Some intresting details
“Ι wonder how, without knowing me, you described me so accurately.”
Th. Valtinos, Three portraits, ed. Kastaniotis, p.11
The time and the place of his birth
The Greek War of Independence of 1821 lasted seven whole years. This period of time was enough to destroy those places whose inhabitants dared to raise their stature in the central administration of the Ottoman Empire. Like any similar war, the one that broke out in March 1821 had, apart from its final outcome, many tragic consequences. The southernmost parts of the Balkan peninsula, which were at the center of events and later became the territory of the new Greek state, were slow to find their “steps” and for many decades were inhospitable places, plagued by poverty and anarchy.
His father
Many of those who survived chose to leave once and for all the land that gave birth to them, since the future was extremely ominous. One of them was a man named Antonis Kaliantzis or Kaliontzis, who left a small village in Tripoli, Peloponnese, to settle, after many wanderings, on an island in the sea of Marmara. This island is Coutalis, which today is within the borders of Turkish territory and is called Ekinlik.


His mother
At that time, only Romans lived on this island, that is, Greek-speaking citizens of the Ottoman state who were mainly engaged in fishing and trade. Among them was Antonis Kaliantzis, mentioned in our text, who took root on the island and started a family. His wife, who was called Zacharenia, came from a village in Thrace, Myriophytos (today’s Murefte, Turkey) and with her he had four children, two boys and two girls. When she was pregnant with her fifth child, Antonis left the island to work as a sailor on a ship.We know about this man that he was naturally strong and in fact, whenever he had the opportunity, he participated in various wrestling matches organized by various itinerant athletes, as it was customary in many places at that time. On one of his journeys, when the ship he was on reached Lesvos, he happened to fight against three Turkish wrestlers whom he defeated. The fact that a gavur, that is, an infidel, managed to defeat three Muslims, caused the vengeful fury of the Pasha of Lesbos, who planned the poisoning of Antonis and his unjust death.

His birthday
In the meantime, however, back in Koutali on March 7, 1847, his wife Zacharenia had given birth to their fifth child who did not have time to meet his father. This child, named Panagis, is the hero of our story.



