Greece is UNDOUBTEDLY one of the most historically rich nations, with a culture and civilization that exceeds five thousand years of continuous human activity, producing such notable historical figures as Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato, Pericles, Solon and Homer among MANY others.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
It’s no wonder that some other individuals well-known throughout Greece remain unknown to other nations. One such individual is Athanasios Diakos who is more or less a modern King Leonidas, as I described him in an article I wrote about him for Today I Found Out.
Diakos was born Athanasios Nikolaos Massavetas in 1788, in a small village in central Greece, then under Ottoman occupation. His father, a poor man and son of a legendary rebel who was killed in a battle against the Ottomans, found himself unable to bear the burdens of his large family, and thus sent the then 12-year-old Diakos as a novice to the nearby monastery of St. John the Baptist, where he could also receive a proper education.
Five years later, Diakos became a deacon, and thus became known as “Diakos,” meaning “deacon” in Greek. However, this period of his life didn’t last long. At the young age of 19, Diakos killed an Ottoman Pasha, because, according to tradition, the elite Ottoman was sexually harassing an adolescent.
Because of the fatal incident, Diakos had to flee into the nearby mountains to avoid the Ottoman authorities and the subsequent death penalty. He then became a Klepht, and one of the rebellious armed Greeks who fought against Ottoman occupation.
Source: Kalavryta Press
On the battlefield, Diakos seemed to find his true calling, excelling to become one of the best and most feared warriors among the rebels. However, Diakos’ deeply-held Christian faith conflicted with his life-style at the time, and so he sought to become a man of peace once again. As a result, he changed his appearance and returned to the monastery of St. John the Baptist, to once again dedicate his life to God.
About a year after his return, a fellow Greek betrayed him and Diakos was arrested by members of the Ottoman army. He managed to escape only a few hours before he was to be hanged, with the help of his mates from the mountains who had learned about his capture and rushed to help their old friend.
In the following years, Diakos would become the indispensable left hand of another legendary figure of the Greek War of Independence, Odysseas Androutsos. He would also go on to become an honorary member of Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends, a secret organization that prepared the grounds for independence and freedom in Greece.
By 1820, Diakos led his own army of Klephts , becoming the bane of the Ottoman military. In April of 1821, a month after the Greek War of Independence had officially begun, the Turkish forces (nearly 10,000 men) with Omer Vrioni and Köse Mehmed, the two foremost Ottoman generals, departed from Thessaly to beat the Greek rebels in Central and Southern Greece.
Their fear of Diakos and their desire to see him naturalized was so great that they chose to focus the majority of their efforts on him and his band. Diakos and his small army of Klephts, flanked by fellow Independence fighters, Dimitrios Panourgias and Yiannis Dyovouniotis, decided to stop the Ottoman advance with a total 1,500 men, by taking defensive positions in Alamana, a place near Thermopylae, where two thousand years ago Leonidas and his 300 Spartans had heroically fought for their freedom against a massive army of Persians.
In yet another ironic déjà vu, Greeks once again found themselves fighting for their freedom with a major disadvantage in terms of manpower. Soon, the vast majority of the Greek army had to withdraw and Diakos found himself fighting against thousands with only 48 men by his side. At one point, one of his men brought him a horse to escape, but Diakos refused to retreat.
After hours of an exhausting and excessively bloody battle, the Ottoman military finally captured and bound the severely wounded, Diakos, who at this point had several broken ribs. He was then taken to the Ottoman generals.
Although he had killed hundreds of Ottoman military men during his years as a rebel, Omer Vironi admired and respected Diakos as a warrior; he, thus, offered him the chance to save his life by denying his Greek heritage and embracing Islam. Diakos responded,
I was born a Greek, I shall die a Greek.
Köse Mehmed, the Ottoman Turk general who ranked even higher than Vrioni, shocked, but full of admiration from Diakos’ bravery, offered him medical assistance, promised to make him a high-ranking officer of the Ottoman army, and bequeath him a beautiful girl, from Mehmed’s harem, as a wife. He only wanted Diakos to convert to Islam.
Diakos once again rejected the offer. At this point, his fate was sealed. The next morning, Diakos would be viciously tortured in public, as an example to the local Greek people. He was then executed by one of the more gruesome ways humans have come up with to kill other humans- impalement while alive.
According to popular tradition, perhaps true, perhaps not, as Diakos was led away to be executed, the surrounding Ottoman officers repeatedly asked him if he regretted his actions and desired a quick death. Diakos, instead of asking for forgiveness or lamenting his decision, supposedly just sang a poem that has now become part of Greek folklore with its lyrical declaration. Translated into English:
Oh, what a moment Hades chose for me to perish. Spring grass everywhere and branches with blossoms to cherish
Source: NewsIt
Diakos didn’t have the good fortune of dying in battle like the great Leonidas and his Spartans, a fate somewhat preferable to impalement. He did, however, show exactly the same type of bravery and courage as the legendary king, and fought similar odds and for similar reasons relatively close to the same ground.
