Zisis Verros (

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 ...

: Ζήσης Βέρρος; 16 August 1880 – 10 April 1985) was a notable

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

Biography

Verros was born in

Avdella Avdella (; ) is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been a municipal unit of G ...

on 16 August 1880. He finished school in Avdella and graduated in the famous gymnasium of

Tsotyli Tsotyli (, also Τσοτίλι - ''Tsotili'') is a village and former municipality currently part of the Voio municipality. Prior to 2011 local government reforms, it was the seat of the municipality of Tsotyli. The municipal unit has an area of 3 ...

. He worked as a teacher in Avdella from 1889 to 1900. He then joined various Macedonian guerrilla groups, operating mainly as an agent, informant and driver, collaborating with the team of the famous

Pavlos Melas Pavlos Melas (; 29 March 1870 – 13 October 1904) was a Greek revolutionary and artillery officer of the Hellenic Army. He participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and was amongst the first Greek officers to join the Macedonian Struggle. ...

. In 1905, his official armed action began, working with Loukas Kokkinos, Athanasios Brufas, Georgios Tsontos and Gr. Falerea. Shortly afterwards, he set up his own independent 35-member armed group, whose he was the leader. He participated in the victorious Battle of Orliaka against Ottoman troops, where a member of his band was killed. Then, with his group, he participated in the Battle of Ezeretsi (nowadays Petropoulakio) and then in the Operation of Paleor (nowadays

Foufas Foufas (), known before 1927 as Paleochori () and Paleor (), is a village and a community of the Eordaia municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of Mouriki, of which it was a municipal district. The ...

) against Bulgarian

Komitadji Komitadji, Comitadji, or Komita (plural: Komitadjis, Comitadjis, or Komitas) ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and , , , , pl. , , ) was a collective name for members of various rebel bands ( chetas) operating in the Balkans during the final period of th ...

s. In 1908, with the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

of the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

, he settled in the town of

Grevena Grevena (, ''Grevená'' ; ) is a town and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 12,515 citizen ...

, but soon he was forced to flee as the new regime dissolved penalties against the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

and even those who were distinguished in the Macedonian Struggle. In 1941 he was arrested by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and remained in prison for 2 years. His family participated in the Greek Resistance, his son Kostas at

ELAS The Greek People's Liberation Army (, ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós''; ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) during the period of the Greek resistance until February 1945, when, followi ...

and his four daughters at EAM and EPON. During the

Civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Verros was persecuted and jailed for two years in

Kozani Kozani (, ) is a town in northern Greece, capital of Kozani (regional unit), Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas, Aliakmonas riv ...

. He later was awarded by the Greek government with the ''Black Emblem of the Macedonian Struggle'' and by the Panhellenic Federation of Chieftains, with the honorary ''diploma''. Verros died on 10 April 1985, aged 104. He was the last living comrade-in-arms of

References

Ένα ακόμα μικρό αφιέρωμα σε Μακεδονομάχους των Γρεβενών
small tribute to the Macedonomachoi of Grevena(in

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Verros, Zisis 1880 births 1985 deaths Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle Greek Resistance members Prisoners and detainees of Greece Greek Macedonians Greek men centenarians People from Avdella