Georgios Panou ( el, Γεώργιος Πάνου, 1770 – 1 June 1863) was a
Greek ship-owner, member of the
Filiki Eteria, fighter and politician 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. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
from
Spetses
Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...
. He was distinguished for his participation in the naval operations of the Greek revolution.
Biography
Prerevolutionary period
Panou was born in 1770 in Spetses. He was the son of the notable, Nikolaos Panou. Since his childhood, he received maritime training and made several trips, at first, alongside his father and his uncle and then with other ship-owners. As a result, Panou visited various places of the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
(
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, Italy, etc.). Gradually, he became a ship-owner taking some elementary education in
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
at the prompting of the merchant Ioannis Zoukis. In 1813, he built his sailboat "''Solon''", which was used during the Greek Revolution. In 1814, he was appointed by the Ottomans in the position of commander of Spetses.
Filiki Eteria and revolution
Later, he a member of
Filiki Eteria probably by
Panagiotis Sekeris
Panagiotis Sekeris (Tripolitsa 1783 – Nafplio 1846) was a merchant and a leading member of Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends). His archive, an important and reliable source for the history of Filiki Eteria, consists of 14 documents and a very com ...
from
Tripolitsa
Tripoli ( el, Τρίπολη, ''Trípoli'', formerly , ''Trípolis''; earlier ''Tripolitsá'') is a city in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the Peloponnese region as well as of the regional unit of Arcadi ...
. He initiated several persons in the organization, among them important people from Arcadia and Spetses. In 1818, he was appointed along with Botassis and Fatziolatis, as curator of the Filiki Eteria in Spetses while in 1819 he helped
Athanasios Tsakalov
Athanasios Tsakalov ( el, Αθανάσιος Τσακάλωφ) was a member of the Filiki Eteria ("Society of Friends"), a Greek patriotic organization against Ottoman rule. (''retrieved from University of California Library'')
Biography
Tsakalov ...
to escape from Ermioni in Argolis after the murder of
Nikolaos Galatis
Nikolaos Galatis ( el, Νικόλαος Γαλάτης; 1792–1819) was a Greek pre- revolutionary figure from Ithaca and one of the founding members of the Filiki Etairia, the secret revolutionary society. He was initiated into the society by N ...
. A few months before the beginning of the Revolution, when
Papaflessas
Grigorios Dimitrios Dikaios-Flessas (; 1788 – 25 May 1825), popularly known as Papaflessas () was a Greek priest and government official who became one of the most influential figures during the Greek War of Independence. The prefix () in th ...
arrived in Spetses, Panou followed the revolutionary dictates of the clergyman. With his sailboat "''Solon''" he participated in the
siege of Monemvasia as head of the naval of Spetses and the rest Greek forces that were making the exclusion of the city. After the occupation of
Monemvasia, he took part in the siege of
Nafplio
Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...
. In April 1823 he took part as a proxy of Spetses in the
National Assembly of Astros and in 1825 he was prefect of Monemvasia.
[Anastasios N. Goudas, 1875, p. 401 – 402.] During 1827, he participated in the unsuccessful operation of
Thomas Cochrane against the Egyptian fleet in the harbor of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
.
[Anastasios N. Goudas, 1875, p. 403.]
Following years
After the end of the Revolution and the creation of the
Greek State, Panou was occupied with the trade sector but a significant financial loss forced him to seek help of the state, which in 1836 recognized him the monthly income of 150 drachmas. He died on 1 June 1863 at the age of 93 years. A short time before he died, he received the silver medal of the Savior for his contribution in the Greek War of Independence.
[
]
References
Bibliography
*Anastasios N. Goudas, Βίοι Παράλληλοι των επί της αναγεννήσεως της Ελλάδος διαπρεψάντων ανδρών, Εκ του Τυπογραφείου Μ. Π. Περίδου, Athens, 1875, vol. 7.
*Dionisios Kokkinos, ''Η Ελληνική Επανάστασις'', εκδόσεις Μέλισσα, 6th edition, Athens 1974.
External links
Tsakonia during the 2nd Ottoman Period.
(Greek)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panou, Georgios
1770 births
1863 deaths
Greek people of the Greek War of Independence
People from Spetses
Members of the Filiki Eteria