Upon the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in March 1821, her owner, Anastasios Tsamados (1774-1825) from Hydra, armed the ship with 16 12-pounder guns and joined the fleet of his home island.

At that time, a Greek garrison was quartered at the island of Sphacteria, which controlled the entrance of the excellent natural harbour of the Bay of Pylos (Navarino).

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, tasked by the Ottoman sultan to suppress the Greek revolt, needed to take the island in order to use the bay for his own purposes.

Aris, along with 5 other brigs, were anchored at Sphacteria when, on the morning of April 26, the combined Ottoman-Egyptian fleet arrived and started its attack on the island, bombarding the Greek positions and disembarking numerous troops.

Instead, Nikolaos Votsis, the captain of the Athena, which had already sailed without him, and Dimitrios Sachtouris, the commander of the Navarino fortress, came aboard, fleeing the advancing Egyptian soldiers.