Commemorative Medals, Greece, Crete, Under Turkish Occupation, The Revolution against the Turks and the Destruction of the Monastery at Arkadi, White Metal Medal, 1866-67-68, a Phoenix emerging from the flames, [Reborn From My Ashes], rev women and children huddle together as the Abbot sets fire to the Monastery, [Cretan War] 1866-67-68, 61mm, 46.37g. Wurzback 4768. About Extremely Fine with some cabinet friction on reverse. We will be visiting Athens in the summer and lots can be collected in person by prior arrangement. Ex Dimitris Loulakakis collection. We are aware of four different metals existing for this type and of which are all offered in this sale. Very little information is known about who the medallist and manufacturers were. It is believed that it may have been struck as a fund raising device during the time when Crete’s independence had wide support throughout Europe and the United States. The monastery at Arkadi, in Rethymnon had become a fortress that the Turks were determined to destroy. There were 964 people inside the monastery by November 1866 of which less than a quarter were trained soldiers. When capture seemed inevitable, Gabriel Marinakis decided to set fire to a huge supply of war materials killing most of the 964 together with 1500 Turks.