(; abbreviated ), sometimes anglicised as Syntagmatarch, is used in modern Greek to denote the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. It is translated as "leader of a regiment (''syntagma'')", and dates back to the Classical Age armies. However, the name is misleading in that the Hellenic Army retains very few regiments in its command structure. Thus, the typical responsibilities of ''Syntagmatarches'' are in staff positions, or as executive officers in brigades. Officers holding this rank should be addressed as ''Kyrie Syntagmatarcha'' (Κύριε Συνταγματάρχα). In the modern

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

the rank is superior to an ''Antisyntagmatarchis'' ( Lieutenant Colonel) and inferior to a '' Taxiarchos'' (

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

). The insignia consists of a flaming grenade and three golden stars. The

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a Right-wing politics, right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing 1967 Greek coup d'état, overthrew the caretaker gove ...

, a

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

which ruled the country from 1967 until 1974, is also known as "The Regime of the Colonels" because most of its chief leaders were of Colonel rank, including two of the three chief leaders,

George Papadopoulos George Demetrios Papadopoulos (; born August 19, 1987) is an author and former member of the foreign policy advisory panel to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. On October 5, 2017, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to a felony charge of mak ...

and

Nikolaos Makarezos Nikolaos Makarezos (; 1919 – 3 August 2009) was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Early life and career He was born in 1919 in the village of Gravia, in the prefecture of Phocis. Af ...

Rank insignia

File:GR-Army-OF5-1912.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', 1908–1936 File:GR-Army-OF5-1937.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', 1937–1970 File:GR-Army-OF5-1970.png, Rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', 1970–1973 File:Army-GRE-OF-05.svg, Current rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', since 1975

References

Hellenic Army officers Military ranks of Greece Military ranks of ancient Greece {{Greece-mil-stub