The Armata of Spetses
The Armata of Spetses is the annual commemoration of the naval battle of 8 September 1822, organised by the Municipality of Spetses. The reenactment falls on the second Saturday of September and burns a replica of the Ottoman flagship in the Old Harbour, under fireworks and flares.
The Armata of Spetses is the island’s annual commemoration of the naval battle of 8 September 1822, organised by the Municipality of Spetses and staged at the Old Harbour. The Municipality holds the reenactment on the second Saturday of September, which places the 2027 edition in the middle of the month. A week of concerts, choirs, theatre, painting exhibitions, traditional dance and cannon volleys runs across the island before it.
The battle being marked was fought in the waters off Spetses during the Greek War of Independence, when the crews of the island, with the fleets of Hydra and Psara, turned back an Ottoman fleet sent to lift the siege of Nafplio. The Spetsiots attributed the victory to the Virgin and built the chapel of Panagia Armata at the harbour, whose feast falls on the same day. The reenactment burns a replica of the Ottoman flagship, built each year by local craftsmen, while the events of 1822 are narrated aloud; fireworks and flares close it.
The Hellenic Navy marks the anniversary with the presence of a ship and a detachment, and the Municipality receives its official guests at a ceremony in the Spetses Town Hall before the burning. The 2026 edition ran from 28 August to 13 September, with the reenactment on Saturday 12 September at the Old Harbour.