Rigas Feraios or Velestinlis ; 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis, was a Greek writer, political thinker and revolutionary, active in the Modern Greek Enlightenment. A victim of the Balkan uprising against the Ottoman Empire and a pioneer of the Greek War of Independence, Rigas Feraios is today remembered as a national hero in Greece.

The Modern Greek Enlightenment was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment. Greek Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that occurred in the Greek community. Most of the Greek people were scattered all over the Ottoman Empire. Some lived on the Ionian Islands, Venice, and other parts of Italy. One of the early proponents of Greek Independence was Leonardos Philaras ironically the Modern Greek enlightenment began shortly after his death. There were constant uprisings throughout the Ottoman Empire countless Greeks lived in Venice and fought for the Venetian Empire against the Ottomans. Some Greek painters living in Venice who fought in the war included: Victor (painter), Philotheos Skoufos, and Panagiotis Doxaras. Greek painting dramatically shifted during the Modern Greek Enlightenment. The traditional Byzantine Venetian style that was prevalent in the Cretan School faded in the Heptanese School. Painters such as Doxaras drastically shifted the traditional style. He integrated oil painting, replacing the egg tempera technique.