Kyriakoulis Argyrokastritis ( el, Κυριακούλης Αργυροκαστρίτης; died 1828) also known as Kyriakoulis Polychronis
[Pyrrhus Ruches]
''Albanian historical folksongs, 1716-1943'':
a survey of oral epic poetry from southern Albania, with original texts. Argonaut, 1967 p. 62 was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
resistance leader of the
Greek War of Independence.
He was born in
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and th ...
(Argyrokastron in Greek, his name means 'from Gjirokastër'), modern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, when the town was under
Ottoman rule. Argyrokastritis joined the Greek revolution and in January 1828 together with the resistance leader
Hatzimichalis Dalianis
Hatzimichalis Dalianis ( el, Χατζημιχάλης Νταλιάνης, 1775 – 17 March 1828) was a revolutionary leader of the Greek War of Independence and commander in Crete in 1828.
Greek War of Independence
According to some Greek histo ...
, from
Delvinaki
Delvinaki ( el, Δελβινάκι) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pogoni, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an a ...
, landed on the island of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
to support the revolution there.
In May 1828, Epirotes and Cretans under the leadership of Hatzimichalis, were besieged by the numerical superior Ottoman army of the local ruler,
Mustafa Naili Pasha, in
Frangokastello
Frangokastello ( el, Φραγκοκάστελλο) is the location of a castle and scattered settlement on the south coast of Crete, Greece, about east of Chora Sfakion
Image:Chora Sfakion 1941 evacuation monument.jpg, 200px, Monument com ...
castle,
Sfakia
Sfakiá ( el, Σφακιά) is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania regional unit. It is considered to be one of the few places in Greece that have never been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a ...
region. The castle defence was doomed after seven days and the fortress fell back to Ottoman hands. Both Dalianis and Argyrokastrites were killed during the conflict.
[Σαν σήμερα.]
ethnos online 18/5/2009. (Greek)
According to a local tradition in Crete, an unexplained phenomenon that usually occurs on the anniversary of the Frangokastello battle where images of advancing troops, called
Drosoulites
The term Drosoulites ( el, Δροσουλίτες) refers to a long procession of visions, seen by residents around Frangokastello castle in Sfakia region of Crete (Greece). The phenomenon is rumored to be visible every year, on the anniversary ...
(dew-men) appear at dawn to hover above the tragic location.
References
1828 deaths
People from Gjirokastër
Greek people of the Greek War of Independence
Year of birth missing
{{Greece-bio-stub