- Giorgakis Olympios
Giorgakis Olympios (Greek: Γιωργάκης Ολύμπιος; Romanian: "Iordache Olimpiotul"; 1772 - 1821) was a Greek "armatolos" and military commander during the
Greek War of Independence against theOttoman Empire . Noted for his activities with theFiliki Eteria in theDanubian Principalities , he is considered to be a leading figure of the Greek Revolution.Biography
Early activities
He was born in the village of
Livadi , nearLarissa , onMount Olympus , in Ottoman-ruled Greece. After joining the "Armatolikia" in the Olympus area around the age of 20, Olympios became a prominent member of the local society by protecting villages from theAli Pasha 's raids when the powerful Pasha started expanding his authority out of Epirus. In 1798, however, he was forced to abandon his birthplace due to Ali Pasha's hostility towards him, and fled toSerbia , where he collaborated for some time withKarađorđe Petrović during theFirst Serbian Uprising .He became supporter of the ideas espoused by
Rigas Feraios pertaining to a common Balkan revolution against Ottoman rule, and moved toWallachia . There, with the help ofConstantine Ypsilantis , he composed a military force ofGreeks to fight alongside theRussian Empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1806. After theBattle of Ostrova , he was named a "Polkovnik " in the Russian Army. Emperor Alexander I included him to the Russian military escort during theCongress of Vienna , where Olympios met withAlexander Ypsilantis .Greek War of Independence
Olympios entered Filiki Eteria in 1817, taking the high rank of "Shepherd". He initiated many others in the Eteria, and established contacts with the Wallachian "
Pandur "Tudor Vladimirescu , who led the parallel uprising of 1821.At the beginning of the Greek Revolution, when the Eteria began its expedition in
Moldavia and Wallachia, he was appointed leader of the Greek forces inBucharest by Alexander Ypsilantis. When Vladimirescu distanced himself from the Fililiki Eteria, Olympios was responsible for his arrest on June 1 in Goleşti.He took part in the
Battle of Skuleni onJune 29 ,1821 where Ottoman forces chased him (along withYiannis Pharmakis and a small force of 400 Greeks) to theSecu Monastery inNeamţ county where the Greeks made their last stand. Olympios died during the Ottoman raid of the monastery.References
*Paroulakis, Peter H. "The Greeks: Their Struggle For Independence". Hellenic International Press, 1984. ISBN 0-9590894-1-1.
*Stratiki, Poti. "To Athanato 1821". Stratikis Bros, 1990. ISBN 960-7261-50-X.External links
* [http://www.elassona.com.gr/m_elassona/iprosopa/giorgakisolympios.php Biography of Giorgakis Olympios]
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