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Byron
was
living
in
Genoa
when,
in
1823,
while
growing
bored
with
his
life
there,
he
accepted
overtures
for
his
support
from
representatives
of
the
movement
for
Greek
independence
from
the
Ottoman
Empire.
At
first,
Byron
did
not
wish
to
leave
his
22-year-old
mistress,
Countess
Teresa
Guiccioli,
who
had
abandoned
her
husband
to
live
with
him;
ultimately
Guiccioli's
father,
Count
Gamba,
was
allowed
to
leave
his
exile
in
the
Romagna
under
the
condition
that
his
daughter
return
to
him,
without
Byron.
At
the
same
time
that
the
philhellene
Edward
Blaquiere
was
attempting
to
recruit
him,
Byron
was
confused
as
to
what
he
was
supposed
to
do
in
Greece,
writing:
"Blaquiere
seemed
to
think
that
I
might
be
of
some
use-even
here;—though
what
he
did
not
exactly
specify".
With
the
assistance
of
his
banker
and
Captain
Daniel
Roberts,
Byron
chartered
the
brig
Hercules
to
take
him
to
Greece.
When
Byron
left
Genoa,
it
caused
"passionate
grief"
from
Guiccioli,
who
wept
openly
as
he
sailed
away
to
Greece.
The
Hercules
was
forced
to
return
to
port
shortly
afterwards.
When
it
set
sail
for
the
final
time,
Guiccioli
had
already
left
Genoa.
On
16
July,
Byron
left
Genoa,
arriving
at
Kefalonia
in
the
Ionian
Islands
on
4
August.
His
voyage
is
covered
in
detail
in
Donald
Prell's
Sailing
with
Byron
from
Genoa
to
Cephalonia.
Prell
also
wrote
of
a
coincidence
in
Byron's
chartering
the
Hercules.
The
vessel
was
launched
only
a
few
miles
south
of
Seaham
Hall,
where
in
1815
Byron
married
Annabella
Milbanke.
Between
1815
and
1823
the
vessel
was
in
service
between
England
and
Canada.
Suddenly
in
1823,
the
ship's
Captain
decided
to
sail
to
Genoa
and
offer
the
Hercules
for
charter.
After
taking
Byron
to
Greece,
the
ship
returned
to
England,
never
again
to
venture
into
the
Mediterranean.
The
Hercules
was
aged
37
when,
on
21
September
1852,
she
went
aground
near
Hartlepool,
only
25
miles
south
of
Sunderland,
where
in
1815,
her
keel
was
laid;
Byron's
"keel
was
laid"
nine
months
before
his
official
birth
date,
22
January
1788;
therefore
in
ship-years,
he
was
aged
37,
when
he
died
in
Missolonghi.
Byron
initially
stayed
on
the
island
of
Kefalonia,
where
he
was
besieged
by
agents
of
the
rival
Greek
factions,
all
of
whom
wanted
to
recruit
Byron
to
their
own
cause.
The
Ionian
islands,
of
which
Kefalonia
is
one,
were
under
British
rule
until
1864.
Byron
spent
£4,000
of
his
own
money
to
refit
the
Greek
fleet.
When
Byron
travelled
to
the
mainland
of
Greece
on
the
night
of
28
December
1823,
Byron's
ship
was
surprised
by
an
Ottoman
warship,
which
did
not
attack
his
ship
as
the
Ottoman
captain
mistook
Byron's
boat
for
a
fireship.
To
avoid
the
Ottoman
Navy,
which
he
encountered
several
times
on
his
voyage,
Byron
was
forced
to
take
a
roundabout
route
and
only
reached
Missolonghi
on
5
January
1824.
