Marigo Zarafopoula (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

: ''Μαριγώ Ζαραφοπούλα'') was a person of the Greek War of Independence and member''Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη'', vol. 11, p. 170 – 171. of the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. (''ret ...

(Society of Friends), a secret 19th-century organization whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state.

Biography

She was born and lived in Tatavla ( nowadays

Kurtuluş Kurtuluş is a neighbourhood of the Şişli district of Istanbul that was originally called ''Tatavla,'' meaning 'stables' in Greek ( el, Ταταύλα). The modern Turkish name means "liberation", "salvation", "independence" or "deliverance". On ...

), a district of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

whose once significant

population has disappeared due to massacres and forced expulsions. She was initiated into

in early 1821 by her brother Vasilis Chatzisarafis who was captured and beheaded by Turks in 1821. When Assimakis Theodorou, a member of Filiki Etairia betrayed the secrets of the organization to the Ottoman authorities, Zarafopoula using her acquaintance with different officials tried and succeeded to learn more details about the event. Meanwhile, using the same acquaintances as well her important estate, she managed to help the sons of

Petrobey Mavromichalis Petros Mavromichalis (; 1765–1848), also known as Petrobey ( ), was a Greek general, politician and the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century. His family had a long history of revolts against the Ottoman Emp ...

to escape from Constantinople, where they were kept prisoners.Xiradaki, 1995, p. 327. When her and her brother's involvement as well to the Filiki Eteria was revealed, she was persecuted, while her brother was beheaded on 23 April 1821. Finally, after great hardships, Zarafopoula managed to travel to Hydra in Greece, bringing with her a large sum of money which she gave for the needs of the revolution.Xiradaki, 1995, p. 326-327. In

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, she worked as a spy for

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...

and

Demetrios Ypsilantis Demetrios Ypsilantis (alternatively spelled Demetrius Ypsilanti; el, Δημήτριος Υψηλάντης, ; ro, Dumitru Ipsilanti; 1793August 16, 1832) was a Greek army officer who served in both the Hellenic Army and the Imperial Russian ...

within

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 ...

and

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 the following years, she funded

Charles Nicolas Fabvier Charles Nicolas Fabvier ( el, Κάρολος Φαβιέρος, Karolos Favieros) (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in the Greek War of Independence. ...

’s campaign in Karystos and the campaign of

Hatzimichalis Dalianis Hatzimichalis Dalianis ( el, Χατζημιχάλης Νταλιάνης, 1775 – 17 March 1828) was a revolutionary leader of the Greek War of Independence and commander in Crete in 1828. Greek War of Independence According to some Greek histo ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. During the years of the revolution she married the officer Georgios or Theodoros Stefanou and they had two children. Stefanou died in battle. Zarafopoula, being poor at the end of her life, died after 1865, year in which she requested a pension. The contribution of Zarafopoula to the Greek Revolution certified with documents several important chieftains like

Gennaios Kolokotronis Ioannis Kolokotronis ( el, Ιωάννης Κολοκοτρώνης; 1805–1868), or Gennaios Kolokotronis ( el, Γενναίος Κολοκοτρώνης) as he was nicknamed, was a Greek warrior of the Greek War of Independence, General and Prim ...

, Chatzichristos Voulgaris,

Nikitas Stamatelopoulos Nikitaras ( el, Νικηταράς) was the nom de guerre of Nikitas Stamatelopoulos ( el, Νικήτας Σταματελόπουλος) (c. 17841849), a Greek revolutionary in the Greek War of Independence. Due to his fighting prowess, he was ...

etc.

References

Bibliography

*Koula Xiradaki �ούλα Ξηραδάκη ''Γυναίκες του '21 – Προσφορές, ηρωισμοί και θυσίες'', εκδόσεις Δωδώνη, Αθήνα – Γιάννινα, 1995. *''Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη'', vol. 11, p. 170 – 171.

External links

Protagon: Η ίδρυση της Φιλικής Εταιρείας 2.0
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarafopoula Greek people of the Greek War of Independence Constantinopolitan Greeks Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Şişli Spies from Istanbul