From the immediate post-revolution years onwards, a significantly large number of people who participated in the War of Independence wrote their memoirs. The participation and attitude of the memoir writers is presented in these narratives about the Revolution, where the events of war are alternated with internal political divisions, disagreements and conflicts. Subsequent attempts were made to evaluate and interpret this important moment in Greek history which led to the creation of an independent state, causing fundamental changes in the organization, operation and orientations of Greek society. The memoirs were written by people of different descent, social status and literacy who played an important role in the Revolution (local notables, supporters of Philiki Etaireia, chieftains, clergymen, politicians and scholars). Some narrated their testimony to 'grammatikoi' (secretaries), scribblers as they were frequently called, who wrote it down as the former were in no position so to do. The case of Makriyiannes is exceptional, as he learned to write at an elementary level in middle age in order to write his memoirs himself. The first publication of such a testimony came in 1836. Ever since, and especially in the second half of the 19th century, a significant number of publications came out; however, half of the roughly forty memoirs of the Revolution were published in the 20th century.

Thus, during the first decades since the foundation of the Greek state, there was a public dialogue which pertained, on the one hand, to issues of the past, but on the other concerned modern socio-political developments. In fact it was an intense dialogue, even sometimes passionate, bringing about conflict between local notables and chieftains, inhabitants of Central Greece and Peloponnesians, natives and Greeks from other areas ... People who had prestige and authority before the Revolution, who participated in the War of Independence and who took part, in one way or another, in the political conflicts which broke out in the middle of the Revolution, gave their own version of 'what had really happened'. The majority of memoir writers were placed in the margin of the political and social processes after the Revolution, as a result of the new institutions and structures of authority created in the Greek state. This gave them a feeling of bitterness and disappointment, which is evident in the memoirs, too. They considered it unfair for other people - who, in their opinion, had not contributed as much as they had - to occupy important posts. This 'anomalous position' that the Greek state was in was castigated in their texts, whether they were memoirs or letters of denunciation which were frequently published in newspapers of the period. This is probably the greatest value of the memoirs, since they let readers understand how the people who participated and had leading roles in the Revolution reacted to the radical changes which took place in Greek society after the establishment of the independent state.