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According to the municipal archives in Salamina (the island’s main port), a ship named Maria was registered there in 1827. She was a – a clandestine vessel built during the late Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) to bypass the Ottoman blockade. Her armament: 34 short-barreled carronades, ideal for close-quarters ambushes. “Thirty-four carronades on a single brig was excessive,” writes naval historian Dr. Lina Papastergiou. “No standard Greek rebel ship carried that many. Maria was either a floating fortress or a deliberate myth.” The number 34 appears repeatedly in local memory: 34 families contributed iron for her cannons, 34 sailors swore an oath on the icon of the Virgin (Maria in Greek), and 34 volunteer gunners manned her batteries during her sole, secret mission. Part 2: The Voyage of Maria – What Really Happened? The commonly told story goes like this:
This article, a , pieces together the fragments of that story for the first time in English. Part 1: Salamis – More Than an Ancient Battlefield Most travelers know Salamis for its archaeological sites and the modern town of Kynosoura. But the island’s eastern shores hide rusted anchors and half-sunken keels. Local divers speak of a specific underwater anomaly near Cape Agios Georgios: a trail of 34 cannonballs embedded in the seabed, radiating from a collapsed wooden hull. 34 ta kanonia tis marias apo ti salamina sirin exclusive
Through this , we do not claim to have raised the wreck. But perhaps we have raised the story – and sometimes, that is enough to keep the cannons firing. This article is a Sirin exclusive. You are free to share it with attribution. For more forgotten histories of the Mediterranean, subscribe to Sirin’s newsletter. According to the municipal archives in Salamina (the
In the winter of 1828, after the Battle of Navarino had shattered Ottoman naval power, a wealthy Philhellene named Maria Kalogerou (no relation to the famous singer) financed a ship from Salamis to carry ammunition to the besieged fortress of Methoni. But the Maria never reached Methoni. According to Ottoman records found in Istanbul (published here for the first time in a ), the brig was intercepted not by the Sultan’s navy, but by a rogue Greek pirate fleet masquerading as patriots. “Thirty-four carronades on a single brig was excessive,”
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Instead of surrendering, Captain Dimitrios Rallis ordered the 34 cannons fired simultaneously in a single, devastating broadside. The overloaded ship recoiled so violently that her starboard planks split. Within minutes, Maria sank, taking the 34 cannons and 34 sailors to the bottom.
Our tag “apo ti Salamina sirin exclusive” means that the synthesis presented here – linking the 34 cannons, the Virgin Mary (Maria), and the island’s post-revolutionary identity – is published first and in full by Sirin.