(; abbreviated ), sometimes anglicised as Syntagmatarch, is used in modern Greek to denote the rank of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. It is translated as "leader of a regiment (''syntagma'')", and dates back to the Classical Age armies. However, the name is misleading in that the Hellenic Army retains very few regiments in its command structure. Thus, the typical responsibilities of ''Syntagmatarches'' are in staff positions, or as Executive Officers in brigades. Officers holding this rank should be addressed as ''Kyrie Syntagmatarcha'' (Κύριε Συνταγματάρχα). In the modern

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 ...

the rank is superior to an ''

Antisyntagmatarchis Antisyntagmatarchis ( el, Αντισυνταγματάρχης, abbreviated Ανχης) is used in the Greek language to mean " Lieutenant Colonel". A typical responsibility of an Antisyntagmatarchis is to exercise command of a battalion. Offic ...

'' (

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

) and inferior to a ''

Taxiarchos Taxiarch, the anglicised form of ''taxiarchos'' or ''taxiarchēs'' ( el, ταξίαρχος or ταξιάρχης) is used in the Greek language to mean "brigadier". The term derives from ''táxis'', "order", in military context "an ordered forma ...

'' (

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

). The insignia consists of a flaming grenade and three golden stars. The

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

, a

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the ...

which ruled the country from 1967 until 1974, is also known as "The Regime of the Colonels" because most of its chief leaders were of Colonel rank, including two of the three chief leaders, George Papadopoulos and

Nikolaos Makarezos Nikolaos Makarezos ( el, Νικόλαος Μακαρέζος; 1919 – 3 August 2009) was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Early life and career He was born in 1919 in the village of ...

Rank insignia

File:GR-Army-OF5-1912.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', 1908–1936 File:GR-Army-OF5-1937.svg, Rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', 1937–1968 File:Army-GRE-OF-05.svg, Current rank insignia of a ''Syntagmatarchis'', since 1975

References

Hellenic Army officers Military ranks of Greece Military ranks of ancient Greece {{Greece-mil-stub