Grigoris Afxentiou

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Grigoris Pieris Afxentiou (Greek: Γρηγόρης Πιερής Αυξεντίου) (1928 – 1957) was a guerilla fighter during the EOKA campaign for Enosis, the proposed union of Cyprus (a British colony at that time) and Greece. He was second in command to Georgios Grivas in the leadership of EOKA (National Organization of Cypriot Fighters). His nom-de-guerre was Zedhros.

Afxentiou was born in the village of Lysi in Mesaoria, Famagusta District on February 22, 1928 and was educated at the Famagusta Hellenic Gymnasium. He went to Greece and was unsuccessful in entering the Hellenic Military Academy in Athens. He joined the Hellenic Army in December 1949 as a volunteer. From March to October 1950, he attended a reserve officer’s academy on the island of Syros. He then served with the Hellenic Army on the Greek-Bulgarian frontier, as Anthypolokhagos (Second Lieutenant) before returning to Cyprus and joining the EOKA struggle ^[1].

After his discharge from the ranks of the Greek Army, he returned to Cyprus and supported his father with his business by working as a taxi driver. At that time he also got engaged to be married. He joined the National Organization for the Cypriot Struggle (E.O.K.A.) and became Second in Command of EOKA, Adjutant to EOKA leader George Grivas ^[2] and also a regional leader of EOKA in Famagusta District. In the Spring of 1955, he conducted attacks against the power company and the British-controlled Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and Electricity Company in Lefkosia (Nicosia). Known by the code name "Zidros" (Ζήδρος), since the day of his attacks, he was top of the British list of most wanted men. They had proclaimed a reward of £5,000 pounds sterling for him for blowing up British property ^{[3] [2]}.

When the reward was proclaimed, he went to hide in the Pentadactylos mountain range. There he taught freedom fighters how to use weapons, and also taught the techniques of guerrilla warfare. He was very active in the Pendadaktylos range as well as on Mount Troodos, which he moved on to later.

In December of that same year, Afxentiou was trapped in the mountains of Troodos, near the village of Spilia, along with General Grivas and their men. They escaped during the Battle of Spilia whilst British troops ended up fighting each other with heavy casualties. ^[2]

On March 2, 1957, a force of approximately 60 British soldiers acted upon information that Grigoris Afxentiou, was hiding in a cave in the area, entered the Machairas Monastery and interrogated all the monks as to the guerrilla's whereabouts. A detachment of the British Army consisting of 60 men moved towards the Monastery and surrounded it so as to apprehend the wanted Freedom Fighter. The British soldiers wrought havoc on the monastery and took all the monks into custody. They then tortured them ^[2] to make them divulge where Afksentiou was hiding. When they received no answers, they searched the surrounding area and came upon a cave hidden by some bushes.

While he was hiding at Machairas with three of his compatriots, Avgoustis Efstathiou, Andonis Papadopoulos and Fidias Simeonidis, the British trapped him and his small team once again near the Machairas monastery. Grigoris persuaded those fighting with him to surrender, but he remained and fought on alone against the enemy for 10 hours. When the British urged him to surrender he gave them only one answer, "Μολών Λαβέ" (Molon Lave = Come and Get); a response given by Ancient Greek King Leonidas I during the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persians.

Sublieutenant Middleton, who headed the detachment, called upon Afxentiou to surrender. At this point, Afxentiou asked his four companions to leave the cave and give themselves up but refused to do so himself saying "...I must die". When the British saw that Afxentiou was not among their prisoners, they rushed into the cave only to be repelled by a burst of gunfire. One of them, a corporal, was killed. The British immediately requested reinforcements and continued to assault the cave with gunfire and tear gas. Seeing that this brought no result, they next told one of the companions, Avgoustis Efstathiou, to walk into the cave and convince his leader to give up. Instead, Efstathiou remained in the cave and fought alongside Afxentiou.

At the ensuing Battle of Machairas, Afxentiou held off the British, mostly single-handedly,^[2] for 10 hours before they burned him alive by pouring petrol in the cave in which he was hiding and igniting it ^[2].

The battle ended at 2 o'clock in the morning, on March 3 and Afksentiou's charred body was retrieved. Afxentiou's body was buried, without a funeral, in the yard of the Central Jail of Lefkosia ^[2].

[edit] See Also

• Documentary covering Grigoris Afxentiou death in Greek

[edit] References

• [1] Grigoris Afxentiou, a Cypriot fighter
• [2] Learn About Cyprus article (Greek language article about Grigoris Afxentiou)

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