Ioannis Zambelios: Preparing the Revolution from Lefkada
In late 1820, Christoforos Perraivos wrote to Ioannis Zambelios asking him to arrange a meeting in Lefkada and collect weapons, money and supplies. Zambelios, a prosecutor and writer, was already involved in preparations for the Greek Revolution.
Ioannis Zambelios, 1884. Ioannes A. Arsenēs and Michael A. Raphaelobits. Via Wikimedia Commons. Source record. Public domain.
The meeting in Lefkada
Born in Lefkada in 1787, Zambelios studied law in Italy and met Adamantios Korais in Paris. He became a prosecutor in 1813 and joined the Filiki Etaireia in 1817. The Capodistrias Museum describes his work sheltering people from Epirus and raising support for the insurgents.
Revolutionary organisers and military leaders gathered at his house in 1821. Lefkadians undertook to collect armaments and send volunteers. British authorities, who then governed the Ionian Islands, arrested Zambelios for his involvement in supporting the struggle.
Historical drama
Zambelios’s tragedies included Timoleon and Constantine Palaeologus. The Capodistrias Museum traces the aesthetic influences on his writing to Italian neoclassicism and the teachings of Korais.
Law and writing
His judicial appointments later took him to Cephalonia and Corfu. He joined the Supreme Council of Justice in Corfu in 1834 and served until 1851. From 1851 to 1856, he concentrated on poetry and completed most of his published work.
