Based on over 20 soldiers’ diaries from the Asia Minor Campaign, the performance *“The Dream of Ionia: The Asia Minor Campaign Through Soldiers’ Diaries”*, written by Antonis Kyriakakis and directed by Giorgos Paterakis and the author, aims to illuminate the historical events of 1919–1922 through the eyes of ordinary people who lived them, whose lives were completely shaped by these events. Four close friends are conscripted for the Asia Minor Campaign. The landing at Smyrna, Greek victories, and the celebratory welcomes from the villages of Asia Minor make them feel like mythical heroes. However, the story gradually changes, as political and economic developments negatively impact Greece both on and off the battlefield. The fall of Venizelos, the almost complete replacement of officers mid-campaign by the new Greek government, and initial victories that feel like defeats, with trenches swallowing thousands of compatriots, completely alter the course of the campaign. They will face hunger, thirst, experience the national divide within their camp, betray and be betrayed, as Greece finds itself in absolute economic and political deadlock. Finally, they witness the horrific chaotic retreat, and the dream turns into a nightmare. Through the soldiers who participated in the Asia Minor Campaign, we follow a psychological portrait of Greece in 1922. This anti-war work seeks to shed light on the pathologies of Greek society that have stubbornly persisted for over 100 years! The soldiers’ diaries provide a treasure trove of information about life in the trenches and on the battlefield, largely unexplored until now. By compiling material from 20 diaries, the story of four soldiers emerges, aiming to reveal all aspects of the 1919–1922 period, from which we only know the painful ending. The play features excerpts from the soldiers’ diaries: T. Koutsouradis, Ch. Karagiannis, G. Parthenios, P. Apostolidis, S. Androutsos, D. Arvanitis, M. Papadakis, N. Vasilikos, Ch. Pliziotis, P. Priniotakis, S. Domouchtsis, D. Kefalogiannis, I. Mentzalis, N. Kolombas, E. Kampanis, L. Praskeviadis, K. Glentis, I. Giannopoulos, V. Soulis, D. Symvonis, as well as excerpts from war correspondence in Asia Minor by journalist K. Misaïlidis and literary passages from Myrivili.

Author’s Note
The end of the Asia Minor Campaign, known as the Asia Minor Catastrophe, marked the tombstone of any national ambition. The end of the “Great Idea” also meant the end of a great Greece. At that time, the derogatory term “Psorokostaina” emerged. This slap became a national wound, which, in our attempt to heal, we avoided confronting the truth and our responsibilities. We blamed the Great Powers and assumed the role of the betrayed, the victim. Yet Greece between 1910–1919 achieved its most successful trajectory. Nevertheless, the catastrophic ending allows us to speak only of the destruction of Smyrna. Without the courage to study our political and military mistakes that led to the uprooting of Hellenism from Asia Minor, and thus to heal this national wound, we created another coping mechanism: the “smearing” approach. This mechanism has been a fundamental way we continue to address both national and social problems today—a temporary solution without any perspective for permanent resolution. Our inability to calmly face our problems may explain why nothing ever changes in this country. Who are we Greeks? What makes us Greek in 2024? Who comprises this society? What is the “Great Idea” today? Does it even exist?