suli region (except what is in Greece), and how history build on myths may count as a fact? Cheers.
The place called Zalogo it means thick forest like when we say ζάμπλουτος
Meaning very rich. Same we say Ζάλογγο πυκνός Λόγγος
Το 1803 με το τότε παλαιό ημερολόγιο my grandfathered father… George and his first cousin were about 13-14 years old and they were there they collected all the gold coins from the rest of the group and escape to a place called Δάφνη near the City of Ioannina 43 kl towards Igoumenítsa
The bought with their savings the Turk for 50 gold coins and set up their residence in a place called Λεφτερο το χωράφι έτσι λέγεται και τώρα the old Village was destroyed from a previous earthquake but the cousins
Started a new Village with two separate parts Ano and Kato Zalogo in memory of the women and children sacrificed in the place called Zalogo near Preveza
This was told to me and our family from our parents and Grant parents
There was never a dance nor a song the song was used for propaganda which we don’t need the song ehe Gia kaymene Kosme was most definitely written after the event describing it when I was in the local high school Paramythias
I added another couple lines
Οι Σουλιωτισες δεν ζούνε δίχως την Ελευθεριά
Και έτσι πέφτουν απ τον βράχο με παιδιά στην αγκαλιά
The village Dafni was destroyed by earthquake acros the river was the monestery of Agios Demitrios where Dionisios (skylosofos) started the first revolution in 1618..; or 12 as a result the Turks also destroyed the area the my παππούδες Spoke only Greek not one word of Arvanitika that the previous person tries to imply
Καλή συνέχεια
The Souliotisses were not Greek. They were Greek Orthodox Albanians, speaking a Tosk language, but some Souliotes also spoke Greek, because of the Greek liturgy and their trade with the Greek speakers of Eipiros. Actually, there was no concept of Greekness yet at the time. During and after the Greek war of independence, an awareness of being Greek and the reverence that it inspired to the Franks, accelerated the adoption of Ellines by the Christian Romioi. The Souliotes were on the Greek side during the independence war and were major contributors and well know brave warriors. Lord Byron had a guard of Souliotes, but, they had become pests with their demands for more and more pay and their undisciplined manner