In late 1823 Lord Byron, the most famous poet of his time, decided to abandon a life of pleasure in Italy to help the Greeks liberate their country from the Ottomans. Byron had been to Greece once already and had been delighted by the climate, the beauty of the people and the landscape. On the other hand, he had become familiar with the national character of the Greeks and held a very low opinion of their ability to win their freedom. He knew that rival chieftains and politicians were loath to support a central government, a fact amply demonstrated by perennial feuding while the enemy was still undefeated. Nevertheless, Byron felt he could do some good and in January 1824 he landed at Missolonghi.