PAVLOS MELAS

Sophia Sahinidou

Pavlos Melas is one of the later heroes of the Greek revolution of 1821. Born in Masalia in 1870, he graduated as an Artillery Officer from the Evelpidon School in 1891, when he was 21 years old. In 1900 a Macedonian committee was founded to pursue the aim of freeing the Northern Greek territories from Turkish and Bulgarian control, and Pavlos Melas was a member of this committee.

In July, 1904, he entered Macedonia clandestinely under the name "Peter Dedes." His objectives were to assess the current situation in Macedonia and determine the possibility of establishing a revolutionary military unit to fight the Bulgarians and Turks. He soon returned to Athens, having discussed the possibilities with those who supported the Greek cause living in the area.

The following month he recruited a small force of 35 men to join the Macedonian forces opposed to the occupation, and became the leader of this unit. He had by now changed his name again, this time to "Captain Mike Zezas". He fought bravely with his men, until October 13th, 1904, when he was betrayed. He was seriously injured, dying shortly afterwards in the village of Statista, where there is a statue placed in his honour. The village was renamed "Pavlos Melas". His efforts were eventually to result in success, as Northern Greece became free in 1912, and his name goes down in history as one of the great heroes of the Greek Revolution.

SOPHIA SAHINIDOU is a sixteen year old student at the Fourth Gymnasium in Katerini.