Zisis Verros (

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 ...

: Ζήσης Βέρρος, 16 August 1880 - 10 April 1985) was a notable

chieftain of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

Biography

Verros was born in

Avdella Avdella ( el, Αβδέλλα; rup, Avdhela) is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it ha ...

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

Tsotyli Tsotyli ( el, Τσοτύλι, also Τσοτίλι - ''Tsotili'') is a village and a former municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as grant ...

. 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 ( el, Παύλος Μελάς, ''Pávlos Melás''; March 29, 1870 – October 13, 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 ...

. In 1905, his official armed action began, working with Loukas Kokkinos, Athanasios Brufas,

Georgios Tsontos Georgios Tsontos ( el, Γεώργιος Τσόντος) (1871-1942) also known with the ''nom de guerre'' Kapetan Vardas (Καπετάν Βάρδας), was a Greek guerrilla fighter, general, and later politician from Crete. Early life Georgios ...

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) against 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 ...

s. In 1908, with the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

of the Young Turks, he settled in the town of

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Ath ...

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

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

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 ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...

and his four daughters at EAM and EPON. During the

Civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

, Verros was persecuted and jailed for two years in

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

. 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''. He died at the age of 104 in 1985.

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 centenarians Men centenarians People from Avdella