Even though his name remains unknown to most people outside of Greece, Diakos ranks among the world’s most historic warriors, giving his life to one of the most beautiful ideals known to mankind: Freedom!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL GREEKS, PHILHELLENES AND "ΕΛΛΗΝΌΨΥΧΟΥΣ" FROM AROUND THE WORLD ;-)
Sources:
The Modern King Leonidas: Athanasios Diakos
Philikí Etaireía (Greek revolutionary society)
@tkappa -- Χρόνια Πολλά!
Φόρο τιμής στους ήρωες του 1821 ...
Αυτοί που έδωσαν τη ζωή τους ώστε η Ελλάδα να είναι μία ελεύθερη χώρα.
Η 25η Μαρτίου ειναι η μεγάλη μέρα του Ελληνισμού!
Χρόνια πολλά @agaph :-))))
χρονια πολλά. Ζήτω το εθνος! Ζήτω ο ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΣ!
ΖΗΤΩ!!! 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
Χρόνια πολλά!!!
Wonderful post brother!!!
Χρόνια πολλά και Ελληνικά sis :))))
Shared an apartment with a dude from Greece for half a year when I was 20. Great person.
Good power and energy to you and the Greek.
Thank you, mate. I wish you well :)))
Χρόνια πολλά, καλά και περήφανα φίλε Θόδωρε !!!
Επίσης αδερφέ μου :))))
English
Helloo tkappa
I see articles and photos on your post, have a historical, education, and cultural value of an area. This post is certainly very interesting to add insight in the field of history.
If you do not mind, I will resteem this post in my account. Thanks.
Date: March, 25, 2018 Me, @menulissejarah (writing history)
Indonesia
Saya melihat artikel dan foto pada postingan milikmu, memiliki nilai sejarah, pendidikan, dan budaya suatu daerah. Postingan ini tentunya sangat menarik untuk menambah wawasan di bidang ilmu sejarah.
Jika kamu tidak keberatan, saya akan resteem postingan ini di akun saya. Terima kasih.
Tanggal: 25 Maret 2018Helloo @tkappa Saya, @menulissejarah (#menulissejarah)
Sure go ahead :)
These image links are not considered 'sources', since they do not credit any owner, they just provide a link to the image on a new tab. Make sure to provide the actual source from the original owner of images that are free to be shared commercially. For example, the two I checked - 1 and 5 - are not commercially available, nor did you credit them
But how do I identify the original owner so I can credit him? Can you actually show me an actual example (post) so I get an idea for my future posts? Thanks in advance :)
I've explained everything you need to know in this post, but basically the best bet is to use google image search --> tools --> Usage rights --> labeled for reuse:
Then click on an image, info will be here:
Visit the page and for the most part you want to be using results that come up that are wikipedia, wikicommons, pixabay and those kinds of websites, but all manner of other sites such as government organisations and such are free to use too. You just have to check.
Then provide the link to that source:
(In this case it's public domain so I don't need to name anybody, though it makes our curation life easier
I had no idea!!! I have always writing content for websites but I rarely had to find the photos. You learn something new everyday!!! Thanks for the notice, mate...Now that's what I call constructive/useful feedback. Cheers🤙🤙🤙
It's mah job =P
Awwww, I knew it was you Clark 😍😛
http://truegif.com/9729
OK, last reply and I let you do your job. I just opened your profile and saw your image! BY FAR the best film of 2017 in my opinion. Then again, I am VERY biased as Blade Runner has been MYTHICAL to me. The "bible" of all sci-fi films if you ask me.
If you check my "wacky facts" are named after K from Blade Runner 2049. I've watched it 12 times so far (4 in the movies, one inside the plane to NY and seven more in my PS4). I even bought the Blu-Ray to watch it again and again. A true VISUAL MASTERPIECE.
Of course, I was sad that K died in the end, but I am really happy that Denis Villeneuve didn't try to "repeat" the legendary soliloquy of Roy Batty as the specific scene is UNMATCHED! The end of K, even though totally sad and heart-breaking, was another masterpiece of modern-day cinema! No more tears in rain with my images from now on...I promise ;)
In case you think I am lying....
Lol, the banner was practically put there out of spite because most people I spoke to just said they fell asleep, boring movie etc. Which angered me. Until now only one other person has agreed that it was great, and you're the only other one who's regarding it as highly as me. Actually I've been going around saying it's my favourite film ever.
Aside from its visual mastery, the philosophy behind almost every scene is deeply moving and despite being more profound than most other movies, (implanted memories; what distinguishes humans from AI if not childbirth etc) and often just a casual narrative side-tool (like hologram romance, global blackouts etc).
Also, musical mastery. Put it all together and my psyche kinda lost it, and I cried a bizarre amount like a baby. Not necessarily sad, It just hit me somewhere within... confusing really
Sigh. swoon. So happy you love it too =D
Τελικά είμαστε αρκετοί αυτοί που θυμόμαστε και τιμούμε αυτούς που θυσιάστηκαν...