The paper seeks to assess the role of pre modern and early modern political prophecy in nationalist mobilisation during the Greek Revolution or Independence War.  Focusing on two key concepts from Byzantine and post Byzantine prophetic literature - Kairos and Romaiïko - the paper examines how prophetic conceptions of time and space were reconfigured in the revolutionary context. Kairos denoted the divinely ordained moment of deliverance from Ottoman rule, often connected with apparitions of signal nature (portents) while Romaiïko referred to the prophesied restoration of the Byzantine empire. These concepts originally implied passive expectation rather than active resistance: prophecy foretold a miraculous and sometimes bloodless liberation, not one achieved by political initiative and war.

Contrary to expectations that such religio-magical beliefs would be incompatible with Enlightenment-inspired nationalism, the Greek revolutionary experience illustrates a dynamic process of cultural hybridisation. Rather than being displaced, Byzantine prophetic traditions were reinterpreted within the framework of modern political struggle. Drawing on revolutionary proclamations, this paper investigates how the patriotic elites who led the war reconfigured temporal consciousness -  juxtaposing the messianic Kairos with a linear, finite conception of historical time - in order to galvanise popular support. Respectively, Romaiïko was infused with new meanings by the Greek fighters themselves, now associated with armed uprising, political emancipation, and the creation of national territory.