Oresteia riots

The Oresteia riots (Greek: Ορεστειακά, Orestiaka), which took place in November 1903 and resulted in two deaths, were a series of riots against the translation of the ancient tragedy Oresteia into Demotic Greek.

[1] The triggering of the riots was the translation and premiere in the theater of the ancient Greek trilogy Oresteia by Georgios Sotiriadis which caused a reaction by fanatic supporters of a more ancient-like katharevousa version of the Greek language.

Georgios Mistriotis, a professor of linguistics in the University of Athens, was the main inciter of the riots encouraging students and pro-katharevousa newspapers to participate in rallies against the play.

[2][3][4] The government of Dimitrios Rallis did not accept the demand to ban the play and riots occurred outside of the University of Athens.

On November 16, the army interfered shooting against the rioters, resulting in two deaths and 7 injured.