Pavlos Melas (; 29 March 1870 – 13 October 1904) was a Greek revolutionary and artillery officer of the

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 ...

. He participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and was amongst the first Greek officers to join the Macedonian Struggle.

Early life and career

Melas was born in 1870 in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France, as the son of Michail Melas who was elected MP for Attica and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and brother of Vassileios M. Melas, who was also an officer of the

. The Melas family was of Greek '' haute bourgeois'' descent. His father was a wealthy merchant from

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 ...

. In 1876, his family moved to

. He graduated from the Hellenic Army Academy as an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1891. In 1892, he married Natalia Dragoumi, the daughter of

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

n politician Stephanos Dragoumis and sister of Ion Dragoumis. In 1895, the couple had a son named Michael and a daughter, Zoe. He became member 25 of the

Ethniki Etaireia The Ethniki Etaireia () was a secret Greek nationalism, Greek nationalistic organization created in November 1894, by a number of young nationalist officers, advocates of the ''Megali Idea''. Its aim was to revive the morale of the country and prep ...

. Melas participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. He was an Orthodox Christian.

Armed action

Melas, with the cooperation of his brother-in-law Ion Dragoumis, the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

of Greece in the then Ottoman occupied Monastir (now Bitola), Kottas Christou, and Germanos Karavangelis, metropolitan bishop of

, tried to raise money for the economic support of Greek efforts in Macedonia. After the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising, he decided to enter Macedonia in June 1904, to assess the situation and to see if there is any possibility of establishing a military unit to fight the Bulgarian Komitadjis ( Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, IMRO) and the Ottoman Turks.

Death

In July 1904 (under the alias "Captain Mikis Zezas", Καπετάν Μίκης Ζέζας), he reentered Macedonia with a small unit of men and fought against the VMRO until 13 October 1904 when he was killed after being surrounded by Ottoman forces in the village of Siatista. News about his death spread in Greek society. In

, the Journalists' Union of Daily Newspapers organised a memorial service to honour him, which was attended by 100,000 people. Schools and shops were closed, and numerous flags, mourning ribbons and portraits of him were set up. The village in which he was killed has been renamed Melas in his honour, after joining

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 ...

. After his death, Greek efforts were intensified, resulting in more resources being dedicated for Macedonia by the Greek government. The efforts were aimed at weakeaning Bulgarian military influence.

Legacy

He is considered to be a national hero of the Macedonian Struggle. Many of his personal belongings can be seen in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

and Pavlos Melas Museum in

. A bust of him was made on his cenotaph at Kastoria, commissioned by his wife and co-funded by the municipality in 1920, with the inscription calling him "first martyr for Macedonian liberty". His granddaughter Natalia Mela was a distinguished

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Gallery

File:Pavlos Melas Photograph (cropped).JPG, A photograph of Pavlos Melas as a second lieutenant in the Greek Army. File:Pavlos Melas Portrait.jpg, Pavlos Melas as a second lieutenant in the Greek Army. Portrait by Georgios Jakobides. File:Pavlos Melas.jpg, In ''Macedonomachos'' uniform

References

External links

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, Thessaloniki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melas, Pavlos 1870 births 1904 deaths 19th-century Greek military personnel Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Eastern Orthodox Christians from France Military personnel from Athens Greek military personnel of the Macedonian Struggle Hellenic Army officers Greek military personnel killed in action Greek nationalists Dragoumis family Greek expatriates in France