Theodoros Kolokotronis – the man who completely embodied the battle cry “Liberty or Death” / Prophylactic self-isolation series. Day 311th.

Kolokotronis clan

Theodoros Kolokotronis (April 3, 1770 – Feb. 4, 1843) is a revered Greek hero. He is undoubtedly the ultimate symbol of the Greek War of Independence, which took place from 1821 to 1830.

Kolokotronis was born at Ramavouni in Messenia to a family who had rebellion in their blood. He grew up in Arcadia in the central Peloponnese. The Kolokotronis clan was well-known, powerful and respected in the Arcadia region in the eighteenth century.

The family had found itself in a state of constant war with their Ottoman overlords since the sixteenth century. From 1762 to 1806, seventy members of the greater Kolokotronis clan were slain in clashes with the conquerors.

The Greek Revolution against Ottoman Empire

The Greek Revolution found Theodoros Kolokotronis (already a 51 year old man) in Morea organizing a company of Greek rebels into a more effective army. 

In 1825, Kolokotronis was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Greek forces of the Peloponnese.

After Greece’s winning of independence over the Ottoman Empire, the indomitable fighter became a supporter of Greece’s first ruler of modern times, Ioannis Kapodistrias.

Kolokotronis in Athens of XXI century

Kolokotronis monument

Kolokotronis street in Athens, Greece

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References:

Text extracts from “Theodoros Kolokotronis: Ultimate Symbol of the Greek Revolution” by Tasos Kokkinidis, Feb 4, 2019, on https://greece.greekreporter.com/2019/02/04/theodoros-kolokotronis-ultimate-symbol-of-the-greek-revolution/

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