Pavlos Melas ( el, Παύλος Μελάς, ''Pávlos Melás''; March 29, 1870 – October 13, 1904) was a

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 ...

revolutionary and artillery officer of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

. He participated in the

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War ( el, Ατυχής πόλεμος, Atychis polemos), was a w ...

and was amongst the first army officers to join the

Greek Struggle for Macedonia 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 ...

Early life and career

Melas was born in Marseilles,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the son of

Michail Melas Mihail Melas ( el, Μιχαήλ Μελάς, 1833– 17 June 1897) was a Greek politician and merchant, who served as Mayor of Athens from 1 October 1891 – 31 October 1894. Biography He was born in Syros, the son of Georgios Melas, a member of ...

who was elected MP for

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and brother of Vassileios Melas who was also an officer of the

. The Melas family was of

'' haute bourgeois'' descent. Pavlos' father was a wealthy merchant from

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

. At an early age Pavlos moved to

to study, and later joined the Army, graduating from the

Hellenic Military Academy The Hellenic Army Academy ( el, Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in G ...

as an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

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

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

n politician

Stephanos Dragoumis Stefanos Dragoumis ( el, Στέφανος Δραγούμης; 1842September 17, 1923) was a judge, writer and the Prime Minister of Greece from January to October 1910. He was the father of Ion Dragoumis. Early years Dragoumis was born in Athen ...

and sister of

Ion Dragoumis Ion Dragoumis (; 14 September 1878 – 31 July 1920) was a Greek diplomat, philosopher, writer and revolutionary. Biography Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The ...

. In 1895, the couple had a son named Michael and a daughter, Zoe. He became member 25 of the Ethniki Etaireia and participated in the

Armed action

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

, 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 throug ...

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

Germanos Karavangelis Germanos Karavangelis ( el, Γερμανός Καραβαγγέλης, also transliterated as ''Yermanos'' and ''Karavaggelis'' or ''Karavagelis'', 1866–1935) was known for his service as Metropolitan Bishop of Kastoria and later Amaseia, Pon ...

, 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 Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...

(

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

, 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 October 13, 1904 when he was killed after being surrounded by Ottoman forces in the village of Siatista. The village with coordinates 40° 42' N 021° 16' E has been renamed

Melas Melas may refer to: * Plural of mela People * Melas (mythology), a number of different characters in Greek mythology * Pavlos Melas (1870–1904), a Hellenic Army officer and a symbol of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia * Chloe Melas, an Ameri ...

in his honour, after joining Greece. After his death, Greek efforts became more intense, resulting in the interception of Bulgarian

Komitadji Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...

efforts, especially in West and Central Macedonia, which was annexed by Greece after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

Legacy

He is considered to be a symbol of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia and many of his personal belongings can be seen in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in

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

and

Pavlos Melas Museum The Pavlos Melas Museum is located in the village of Melas, in the north part of the regional unit of Kastoria, Macedonia, Greece. Description The building belonged to the Kantzakis family, from whom the Prefecture of Kastoria purchased it. The ...

. His granddaughter

Natalia Mela Natalia Mela (Greek: Ναταλία Μελά; 1923–14 April 2019) was a Greek sculptor. She was the granddaughter of the fighter of the Macedonian Struggle Pavlos Melas and wife of architect Aris Konstantinidis. Biography Natalia Mela born ...

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

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Greek Army. File:Pavlos Melas Portrait.jpg, Pavlos Melas as a

in the Greek Army. Portrait by

Georgios Jakobides Georgios Jakobides (Γεώργιος Ιακωβίδης; 11 January 1853 – 13 December 1932) was a painter and one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the Nati ...

. 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 French people of Greek descent