Μake us preferred on Google French actress Fanny Ardant will mark the 200th anniversary of the Exodus of Messolonghi with a special poetry and storytelling event at the Garden of Heroes in the western Greek city on October 10, 2026.
Organized by the Athens Epidaurus Festival in collaboration with the Municipality of the Holy City of Messolonghi and the French Institute of Greece, the event will bring Ardant to the historic site for an evening centered on freedom, poetry and the enduring cultural resonance of Messolonghi. The event is held under the auspices of the Embassy of France in Greece.
Ardant will recite selected poems in French by Victor Hugo, Dionysios Solomos and Lord Byron, three writers whose work reflects the international cultural legacy surrounding the Greek struggle for independence.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with brief addresses on Filellinon Street, outside the Garden of Heroes. The main narrative performance featuring Ardant will begin at 6 p.m.
©Carole Bellaiche
The program commemorates the Exodus of Messolonghi, one of the most significant episodes of the Greek Revolution and an event that left a lasting mark on modern Greek and European history. In 1826, after a prolonged siege, the city’s besieged population attempted a mass breakout. The anniversary in 2026 marks two centuries since the event.
For Messolonghi, the anniversary also provides a meeting point between historical memory and contemporary artistic expression. The city describes Messolonghi, two centuries after the Exodus, as a universal symbol of dignity and a reminder of the enduring struggle for freedom and human rights.
Ardant’s appearance is part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival’s new “EXODUS” initiative, which expands the festival’s activities beyond its established venues. The initiative brings performances and artistic projects into different locations, including site-specific and walking performances, collaborations and productions in theaters and other spaces.
In 2026, the initiative has included a walking performance at the Ancient Agora of Athens exploring a dialogue with artificial intelligence, as well as the participation of three independent theater productions in venues across the city through SYSTEMA — For the Greek Performing Arts.
Promotional poster for Fanny Ardant’s performance on the bicentenary of the Messolonghi Exodus, October 2026.
The Messolonghi event draws inspiration from Greece and France in the 19th Century, a cultural event held in Paris by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in collaboration with the Greek Studies Department of the Sorbonne University and the Delphys cultural association. That project was organized to mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution and was initiated by George Archimandritis, a writer, creator of radio documentaries on art and culture, and a scholar of comparative literature at the Sorbonne.
For the Messolonghi event, Archimandritis serves as content curator, while Mikhail Marmarinos oversees artistic direction. Ardant will perform and deliver the recitations.
The program will connect the history of Messolonghi with poetry and performance, using the arts to revisit an episode whose significance extends beyond Greece and into the broader European cultural imagination.
Attendance requires a priority pass, which should be obtained in advance from Messolonghi City Hall or the city’s former Cultural Center.
Event details: October 10, 2026, Garden of Heroes, Messolonghi. The opening addresses begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by Ardant’s narrative performance at 6 p.m.
