Antonis Katsantonis ( el, Αντώνης Κατσαντώνης; c. 1775 – 1808) was a notable Greek klepht 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. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

Early life

According to the local historical tradition of the Evrytania Prefecture, he was a Sarakatsanos klepht leader born in the village of , in

Agrafa Agrafa ( el, Άγραφα, ) 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 n ...

. His real name was Antonis Makriyannis (Αντώνης Μακρυγιάννης), son of Yannis Makriyannis (born in Petrovouni, Epirus—not to be confused with

Yannis Makriyannis Yannis Makriyannis ( el, Γιάννης Μακρυγιάννης, ''Giánnēs Makrygiánnīs''; 1797–1864), born Ioannis Triantaphyllou (, ''Iōánnēs Triantafýllou''), was a Greek merchant, military officer, politician and author, best ...

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 Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina. People * Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406) * Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...

, 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, so he appointed his brother Kostas Lepeniotis ( el, Κώστας Λεπενιώτης 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 ( el, Θανάσης Ντουφεκιάς); eventually, Katsantonis and his second brother, Yorgos Chasiotis ( el, Γιώργος Χασιώτης or Yorgos from Chasia) were captured and were taken to the Pasha, 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, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

. The same tradition states that in 1823 Markos Botsaris avenged the death of Katsantonis by killing Mühürdar at the Battle of Kefalovryso, in

Karpenisi Karpenisi ( el, Καρπενήσι, ) is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Evrytania. Karpenisi is situated in the valley of the river Karpenisiotis (Καρπενησιώτης), a tributary of the Megdovas, in t ...

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 organized ideological Movement in Greece.

Literature

The distinguished poet

Aristotelis Valaoritis Aristotelis Valaoritis ( el, Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης; 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 ...

(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 ( ell, Καραγκιόζης , tr, Karagöz ) is a shadow puppet and fictional character of Greek folklore, originating in the Turkish shadow play Karagöz and Hacivat. He is the main character of the tales narrated i ...

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

Gheg Gheg (also spelled Geg; Gheg Albanian: ''gegnishtja'', Standard sq, gegërishtja) 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 it ...

Albanian dervent- ağa ("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 TV.

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 Outlaws 1809 deaths Year of birth missing Sarakatsani