Antonis Katsantonis (; c. 17751808), born Antonis Makriyannis (), was a notable

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

klepht Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...

who lived in the era before the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Early life

According to the local historical tradition of the

Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is ...

Prefecture, he was a Sarakatsanos klepht leader born in the village of , in

Agrafa Agrafa (, ) is a mountainous region in Evrytania and Karditsa regional units in mainland Greece, consisting mainly of small villages. It is the southernmost part of the Pindus range. There is also a municipality with the same name, the Munic ...

. His real name was Antonis Makriyannis, son of Yannis Makriyannis (born in Petrovouni,

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

—not to be confused with

Yannis Makriyannis Yiannis Makriyiannis (, ; 1797–1864), born Ioannis Triantaphyllou (, ), was a Greek merchant, military officer, politician and author, best known today for his ''Memoirs''. Starting from humble origins, he joined the Greek struggle for ...

born in Avoriti, Doris).

Klepht

In 1802 he abandoned his life as a shepherd and began participating in raids by klephts; it was then that he acquired the nickname ''kaçak'' ("fugitive" in Turkish). During the years 1803-1808, he successfully battled several times against the army of Ali Pasha, the most notable of them being the ''Battle in the Mount Prosiliako'' (Μάχη στου Προσηλιάκου) in 1807. He is mentioned as having killed Veli Gega, a member of Ali Pasha's Supreme Council.

Capture and death

In the summer of 1809 Katsantonis is said to have been struck down by a serious illness identified as

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, so he appointed his brother Kostas Lepeniotis ( or Kostas from Lepenou) to take over from him as leader of the

's klephts; according to tradition, when Ali Pasha heard this news, he sent an Ottoman army officer called Mühürdar to arrest Katsantonis in the cave where he was staying and being treated by a doctor called Thanasis Doufekias (); eventually, Katsantonis and his second brother, Yorgos Chasiotis ( or Yorgos from

Chasia Chasia () is a forested mountain range in the northern Trikala (Thessaly) and the southern Grevena (Western Macedonia) regional units, northern Greece. It is an eastern extension of the Pindus mountain range. The elevation of its highest peak, ...

) were captured and were taken to the

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

, who had them tortured to death. Katsantonis was executed in public by having his bones crushed with a

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...

. The same tradition states that in 1823

Markos Botsaris Markos Botsaris (; 1790 – 21 August 1823) was a Souliot chieftain, general of the Greek revolutionary army and hero of the Greek War of Independence.Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912, by John ...

avenged the death of Katsantonis by killing Mühürdar at the Battle of Kefalovryso, in

Karpenisi Karpenisi (, ) is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Evrytania. Karpenisi lies within the valley of the river Karpenisiotis (Καρπενησιώτης), a tributary of the Megdovas, in the southern part of the ...

Cultural impact

His legend had a considerable impact on post-Independence Greek culture, since he has been recognized as one of the people who had prepared the Revolution and had envisioned the ideal of an independent Greek nation, well before the popularization of the

corresponding Correspondence may refer to: *In general usage, non-concurrent, remote communication between people, including letters, email, newsgroups, Internet forums, blogs. Science *Correspondence principle (physics): quantum physics theories must agree ...

organized ideological Movement in Greece.

Literature

The distinguished poet

Aristotelis Valaoritis Aristotelis Valaoritis (; 1824–1879) was a Greek poet, representative of the Heptanese School, and politician. He was also the great-grandfather of Nanos Valaoritis, one of the most distinguished writers of Greece. Biography He was born ...

(1824–1879), member of the literary Heptanese School, wrote a poem called "''Ο Κατσαντώνης (άρρωστος)''" inspired by the klepht's sickness and death (published in the third quarter of the 19th century).

Shadow play

He has also been featured as a minor character in the popular Greek shadow play

Karagiozis Karagiozis or Karaghiozis (Greek : Καραγκιόζης), ( ) is a shadow puppet and fictional character of Greek folklore. He is the main character of the traditional Greek shadow puppet theatre, which dates back to the Ottoman era. He is t ...

along with his legendary opponent in the Battle of 1807, the Turkish

Gheg Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...

Albanian dervent-

ağa Ağa is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Mustapha Aga, Ottoman Empire ambassador to the Swedish Court *Osman Aga of Temesvar, Ottoman army officer *Sedefkar Mehmed Agha, Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque *Sul ...

("mountain-gate chief", ''δερβέναγας'' in Greek) Veligekas (Βεληγκέκας).

Television

A TV series (docudrama style), in 12 parts, called ''Chomata me Istoria''—hosted by Elias Mamalakis and based on Katsantonis' biography—was broadcast from November 2008 till January 2009 on

ERT3 ERT3 (, "ERT Tria") is a Greek free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (). It is an entertainment channel, and although it broadcasts nationwide, most of its content i ...

TV.

Footnotes

References

* Dimitrios Papakaryas, ''Ιστορικά του Φουρνά των Αγράφων'' 'The History of Fourna of Agrafa''">Fourna.html" ;"title="'The History of Fourna">'The History of Fourna of Agrafa'' Athens, 1992.

External links

* Article o
Katsantonis
an

by the local history encyclopedia of Evrytania. {{DEFAULTSORT:Katsantonis, Antonis People from Evrytania Greek outlaws 1809 deaths Year of birth missing Sarakatsani