Konstantinos Metaxas (, 1793–1870) was a

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 ...

fighter of 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 ...

and politician from

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

Biography

Origin and activity in the War of Independence

He was born in

Argostoli Argostoli (, Katharevousa: ) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has been the capi ...

in 1793, as one of the four children of Nicholas Metaxas and Diamantina Andritsi. He studied law in Italy and returning to Cephalonia he worked as a lawyer. On the eve of the Greek Revolution he was initiated into the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

and in cooperation with the local archbishop Germanos, he organized the forthcoming local volunteer campaign in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

. In May 1821, along with his cousin,

Andreas Metaxas Andreas Metaxas (; 179019 September 1860) was a Greek politician, fighter of the Greek War of Independence and diplomat from Cephalonia. He was prime minister of Greece from 3 September 1843 to 16 February 1844. Some military leaders of the revo ...

, he was one of the chiefs of the Cephalonian volunteers who disembarked at

Glarentza Glarentza (), also known as or Clarenia, Clarence, or Chiarenza, was a medieval town located near the site of modern Kyllini, Elis, Kyllini in Elis (regional unit), Elis, at the westernmost point of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. ...

and took part in the siege of Lala. Later, he participated as head of his compatriots in the battles around the city of

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

, but he suffered from typhus and he was transferred for treatment to

Messolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

. In 1822, he was appointed by the Provisional Government as Minister of Justice and then as commissioner of the Aegean islands. For his services he was promoted to the rank of general at the beginning of 1823.Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη, vol. 17, p. 369. The same year Metaxas was appointed as prefect of Western Continental Greece. With headquarters in Messolonghi, he ended the disputes between the chieftains of Western Greece and contributed to repel of Mustai Pasha of Skodra's troops. In 1825, he participated in the operations against

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Egyptian general and politician; he was the commander of both the Egyptian and Ottoman armies and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman Wāli and unrecognized Khedi ...

and became commandant of

Palamidi Palamidi () is a fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Nestled on the crest of a high hill, the fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the ...

fortress. When the danger of an attack by Ibrahim on

Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

was removed, he went to the Aegean islands where he recruited about a thousand men. In 1826 he fought in the anti-piracy operations in the Aegean, as well as in the conflicts in

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

as was chief of the Ionian forces, while in 1827 he participated in the staff of general

Richard Church Richard Church may refer to: *Richard Church (general) (1784–1873), Irish military officer in the British and Greek army *Richard William Church (1815–1890), nephew of the general, Dean of St Paul's *Richard Church (poet) (1893–1972), English ...

.Goudas, 1875, vol. 7, p. 162-163

Career in the independent Greek state

During the governorship of

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (; February 1776 –27 September 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe. Kapodistrias's ...

, Metaxas served as temporary commissioner of the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

and then participated in the Fourth National Assembly at Argos as a representative of the Peloponnesians. During the years of the Regency he experienced prosecutions and he fled to the Ionian Islands. From there he returned to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 1843, and was placed as a member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. In 1855 he received the rank of colonel of the

Royal Phalanx The Royal Phalanx () was a military body composed of veteran officers of the Greek War of Independence, established on 18 September 1835. The Phalanx entailed military garrison duties, but mostly it was an honorific appointment, and a means to sust ...

. In 1861 he was appointed as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. After the abolition of the institution he retired to his hometown where he wrote the "Memoirs of the Greek Revolution", which were released after his death. Konstantinos Metaxas died in 1870 in Cephalonia.Goudas, 1875, vol. 7, p. 164 He was married from 1830 to the daughter of a rich and illustrious Muslim family of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

, who was saved from the massive massacres of her co-religionists and converted to Christianity adopting the name Eleni. From their marriage, they had eight children among whom was the military officer and cabinet minister

Nikolaos Metaxas Nikolaos (, ') is a common Greek given name which means "Victor of People", a compound of νίκη '' nikē'' 'victory' and λαός laos' 'people'. The connotation is "people's champion" or "conqueror of people". The English form is Nicholas. I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metaxas, Konstantinos 1793 births 1870 deaths

Konstantinos Konstantinos or Constantinos (Κωνσταντίνος, ''Konstantínos'') is a Greek male given name. * Konstantinos (born 1972), occultist * Konstantinos "Kosta" Barbarouses (born 1990), New Zealand footballer * Konstantinos Chalkias (born ...

People from Argostoli Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Members of the Filiki Eteria Members of the Greek Senate Greek memoirists 19th-century memoirists Members of the Royal Phalanx People from the Ottoman Empire